Bella Italia - Birmingham

I visited Bella Italia in Birmingham New St in December to celebrate Christmas with a couple of friends. Unfortunately, while the food was enjoyable, the overall experience was let down badly by poor service and an unprofessional management attitude. On arrival, we were not asked whether we had a booking. We had booked in advance and advised the waitress that we had opted for the Christmas menu, but this seemed to fall on deaf ears. Once seated, we were not offered the Christmas menu at all. When I queried this with the manager—who stood out clearly in a white shirt—his response was abrupt and dismissive. He snapped that the Christmas menu should have been ordered online in advance when booking. When I explained that this had already been done, he placed the menus on the table without apology or explanation and walked away. To add to the frustration, I made the booking back in October, when there was a 50% off prosecco bottle offer available. This was never mentioned or offered to us. Had the booking been properly checked on the system, both the Christmas menu selection and the offer would have been clearly visible. This points to a lack of attention to detail and poor communication from the outset. That said, once we were finally able to order, the food itself was very good. The Mushroom Al Forno was particularly enjoyable, and the chocolate fondant dessert was excellent. Our table waiter, Ashcon, was pleasant and courteous, and he did his best to look after us. Sadly, it was the manager’s attitude that left the strongest impression. His lack of professionalism and customer care left a bitter taste for all of us and ultimately overshadowed what should have been a festive and enjoyable evening. As a result, I cancelled another table I had booked at this restaurant a few days later. I am a regular patron of Bella Italia, which makes this experience all the more disappointing. Good food alone does not make a great dining experience—service, attitude, and basic hospitality matter just as much. On this occasion, this branch fell well short of expectations. (For management reference: booking ref A10K3044327086189. Cancelled booking ref A12K757472026737.)

The £5 pasta is incredible!!! The portions are the same size which I found amazing for the price. The lady and man that served us today were so lovely and attentive. I didn’t manage to grab their names but I hope they know how great they are

kully is kool with a k. good service very nice very funny very cool calm and collected. 10/10 he was cracking some funny jokes and gave us everything we asked for.

Visited on Saturday 8th November after booking mid week. When we arrived i was told i hadnt booked even though i had the reference number, but they still found us a table. The restaurant was very noisy (too noisy for us) and the seating was very close to other tables. The service i felt was a little pushy, as i wanted to order a drink and relax and then peruse the menu but felt like we had to order all at once. My wife had an issue with her Malibu and coke, and said the coke tasted awful, when she questioned thsi with the bar staff lady, she was kind of not rude but offish with her. They then came back over and said the syrup had gone and my wife was correct and changed her drink. This was issue number 1, we were then asked if we had a voucher, and i said yes i had £15 off if you spend over £30, guess what.... cant be used at this restaurant!! Issue number 2. Then i said we signed up and we could have a free main meal, guess what... cant be used there only Sunday to Thursday!!! What a total rip off this food chain is, anyway this was issue number 3!! Anyway we opted for our main and ordered the Korean BBQ Chicken, with a side order of fries and Garlic Bread. This dish was really tasty and nice and spicy, the Garlic bread was tasty and comes issue number 4.... the fries, you get about 10 chips for over £5 !! Disgusting. The here comes issue number 5..... the Toilets were disgustingly dirty and need urgent deep cleaning and maintenance. And to top it off issue number 6 look at photo of my pint of lager well 3/4 of a pint!!! Never will i eat at a Bella Italia again... rip off, and to top it off, we wasnt even asked if i wanted Parmesan on our Pasta !!

Went here for my birthday lunch. Food was outstanding! Our server Kully was amazing! By far the best customer service I’ve received across the board! We will 100% be back!! Even got a brownie with a candle, best introduction to birthday shenanigans! Thank you Kully