Never Ending Hunger

Last night, I dined at Bella Blu on the Upper East Side to celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday with friends and family. While it was my first time dining there, I knew we’d be in for a treat as it is one of four restaurants under the Proietti Restaurant Group (others include Per Lei, Baraonda & Ciao Bella). Many consider Bella Blu as one of the top spots in NYC for Fine Northern Italian Cuisine.

A polite staff, neighborhood-type crowd and ample seating space makes for a comfortable setting to celebrate special occasions. Ask the waiters for their recommendations, as there quite a few notables off the menu including a brick oven pizza with truffle oil. Other notable starters included the “Frittura Di Calamari, Gamberi, Capesante, Carciofini E Zucchini” aka fried calamari, shrimp, scallops, artichokes and zucchini in a lightly spicy tomato sauce.

For main courses, many of us had seafood dishes (Bronzino, Halibut, Chilean Sea Bass) while others had Rack of Lamb and some had pasta dishes. Regardless of choice, everyone was thrilled with their meal. To round-up the meal, we sampled a mix of desserts including pastries, chocolate soufflé, fresh fruit & ice cream.

Ratings

• Food – 5 of 5 (pizzas are a MUST)
• Service – 4 of 5
• Atmosphere – 4.5 of 5

Overall

One of the top Italian meals I’ve had in Manhattan. I would recommend Bella Blu for a special occasion.