Ciao Bella Ristorante Italiano

Chao Bella has closed. The menu was mediocre in quality and way over prided for Yuma.

I can’t believe it took me five years of living here to try this place. Nice wine list, warm bread when they seat you, pasta is obviously homemade. Nice rustic atmosphere with friendly service. I had the special, a seafood pasta I can’t remember the name of and my wife had the smoked salmon alfredo. If you want a good Italian meal in Yuma skip that chain in the mall and give this place a try.

Excellent! This is a favorite restaurant of ours. Very rarely in this area, does one find a beautiful, friendly dining spot that has real tablecloths and cloth towels in the restrooms! We ate the Kobe burger, and it was delicious. Service was excellent as well and prices reasonable. Good wine selection.

Had an excellent meal last week after a bad experience several months ago.
Later, I learned that their chef of number of years took another position in Yuma. His understudy was promoted but with poor results.
Ciao Bella recently had the good fortune to hire an excellent chef who recently moved to Yuma.
If you had a bad meal several months ago, give Ciao Bella another chance. You will not be disappointed !!!

Overall experience was OK.
Starting with the lesser part of the experience. Parking here is not good and I was unsure of the front first impression. When we entered I was pleasantly surprised to find a cozy space. Many of the light fixtures were out and the cushions were a bit worn, so comfort wise not top notch. The environment could use a sprucing pretty good. They were playing Caribbean style music although they state they are Mediterranean? Our table was wobbly and I had a dirty glass. I’m pretty sure they use tap water which is disgusting and ruins all favors of the food. Their coffee does not meet standard European expectations which I think is indicative of a solid Italian restaurant. My biggest concern was that I could see right into the kitchen and it needs some work and needs to be cleaned thoroughly.
On the flip side there were many good things to be said about our dining experience tonight. They fixed our table immediately. Comped my glass of wine in apologies of having a dirty glass as well as my cappuccino as it did not come out as a proper cappuccino. The tapas of the day was a risk and wasn’t fantastic but it was an interesting gamble and I appreciate the creativity to use raspberry onion marmalade as the topper on Brie. The Brie was good but the marmalade was not. I had the chicken Za’atar and my husband had the spaghetti and meatballs. His was overly spiced but the meatballs were well cooked. My chicken was also well cooked. The veggies were bland after having been steamed but everything seemed fresh. He loved his dish and said that may be his new regular. On the whole i was impressed with the menu selections and would like to try a variety of their menu in future visits. I would like to give this place another chance and I think we will be back, I hope to see improvements in the areas they are deficient.

The ambiance was very nice. The food was good. The busboy was the one who served us; not our waiter. There aren’t many places to park.

Best food in Yuma IMHO. Staff was great. Never had a bad meal here in over 3 years.

After not being impressed with this place quite a few months back, we went back in tonite only because it was my Mom’s b-​day and for some reason she loves it here. Took a long time just to get our orders in but we were rewarded a few minutes later with a half of a slice of bread, and no more. My wife got the nite’s special and I opted for the lasagna. My wife didn’t like her dish and my lasagna was runny and the cheese clumped up into really thick globs that required quite a bit of chewing just to get down. I’ve had similar lasagna before, but it said ‘Stouffer’s’ on the box and it sure didn’t cost $ 14. Even my Mom was complaining by the end of the meal. And to top it off, we were forced to pay a 20% tip on our party of 7. The service warranted 10% at best. Next time Mom wants to come here I think I’m going to be feeling ill and not able to make it.

Has got to be the worst experience ever… the restaurant was definitely nowhere near being at capacity and waited a total of 48 minutes and had only been served bread and water… Unfortunately we were forced to leave as we had noticed that there were a couple tables that had been waiting since we had arrived… Also due to the fact that we noticed one cook that did not appear to be even close to cooking meals.
I would never refer this place to anyone…

My husband and I had a pretty decent dinner the first time we ate at Ciao Bella except the sous chef was also the chef, host and server since the rest of the staff was late to work. It was sad he was doing a great job and had three or four tables but kept calling trying to get people in to help. The food was great and of course we decided to return.
The next couple times it was okay but good enough for Yuma that we returned a few times. We had our favorites on the menu so no complaints. Then they closed the restaurant for a few months. Since the place is pretty run down I figured they were remodeling the place which it does need and I was looking forward to the new atmosphere. When it reopened we returned and were very disappointed. They didn’t remodel or get any new décor at all they just changed the menu and of course all of our favorites were gone. Sad.
We will not be returning.

