Bella Vita

Wowzers. More expensive than we were planning for lunch, but totally worth it. Everything was super fresh and tasted homemade.

Lovely. Terrific service and great food. Very attentive service. We had a lovely dinner on the patio watching the sunset over the mountains. I had spaghetti and meatballs and my husband had ravioli in alfredo sauce. We shared a Caesar salad as an appetizer. Everything was fresh, well-​prepared and beautifully presented. We will definitely return on our next visit to the area.

Was driving in shopping center looking for a place to eat and came upon this spot
Great good I had an Italian sausage sandwich with no peppers and my hubby had spaghetti and meat balls.
Great favors

Delicious fresh Italian food. Excellent service and nice intimate ambiance. Convenient to Desert Falls Country Club and the Marriott Desert Springs Resort. It is located in the nondescript strip mall so a nice find. We had the manicotti, lasagna, fettuccine bolognese and fettuccine zincs a. All very delicious.

Stopped in today for lunch. Clean restaurant. Service was great. The food was good. I got the ravioli, which were good but the sauce had a skin on top like it had set under a heat lamp. Two others had salads that looked great and one other person had the linguine with chicken. Everyone enjoyed the food. Service and presentation were great. We would eat here again.

Seating outside was nice. Ordered Fettucini Bolognese as entrée which was very good. All was well so far. Then had the Tartufo for dessert and dinner went downhill. It was either not Tartufo or the worst I ever had. Was served cut in for pieces, was not round shaped, was like chocolate mousse containing none of the hard ice cream I normally love this dessert, had no cherry center and did not have the crusted outer surface. I provided feedback to the waiter. He said he would immediately let the owner know my concern, took the check back as if to imply he would adjust the bill, came back a little while longer with the check unchanged, no followup from the owner or anyone else and no further comment on the matter. Thought that was terrible customer service, rather aloof in the interaction. Will not return to this restaurant. Too bad because the ambience and entrée were very good.

Our food and service was wonderful. We had four different pasta dishes, the caprese salad, and tiramisu and limoncello for dessert. The cioppino special in red sauce was probably the best dish we enjoyed, but all the pastas were delicious. We had fettuccine bolongese, clams and linguine in white sauce, and orecchiette with arugula, rapini, and sausage. We also had a delicious montepulciano wine. Our server was quite pleasant and checked on us frequently. The ambiance inside the restaurant is also quite nice, which is a pleasant surprise from their location in an unassuming strip mall. I would absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for fresh, delicious Italian food in Palm Desert.

We greatly enjoyed the superb scampi, and veal. The service was great, and we will definitely be back!!!

My husband & I ate at this restaurant for the first time and were very impressed. I had cioppino with prawns, mussels, clams and fish over linguine… WOW was it delicious! There wasn’t much pasta, but that was okay since the seafood was in abundance and each morsel still had it’s OWN individual flavour. The clams and mussels were sweet and all the seafood was tender not rubbery. My husband had a chicken dish which was very good, but when he sampled my dish; he said that’s what he would order next time. This dish is not served daily, but I sure would recommend it if the server mentions the dish as a daily special, order it! I would rate this restaurant at least a 4 ½ star!

Authentic Italian food. Enough said really. The way it’s made, and the ingredients that are used. Always ask about the chefs specials!

Awesome ‘regular’ Italian meal. Wanted a basic veal dish and they had several variations. Priced at or below the surrounding area pricing and right across the street from the Marriott (In fact I walked both ways). Also a few seafood specials, but that’s not my bag.
I’ve lived in Europe for 10 years and had several excursions to Italy; Rimini, Ancona, Rome, Firenze and the Italian alps. This meal was on par with excellent Italian food.

