Bistro Bella Vita

Loved Bistro Bella Vita! I am from out of town, and this restaurant came highly recommended and did not disappoint. The drinks were delicious — strong and flavorful. The waitress made my martini right at the table.
We had meatballs for an appetizer and they were over a bed of puréed corn. These were so good, we wished we had about 15 more.
I tried the Spaghetti special, which was unique and flavorful. My boyfriend had the Pork Two Ways, which I would recommend as the prom was cooked perfectly.
The restaurant is nice inside. Moderately priced, high-​quality Italian food in a semi-​casual environment.

This is my favorite restaurant in the Grand Rapids area. Their menu changes slightly more frequently than seasonally, but they always have rotational specials. This most recent trip I went I enjoyed the «Pork Two Ways». I am always slept able about ordering chicken or pork at a restaurant because they often fear undercooking the meat so it comes out dry and tuff, this was not the case. It was large chop, very juicy and tender. The seasoning was simple and brought out the sweetness of the pork and the potatoes were outstanding. My girlfriend got the «Spaghetti» in a saffron crème sauce. Again delicious, the pasta was maybe 15 seconds over done but the flavored were fantastic.
If you are looking for an indulgent experience in Grand Rapids this is the place. They also have an amazing drink menu with skilled bartenders.

Duck breast and chicken thigh cassoulet tonight was horrible!!! the food was not fresh, except for the duck that came raw in the inside (when I had asked medium) and burned on the outside. The chicken was re-​heated :(and the sausage was horrible… the beans were from a can and warmed up… My first time at this Bistro, and the worse experience ever :’(

Excellent service. The food was amazing. I had the duck ravioli and it was one of the best meals I have ever had. They also have a large and delicious tiramisu. There is a great outdoor seating area as well. Highly recommend if you love Italian.

Food is consistently great! I rotate between the pesto rotini and Filet mignon. Decent wine list. Good service

OK, so a couple of weeks ago my wife and I celebrated our anniversary at Ruth’s Chris. To summarize, it was a great experience and a 5 out of 5 in almost every category. The service was great, the atmosphere wonderful and the food excellent… except for my NY Strip. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was just not great. And when paying $ 49 for a steak at arguably the most well known, quality steak house in America you would expect it to be FAB-​U-​LOUS.
Then, this past week we ate at Bistro Bella Vita before heading to see «Phantom». Now, I have been to BBV many times over the years and there are many reasons it is one of my favorite restaurants. And this time reaffirmed that… in spades. As usual, the service, atmosphere and total experience was excellent. But, for whatever reason I again ordered a NY Strip. And that was when RC suffered a blow.
The steak was perfection. Serious perfection. Done correctly, tender a NY Strip as I have ever had and at almost half the price! Oh, and the cucumber martini is also FAB.
My wife and I were in heaven as we enjoyed the meal and the time together. And personally, I liked the meal much better than the show (don’t tell my wife ;^)

This is a very fine place to go out and its selection of wine and cocktails is extensive. It also has an extensive menu of very good quality food/​ingredients. The service is very good as well, but it is extremely expensive, though when you take into consideration all that this restaurant (bistro, whatever) is, then that’s not nearly so surprising.
There is paid lot parking across the street, though it’s $ 2 per half hour, but again, this is downtown Grand Rapids and should not be all that surprising. The building is old and very nice looking from the outside and even from the inside, though I don’t really get the look they’re going for? I don’t know if they’re trying to go for casual even though they’re clearly an upscale restaurant (I’ve been told this is the most expensive in the city), or if maybe it’s a sort of soft rustic? I may have spent too much time thinking about it to be honest.
Either way, the food was excellent and I highly recommend the calamari and the wagyu carpaccio.

This is my mainstay «go to» in Grand Rapids. Sure there are better tap lines and maybe better food in the city, but there is NOT better service! I stop here for lunch with clients, coworkers and friends. Dinner before events at the arena. Dinner with the wife and kids. They constantly provide a fantastic experience and good food. Do not hesitate to stop in. I will «George Foreman» guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

The service was great. The food was cold. The wine was good the pour was short.
The price was expensive the credit card was lost among the staff. The Management’s comment,“good luck finding your Card”. Apparently there has been a lot of Credit Card «Incidents»
Check your bill for additional Items you did not order and return the cold food.

Went here for Restaurant Week with a foodie friend last year, and the dishes were very hit and miss. I have been here on a couple other occasions and I am not overly impressed with the food… Nothing memorable. The restaurant needs some updating in order to stay relevant with the booming market downtown. Ten years ago I would have considered this one of the better restaurants downtown, I wouldn’t even consider it now. They have a fantastic location and the building itself is nice, it just needs some revamping. I have always had good service here, but they have a lot of competition these days and should try to be more progressive.

Overall their service was good and the food was very good as well. It didn’t take long for the food to come out which is good in some cases. I tend to wonder why it came out so fast and whether the food is fresh. However, it looks like a brigade in back and the restaurant was pretty slow when we first got there so I’m sure with proper prep a brigade like that could put it out at lightening speed. I’m certain after eating that the food is fresh.
The beet pasta with wild mushrooms was fantastic! This dish had loads of flavor and the fresh made pasta is totally worth it. The duck ravioli had a sweetness to it that I was not partial to but my husband loved it. The serving sizes were perfect as well. Not too much, just perfect.
For dessert I enjoyed the tiramisu which is simply one of the best I’ve ever had. The only one that tops it is my own. My husband enjoyed the cheesecake and my son the crème brûlée. The crème brûlée had a fantastic crunchy caramelized top and the custard beneath was creamy vanilla goodness.
This is our second time here and I’ve never been disappointed.