I love Italian food. When Ciao Bella is good it is really good, when it is bad… well I am sure that you get the picture.
On our last visit the service from the kitchen was pretty bad. My wife has a variety of food allergies. She gave the waiter a card that described the allergies and he took it to the kitchen. No problem, right! When the food arrived it was clear that nobody in the kitchen had read the card. She could not eat a single thing. The waiter went back to the kitchen, after about 5 minutes he came back to report that they were making a new dish. In the meantime my food was getting cold, so I started to eat. I was completely through with my meal and we still had to wait until her food arrived. They made no effort to speed this up, in fact it appears that the preparation of her dinner was put to the end of the line. The waiter was embarrassed to the point that he simply stopped coming to our table.
When her meal arrived, it was reasonably good. This pretty much ruined our anniversary evening and the kitchen staff lost her allergy card. If the owners had much sense, they would do some serious training of their staff, this could be a great place.
I am not sure whether we will go back or not.

The service here is awful! The food is mediocre. Every time we’ve eaten here, we’ve had slow customer service… The ambiance of the place is nice, but then you are reminded of how thirsty you are, and lukewarm your food is.

Yuma is not known for its food. Ciao Bella is no exception. The bread tasts like it came from Fry’s across the street. The lentil soup was really tasty. The paella (recommended by the waiter) was terrible… I think they used instant white rice. Atmosphere was ok and made for some good people watching.

I dont like this place at all — even for Yuma standards.
The main reason is that I go into an establishment that claims to be «italian» and it has nothing to do with italy. Not the atmosphere, not the style and certainly not the food.
Its not all bad food. You can go here and get something quite nice, but its overpriced and, yet again, far from italian cuisine. The only thing italian is the names on the menu (classic plastic coated low class menu) has been swung alittle to sound like a mediterranian type. Its not.
Dont come here. Not horrible, just not worth your time.
.und das ist nach der Kritiker

Ciao Bella is truly a hidden gem with an amazing atmosphere!!! Cozy and romantic!!! The wine list and food were exceptional.

You know I just try to be honest in these reviews, food critic I am not, yuppy socialite… far from it, just a guy who wants what he pays for.
Food-​small portions, presentation is good, flavor doesn’t match the prices.
Service-​Depends on who you get, the males are always prompt and smile. The skanks are slow, snooty, and think they are something special for working at this «Elite» eatery

Regardless of the long wait time and the high prices, this place still felt worth it all, especially considering this place is in Yuma. The food was delicious and something both my wife and i have come to crave. Stick with the steak dinners and the high price will feel somewhat worth it. The sides are also very good. I suggest the new york strip and mashed potatos with gorgonzola cheese and a side of grilled veggies. If you decide on dessert, then give the Tiramisu a try.

Sad to write this as I don’t like to speak ill of any place in Yuma but this needs to be said. My husband and I had been to Ciao Bella before and had a decent enough dinner to want to come back to. We were craving some Italian a few nights ago and decided to head there again.
The food is good but the prices could be lowered. We ordered an antipasti sampler plate of olives, peppers, a few slices of cheese and salami — $ 12…pricey yes, but we wanted to try it. I ordered a bolognese sauce with spaghetti… $ 16…really? Anyway, this was to be expected and I went in there knowing these things. We were going in to have a pleasant dinner after a long week.
To sum it all up: our experience that night was no bueno!
Our waiter was decent enough though. He was kind and gave my husband a couple of recommendations as to what to order.
After a good while, we were brought our appetizer and one piece of bread each. This was a problem as we were paying good money to eat there and expected a basket of bread instead of having to ask for it every time we’d need a piece. Who eats just one piece of bread with their entire meal anyway? Friggin Atkins people, zip it! And we needed something to hold us over while they were taking so long. There were only two other tables with customers.
Btw, the bread was mediocre to boot. I’d be paying people to take it off my hands.
So we then opened our mouths and asked our waiter to be brought a basket of le pain. He replied that he’d would do so. Problem solved, so we thought. The busboy came around to fill our glasses and to give us another piece of bread and not the basket we had asked for. Instead of getting my husband a bread plate that had been taken away, after the appetizer, he dropped a piece right into my husband’s pepper soup! We both stared incredulously at that one piece of bread, slowly soaking up all the soup. I then asked for another piece. Our lovely busboy (he could have been a waiter though, actually we don’t know what he was since he looked pretty scruffy and tatoo-​d up (sorry tat people but you need to cover up those nasty stains if you’re going to be serving in a place like that)) then dropped (yes, dropped) another piece of bread into my husband’s soup and it again, began to soak it up. We were confused by his behavior. He could have reached over to the next table where no one was sitting and taken the bread plate from it’s setting to give to us. I then asked to be brought the bread basket we had asked for. He rudely replied with «ok, who told you that??», I told him that our waiter said he would. The guy then took off without saying a word and returned with the basket of FREAKIN bread. And again stormed off. My husband became offended by this guy’s attitude problem and asked for a manager to come to our table. Well apparently there were no managers on duty because we received no response nor any managers. We dropped some money on the table and left. We were extremely pissed but grateful we didn’t have to pay for the rest of this bad experience.
I don’t think we’ll be returning to Ciao Bella as it seems their employees don’t care much for their bread and butter.