We have had three visits to this small restaurant with a casual but upscale atmosphere. The service is far above average and very accommodating to special requests. We’ve enjoyed Fettuccini Zingara, Veal Marsala and chicken parmesan. All excellent and making us feel «we’ll be back again for friendly service and great food»

We randomly chose an Italian restaurant near our hotel and this restaurant service was not the best. It took them 30 mins to bring our food. The waiter was friendly but the food was not great. We ordered the angel hair pasta & 2 vegetarian pizzas.

Wow what can I say, just a poor excuse of a fine dining restaurant. You could tell the pasta wasn’t fresh but boxed, and the prices were crazy expensive. The plates of food didn’t come with anything and everything was basically a la carte and that’s fine if everything would have been supreme, but no! Not to mention the food wasn’t that good. The beets and goat cheese salad sounded delicious but was so basic that I could have whipped that up better with my eyes closed. I was expecting a work of art, and got so underwhelmed. My husband and me got ripped off. I hope that they actually try and turn this restaurant around to some authentic Italian food. The only thing I can think of is that old people go here and have lost their tastebuds.

Went there on Wednesday and had the Artichoke appetizer and it wasn’t Heavenly like they claimed it was. My chicken was very good either; however my husband liked the special which was mussels & clam with linguine.

I went to Bella Vita for a late lunch after arriving in Palm Desert. While the food was only OK, the service was great and the prices were reasonable.
My wife and I had our puppy with us so we sat outside in the sun and experienced a wonderful atmosphere. This is a decent place to get a chicken parm sandwich and split a bottle of wine. I would not go back for dinner.

Was driving around to see what to eat in the area and found this place. It was an awesome find! Never thought I would have such good Italian food around here.
Interior was cozy and nice, servers were all very welcoming and kind, and most importantly, the food was great! We had Italian sausage with sweet pepper, today’s pasta which was clams and linguine and angel hair pasta. Pastas were really fresh and I think they make their own pasta. Clams were plenty and fresh as well. Italian sausage and peppers had rich and really great sauce. Even the olive oil on the table tasted something different (in a good way) and fresh. Overall, it was a very pleasant visit and I will definitely come back here when I visit Palm Desert again.

My husband and I come here quite often, as it’s near home, which makes it very convenient. I usually have the beautiful spinach salad, with chicken added. It’s not as plain as I just made it sound. It has sugared pecans, dried cherries, onions, and a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The dressing a beautiful blend of spices, is a raspberry vingerett.
My other half had, Angel hair with Bolognese sauce. So boring !
But tonight I’m changing my pace. I’m going to try their Lasagna. Well My Goodness ! Talk about delicious. «Warning …» It came piping Hot ! SO GOOD ! I WILL HAVE THIS DISH AGAIN. YUMMO
Tonight is the night after Christmas, this place is packed. I’m not sure how I got us in, calling about 5PM, for a 6:15 reservation. I SHOULD KNOW BETTER!!! This coming from someone who eats out twice a day. I should weigh 400 pounds. Wonderful service, even when Every, table was full tonight.
Reservations should be made, even when not around Holidays. They are also OPEN for lunch. Call first, they are closed one weekday, not sure which one.

