Review of Bella Notte Ristorante – Whitby

Surfing the Net, I came across an Italian restaurant in Whitby that we hadn’t eaten at yet.  With a name like Bella Notte (translation from Italian-Beautiful Night), I was a bit worried that it wouldn’t be too kid friendly.

Find out how our dinner went and discover the 5 key Italian phrases that you should know before going to any Italian restaurant!

Details: Bella Notte Ristorante, 3570 Brock Street North Whitby, ON, (905) 430-5744, www.bellanotte.ca

Ambiance: Coinciding with the restaurant’s fancy name, the interior was decorated well in a higher end restaurant motif.  Slightly daunting as we entered with our two young kids but we’re up for anything as Book Boy and Ballet Girl are fairly well behaved in restaurant settings.  Washrooms were exceptionally clean with automated soap and towel dispensers.

Kids Stuff: Nothing offered and nothing expected given the type of target clientele that the restaurant is probably going after.

Kids Food: No kids menu but we were able to split a pasta between the two of them (which came out to $7 a child; a bit on the high end for spaghetti with butter which is what our kids typically order).  The bread that they give you ahead of your meal was quite tasty; Clean Mom liked the Olive paste and Oil/Vinegar to dip the bread in.  Caesar Salad was also pricey ($9) and they used a balsamic dressing (vs. a regular creamy dressing) which put the kids off initially… but they ended up eating it.

Parents’ Food:  Clean Mom really enjoyed her Four Cheese Fusilli and wasn’t able to finish it!  I had the Fettucine Zarina but didn’t enjoy the taste combination of the egg noodles with the smoked salmon.

Coolest Thing About Restaurant: Tasty bread and pastas to enjoy, nice ambiance.

Worst Thing About Restaurant:  Prices for a family meal out (versus a date night), waiter could have been friendlier.

Book Boy’s Comments: “Very good but expensive.”

Five Key Italian Phrases You Should Know When Going To An Italian Restaurant:

Hi! – Ciao!

Good bye! – Arrivederci!

Excuse me …! (to ask for something) – Scusami!/ Mi scusi! (polite)

Thank you (very much)! – Grazie (molto)!

Good/ So-So. – Bene/ così e così

And finally, a Bonus Phrase for you for the times when the kids are acting up…

Be quiet / Shut up! (formal / informal) – Sta zitto! / Stai zitto! (pronounced stah tseet-toh / sty tseet-toh)

Check out JourneyEtc.com for additional basic Italian phrases!

And of course, verbal is only 50% of the Italian language.  Here’s a primer for the other 50% – HAND GESTURES:

Overall Experience: While overall we enjoyed the dinner, it wasn’t a place we would normally frequent with the whole family.  If it was just Clean Mom and I, we’ll probably come back again.  Total cost for dinner was $70 (including tax and tip).

Rating: 3.0 stars out of 5

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3. Review of Avanti Trattoria – Oshawa