I’m from Michigan, here on a business trip. I like this place. It’s on the east side of 4^th Ave, between 22^nd and 24^th, look for the square red, black and white sign that says «Ciao Bella» up in the air.
Atomosphere is somewhat cozy and classy. Food was very good. Bottled beer selection was not super but I did try a new Italian beer, can’t remember the name, starts w/​an M, and it was good. Malty and delicious. They have a lot of wine too. Most diinners were priced in the 20s. They have a section of menu with vegetarian dishes.
This place is under the same ownership/​management as the River City Grill. Don’t be surprised to see the same waitress at each place!

Craving Italian and decided to check out the restaurant associated with River City Grill and Anthony’s Uptown Delicatessen.
ATMOSPHERE: Only 2 other diners there at 6:30 pm on a Saturday night but was crowded coming same time on a Wednesday night. Dimly lit, candles on tables, romantic setting. Feeling of walking into an old lady’s house. Antique light fixtures. Booth seating, high table, and patio seating available. Classical music playing in the background.
FOOD: Many options for pasta dishes including multiple seafood, veal, and a few lamb dishes. Also features a small section of vegetarian and vegan options. Each entrée comes with a choice of salad or soup.
1. Complimentary french bread — very yummy. Crusty and soft inside. They hand it out one piece at a time per person instead of leaving a basket on the table… weird but on another visit they gave us a basket. Tastes like it’s made there.
2. Spaghetti with meatballs ($ 16) — craving something more traditional. Yummy but a bit bland and wish the noodles were more al dente.
3. Lasagna ($ 15) — took a bite of dinnermates dish. Good. Cheesy and never had sausage in my lasagna before, which really gave it a nice flavor.
4. Bisque (included with entrée) — red pepper/​tomato soup with drizzled balsamic vinegar and parsley Very yummy! My favorite part of the meal.
On another occasion got:
5. Shrimp fettuccine with vodka sauce ($ 19) — yummy! Great garlic flavors. Not too heavy either but the shrimp were a bit over cooked I though.
6. Cannoli — not a huge fan of these in the first place but pretty good. Ricotta filling and topped with whipped cream. Comes with 2 pieces.
7. Bottle of «7 Deadly Zins» — very good! Pairs well with seafood.
And yet another occasion got:
8. Chicken parmesan — a bit disappointed this time. Breaded chicken breast with melted parmesan on top sitting on a bed of ziti with squash and marinara. Chicken was a bit tougher than I would like and the pasta was a bit bland… not ordering this again…
9. Veal ravioli marsala (see picture) — my favorite thus far! Rich flavors with various veggies including broccoli, squash topped with strips of fried sweet potato. Yummmy! The sauce made the dish.
10. Seafood fettuccine — tastes like what you would expect. Sauce is super thick and rich. Wish there was more seafood (shrimp, scallops, mussels, etc) compared to pasta though. Noodles nicely al dente. Good but not my favorite.
PRICES: Most entrees range $ 15 – 25 and correlate with quality so prices are fair.
LOCATION: Next to a Mexican restaurant and some motel.
PARKING: Lot is small but no problems finding a space.
SERVICE: Very good. No complaints here.
PERKS: Wine tasting every Wednesday, 5−7pm, $ 10 for 4 wines with 4 appetizers for wine food pairings. Have yet to try!
CONCLUSION: Food is good. Atmosphere has a nice vibe. Service on par. Overall a good experience. I will be back!