Flavorless food, EIGHT DOLLAR CANNOLIS…
At local eateries I expect the food to be at least a few steps above the cookie-​cutter Italian that I can get at Olive Garden and Spaghetti Factory.
Invited to a holiday gathering with friends who chose Bella Vita, I was captured by the ambience of the room and was expecting a spectacular Italian dining experience after seeing the prices on the menu. The pastas started at $ 15 and went up. My dish was $ 18 for pasta, chicken and sausages, the higher end fare was in the $ 28 – 30 range… more on that in a bit.
Immediately it was obvious that the staff was overwhelmed with a full house and a decent sized dinner party of 14 at one table and four more at another for our group.
There was one main waiter who looked like he was frantically trying to keep up and did not let anyone else take orders or handle much except delivery of dishes and occasionally refilling our bread basket. Service was slow with one person handling everything in a crowded restaurant. The bread was a good crisp crust Italian but you have to ask for butter — it arrived 15 minutes later.
The dish I ordered was flavorless. I mean truly flavorless. Usually when I eat Italian food, each dish has some high notes of flavor and other tastes that blend together to demonstrate the chef’s skills. If the pasta is homemade or even a high quality brand, you can usually get some flavor from that as well. Nope. Not even the fettuccini had a flavor. This dish was so bland and so flat I could not wait for the parmesan cheese so I could at least appreciate some flavor.
The Parmesan cheese is dished out by a staff member who walks around with a huge bowl, spooning it onto diners’ dishes as requested. It would be more appropriate at that price range to allow diners to grind their own or have a staff member use a hand held grinder at the table so we know it’s not just a bottle of Kraft «Parmesan Cheese» that’s been poured out into a bowl and spooned. And yes, I am pretty sure that’s what they were doing. It had the same flavor as the one I have in the house that says, «Kraft Parmesan Cheese» and was a bargain at Sam’s Club when I bought it.
After the dismal main dish, we were handed dessert menus that did not have any pricing on them.
Now, I am from NYC, Brooklyn to be exact, and I know how much a Cannoli costs to make, and how much I expect to pay for one at a restaurant.
EIGHT DOLLARS for the dismal cannoli left me feeling like I just got groped by the TSA at the airport. There was not even the joy of flying.
Sure, I should have asked. I expected to pay $ 4 – 5 for it since this was a pricey restaurant to start, but EIGHT DOLLARS FOR A CANNOLI? And it was some not-​so-​great filling that looked like dark matter and wallpaper paste. Not a true cannoli and I think the chef needs to find a new job. The cannoli had the crunch but the filling was as flavorless as the main dish. It had a mealy texture that was not so great.
The worst part was that the restaurant also took the opportunity to add their 20% AFTER TAX artificially inflating their gratuity. While it is not a whole lot of money, the practice shows a serious lack of integrity. I tip based on the cost of the meal before tax not after tax. For that move alone, I would recommend not having large parties here for food.
I am not sure how this place stays busy but I doubt that I would ever spend $ 40.67 for a mediocre meal when the same mediocrity is available for a lot less at the cookie-​cutter Italian restaurants that are here in the valley.

Where do I start… my friend and I drove straight from Newport Beach to Palm Desert without having had any break for lunch… we wanted to make good time and figured we could hold out. By the time we got here, checked into our resort, we were starving and vowed to eat at the first place we saw. Well, we saw Bella Vita… and we wished we hadn’t. Ever.
Now, whenever one walks into a completely dead silent restaurant with no one inside, that should be your cue to bail. Granted, it was a Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm… so, maybe everyone was still working? That’s what we told ourselves anyway as we were seated in the sad, lonely, dead silent, Italian restaurant.
We started w/​a couple glasses of Prosecco to toast the start of our sure to be fun-​filled weekend. Little did we know that this would be the highlight of our meal! Ordered a few shareable appetizers (can’t eat pasta when you plan on lounging in bikinis all weekend) of the fried calamari, fried zucchini, and an antipasto platter.
When the apps came out, we were so hungry; we didn’t even look at the presentation and just proceeded to eat. After a few bites to quiet our rumbling tummies, it dawned on us how unappealing the appetizers looked. Fried foods should have a nice golden crust; it shouldn’t look so… pale. The fried apps could’ve definitely used another 5 more minutes in the deep fryer. That definitely would’ve solved that problem. The antipasto came out a little prettier (w/​a flower decorated on top, no less) but the flavors were… meh. Bulk purchased salami and mortadella me thinks… even the cheese wasn’t good.
Sigh. It saddens me to write a poor review about a restaurant that I’m sure is in desperate need of Gordon Ramsay’s assistance STAT. But I am being honest here when I say there was a reason why this place was deader than a funeral home. We’ve never been more bitter to part with $ 50 plus dollars in our lives. We still suffer from flashbacks and buyer’s remorse. On the bright side, service was prompt and there was ample parking!