Tried their wild mushroom polenta and it was tasty. I would return to try out their other dishes. The ambience is fancy.

I’ve been here twice, and it was outstanding both times. I’ve recommended Bistro Bella Vita to several friends and family members, and everyone has loved it.
We went there once when my wife was pregnant, and she off handedly mentioned that she was really craving an item that was not on the menu. Well, the server brought her that item. I was extremely impressed by the service, and I noted that to the manager.
The second time we went it was very crowded, but it was still comfortable. The food was great then as well.

Everything about our dinner last night was perfect! Including our server, Nick!
Great ambiance, even better food.

Well let’s start with the good stuff. This Manhattan is SO GOOD! God bless this bartender, whatever her name is.
The wait staff seems very attentive and friendly. At around 6pm they dimmed the lights so low we could hardly see our menus but we asked them to bring the lights back up and they did, the second time we asked.
The food came out FAST!!! SUPER FAST!!! So fast I know ewe I wasn’t touching it until they brought those lights back up, which was the reason I asked again. The Rotini with sous vied chicken and pine nuts was sadly, a failure. Sous vied implies tenderness. This chicken needed to be dipped in water. The pasta, though cooked a very nice al dente, was just bland.
I have to say, I was quite disappointed considering they have a 2015 Eater’s Choice award on the door. That award brought them from 3 to 2 stars in my book.

Very nice, the food is consistently very good and my experiences with the staff have been great. The Bistro has been around for as long as I’ve been in gr, it’s a great place to hit before or after going to the Van Andle Arena.

This place was really good. I was in Grand Rapids for business and the manager for the local branch took us here for dinner. She had given us the menu beforehand and I spent way too much time pre-​perusing trying to narrow down what I wanted. Upon arriving, I started with the Ginger & Juice martini… very yummy. Pineapple vodka, ginger liqueur and pineapple juice. The sweet of the pineapple was definitely cut by the spiciness of the ginger liqueur. I could have definitely ordered another, but they were a bit pricey and we were there for work… need to watch the tipsiness factor.
For appetizers, we got the hummus (nice version… loved the warm pita and the hint of garlic in the dip) and the antipasta platter. This seemed to be their take on a charcuterie board. Various types of pork interpretations, cheese, honey, pickled veggies & fruits and warm bread. I am not sure exactly what each of the meat options were other than the pork jowl (superb), but they were in various types of terrines and spreads… so good. I think they even had the famous Michigan cherry as part of the platter, they seemed pickle-​ish, but without the vinegary taste.
For dinner I opted for the duck ravioli, and I am so glad I did. Roasted broccoli, kale & potatoes, a sage butter sauce with local honey and large ravioli pillows filled with shredded, rich-​tasting, salty lovely duck. Duck and I have a love/​hate relationship. If it’s not cooked right, it tastes super gamey and greasy. This was anything but. Just bites of heaven that I wanted to lick the plate after.
The only real downside is no dedicated parking. You have to find a meter or use the fairly pricey pay lot. We were at the restaurant probably less than 2 hours and it was $ 8. But I admit, I would happily pay it to visit this place when I’m on my own dime. Highly recommend!

Really good dinner here, I had the rigatoni bolognese and it was awesome. Really good beer selection, service was really good. I really liked the active vibe in this place. We were there on a Wednesday night and lot’s of diners and people enjoying themselves. My coworker had a pizza which he said was good, I say you eat pizza at a place like this? But if you’re leaning that way it sounds like you can’t go wrong. Loved the way the place is decorated, tables were spread out so that you weren’t listening to someone elses conversation. Overall very good experience, only downer is that the menu was somewhat limited. It leaned a lot more Italian than Mediterranean but I like both so it worked, just wish there were a few more choices.

This place was recommended to us for lunch and we were looking for something new so we decided to check it out. I’ve been having a moderate obsession with Beef Carapaccio lately so when I saw it on the appetizer list I got super excited and had to order it as my meal. It was delicious! It was spicy and sweet and tangy and «melted» in your mouth! Yum… Plus it came with these great little puffs of pastry balls filled with a buttery, garlicy, melted mouthful. I literally could have eaten four of those plates!
We also ordered the Calamari appetizer and it too was really nice. They also have a house sparking water which I always enjoy as it makes me feel classier than I actually am. I will say that the Caesar Salad was just ok. I enjoyed the croutons a lot (I think they were house-​made) but the dressing was just an average, creamy white caesar dressing.

This was my second time dining here. The last time the food was so delicious.
This time we didn’t have a reservation, but were seated right away. Our server was very friendly and our food came quickly.
It was so good! We shared the Amish chicken, which was moist and tender and so good! Especially the mashed potatoes. Yum! We also had the cheese ravioli, which was perfection! It has basil and a really good sauce. Just enough– not too heavy. It was savory goodness.
We will be back again for sure.