What They Say About Us

A Lovely Review from our customers

We just received this review from a family who just moved to Wellington from Auckland - read on!

“We’ve just moved to Wellington from Auckland. Amongst the many ex-Wellingtonians we knew in Auckland, who told us how much we’d love living here, we heard about ‘an amazing Italian place in Petone’...Even our regular barista in Devonport, where we lived, an Italian with great enthusiasm for la dolce vita, told us to make a beeline for ‘the Italian place by the sea in Petone..’

No one seemed sure of the name or exact location, so on our first weekend in Wellington – exhausted by moving in on the coldest day of the year and being blasted by Southerly winds – we headed to Petone and Jackson St, thinking it was a logical  location for ‘the amazing Italian place’. Wrong! We ended up at another cafe, grabbed a Petone guide, and realised where La Bella Italia really was. After an indecently hasty retreat, we eventually tracked down our prey on Nevis St.  It was worth the hunt – and moving cities for!

As a welcome to Wellington, it couldn’t have been better. Half-frozen and pretty hungry (cooking pots not yet high on the list of things to have been unpacked) – our family was warmly welcomed at La Bella Italia, fed with wonderful food, perked up with great wine and coffee and sent back out into the hills to tackle the endless removal boxes. We’ve already been back within a week for deli items to take to neighbourhood drinks (the Wellingtonian welcome continues apace!) and school holiday gelato treats for the kids.

Wellingtonians are lucky to have such an oasis of Italian sunshine and delicious food on their doorstep. You are proof of the adage: “Build it, and they will come...”

We did!

Thank you La Bella Italia.”

Wellington Woman's Review of La Bella Italia

Wellington Woman magazine had an article about La Bella Italia in its latest issue - read it here.

Hands On Cooking Class - How To Make Fresh Ravioli

We held one of our Hands On Cooking Classes on Friday 19 November 2010. Julie Treanor, a very enthusiastic participant at the class, wrote a lovely review about her experience with us. Read her article (and admire her amazing photos) here! See when the next Hands On Cooking Class will be here. Don't miss the chance to learn how to make authentic Italian pasta from our chef Gabriele!

"I just wanted to say that John and I thoroughly enjoyed the cooking class last night, Gabriele was excellent, such a great teacher!
We learned a lot and thought it was great value for money. 
We are looking forward to our dinner of pasta tonight.
Grazie!
Gill and John Lockhart"

"Roger and I thoroughly enjoyed the cooking class we attended last night.  Our daughter Joanne was booked for the class, but air travel from the Gold Coast disrupted because of the ash cloud meant she couldn’t come.

However, Roger filled her spot in the class and I know really enjoyed it and made some great Ravioli, which we have taste tested already!  The nibbles and bubbly to start, and the ‘goodies’ bag for us at the end of the class was much appreciated.

Gabriele while we know is a great chef, is also an excellent teacher and his personality and interaction with our ‘hands on’ attempt was great.

To end ‘our’ evening before heading home, we enjoyed a great pizza in the Restaurant.

So thanks to everyone,  and we’re hoping that when Joanne has her next break from work and able to get back to New Zealand that the classes will still be on…..I know she will want to attend.

Kind Regards,
Marilyn & Roger Yule"

Demonstration Dinner at Nosh in Auckland

Antonio Cacace and Gabriele Cagnetta of La Bella Italia recently held a demonstration dinner at Nosh in Auckland. Natalie Wild, a participant at the dinner, wrote a great review on the evening.

To read this review, click here.

Some of the feedback we get from our customers...

"Three times in one week has to speak for itself. Delicious - always!"

"We loved it, much much better than my mummys. PS don't tell my mum I said that"

"Engaging proprietor, wonderful waiter, yummy food, fantastic atmosphere, bellissimo experience."

"We love this place - driving 2 hours down, 2 hours back is worth it!!!"

"It was just like an escape to Italy - but without having to pay the airfares"

"It was fabulous! The service was impeccable and the food! I cold have licked the glaze off the plate."

"Entree was fantastic, main was awesome and dessert... Well I had two!!! =) "

"The food was 'buono' as usual! The waitress was 'bella' as usual! Thank you"

"The dishes tasted better than I'd imagined! Delicious!"

"As if we had died and gone to heaven."

"It's like sitting in Italy, with the deli and pungent Italian smells. Absolutely 'bella'. We loved it!"

"Great explosions of flavours and with lots of colours... There are no words to explain it"

"Always a pleasure to dine at La Bella. Great Food! Great Service! Great Atmosphere! You always make us feel welcome"

"We love it here! It has become our family meeting place over food when we come down from Gisborne. We invite our children and friends and love the family atmosphere and food. Thank you."

"Thank you so much for a wonderful dinner.  Everyone was very impressed with the food (exceptional!) and the service (marvellous!). I also really appreciate your help ensuring the night would be a success.
Please pass on my sincere thanks to all the waiting staff (Roberto and team) and the chef (Gabriele and team).  They were absolutely wonderful and I hope we haven't worked them too hard."