Bella Sogno

Shocked by ratings under 4. Ate dinner at Bella for first time Saturday night. Fish and veal dishes were excellent. Price was very fair with pleasant attentive service.

U gotta try this place. Where else can u get a three course dinner for 2 for $ 15.00. That’s right folks, $ 15.00. Call to ck on the days. They would rather have u call in for a reservation than use Open Table.
Tiny place, quaint and charming. I enjoyed my entrée. A BYOB. I thought that it was a terrific value.

We tried this place based on all the great reviews. I just don’t get it, both the service and food were fair at best. Would not consider returning with so many better restaurants out there.
Just noticed something funny at the top of the Unilocal page for this restaurant… an ad saying «You may also want to consider Dominos Pizza» Good advice!

We went here the other night and it was good. There was nothing bad to say about it. A solid three stars. It might seem harsh but the place bills itself as a cut above the average red sauce italian joint so they have to be judged in relation to likeminded restaurants. The fact is though that they can’t really compete with a Stella Marina or a Brando’s or a Buona Sera. They just aren’t that dedicated to good food made with top ingredients. They do what they do well but there was nothing original on the menu and also nothing I have to go back and get again. I got veal sorrentino and kim got flounder francaise. both were under-​sauced and under-​salted but its whatever. Service was ok and the price was acceptable for what it was ($ 25 for a meat entrée) but I won’t be back anytime soon for the simple fact that there are so many other unique places to try out.

I reserve five stars for a place that fires on all cylinders.
Bella Sogno delivers.
First of all, it’s a great location, all be it small. Getting a table can be a problem on busy nights, but that’s what happens when a place serves good food… everyone wants to eat there (so ignore the bad reviews below).
It’s a BYO place, which is a definite plus. You can drink 3 bottles of red wine and not feel it when the check comes (maybe not so much the next day).
Now, onto the food. For an app my favorites here are the Eggplant Rollantine which is fresh prepared and perfectly proportioned, in actuality its probably big enough for two people, but I’m not sharing. The eggplant is sliced nice and thin and doesn’t have huge seeds, which is nice. It’s fresh mozzie with a great sauce. Also my favorite, the calamari… lightly breaded and fried to a golden brown perfection. Again, served with a delicious marinara.
For the main course I go with the Veal Sorrentino. It’s just delicious. It’s served with julienned vegetable medly and some perfectly mashed potatoes. This of course, is only the case when a special doesn’t catch my eye, which when there’s rum roasted pork chops on the menu… I am all system go.
For dessert you’ve got Italian Bread pudding with a nice espresso. Words cannot describe how delicious this dish is.
Everything at this restaurant is cooked to order, so count on your meal lasting several hours… which is the way it should be. Gives you plenty of time to eat, drink, and be merry.

3.5 Stars from me.
Like I’ve said in a few other reviews of Italian places, I AM BEYOND picky when it comes to Italian food, I’m a North Jersey Italian. So that needs to be said.
First off, the décor is super nice, even the bathrooms. (That’s important!). Again, they fall victim to one of my biggest pet peeves, tables are too close and packed in. I really dislike cramped places.
The Food:
It’s good. It’s not the best Italian food I’ve ever had, but it’s not the worst. I don’t remember what I ate, but I do remember that I didn’t have leftovers (and I’m a small eater so that means their portions are small). I also felt they were kind of pricey especially for Italian.
I wouldn’t pick to go here, but I’m not upset when I end up here.

This is a cute, open-​air restaurant with outdoor dining in the summer, right off the main street in Bradley Beach! It’s BYO which is always good, and I have had my birthday dinner here 2x in a row. The staff is friendly, and they accomodated everyone wanting to pay on a separate check, (since some people always want to be on one). Bring your favorite wines and try some down home Italian fare. Nothing too fancy served here, but the prices are reasonable and you’ll get a good meal and a good experience. I am looking forward to summer when they open up so I can go again!

had reservations through open table last night. Our party arrived on time and we were told that we should have never been able to make those reservations and that we had an hours wait. They were not remorseful or caring. This is the last time I ever try to eat there and neither should you!,

Friends made Open Table reservations for this place on Saturday night ²⁄₁₆.
Given that we made reservations less than 30 minutes than the time that we wanted to eat. The Open Table system accepted, processed and confirmed the reservation.
When we arrived every table was taken with little if any place to stand. We were soon approached by someone who advised that we would be seated in 10 – 15 minutes.
We weren’t happy with this even but we were ok with a short wait.
After 10 minutes of waiting in a cold, windy doorway someone from the restaurant came out and said that they would NOT be able to seat us. The restaurant blamed Open Table and OT blamed the restaurant.
In either case they will never see my money.
How pitiful pisspoor services

Solid little BYOB Italian. Nothing fabulous, nothing bad either. I agree with a previous reviewer, the eggplant caponata should be room temperature, not icy from the fridge. And in an area that has many bakeries to buy really great bread, the bread here was nothing special. Food was good, not great.

Have family in the area. Visited for my mothers birthday and met here for dinner on Friday with our local relatives whom refer to this place as their «go-​to». The food is excellent. Space is tiny and although we had reserved outdoor seating we ended up inside. We loved the food so much we went back alone on Saturday. We had reservations outside and again were told to wait so we ended up with a table inside. Unfortunately our salad (app) came over an hour after being seated, and we were there for 1.5 hours before getting an entrée (which we had wrapped because we were beyond having dinner at 930pm). Waitress never came with an update or to ask if we needed anything. Very unhappy with service and slow timing/​lack of organization with reservations etc. too bad, because the food is great. Not sure if we will return.

Well i can only review the service because we never got past the initial intro. Reservations for two and we were given the worst table in the place next to the door, a tiny table for 2. The issue is there were a straight couple who arrived at the same time and seated at a nice table for 4. When we asked if this was the only spot for us, she said yes and we got up and left. Meanwhile there were ten empty tables in the joint. My friend recommends this place since he claims it is gay owned. What a surprise! When will the discrimination end! Because we are two men who dine out all the time it seems people feel like they can provide the worst service. Well i always tip over 20% when i feel we get treated like kings which is not too often.
WAKE UP PEOPLE — — GAYS HAVE LOTS OF CASH AND LOVE TO SPEND IT!

Love this little off the main street Italian eatery. Try to go here whenever I am in the area visiting friends. The eggplant caponata that they serve you is totally delicious! This place fills up quickly since it is a smaller restaurant, so try to get here early. Eventhough i noted it is small restaurant, the tables are nicely spaced out so not to feel too crowded.
Everything that I have ever had there is delicious. Definitely save room though for their delicious bread pudding!

This cute little Italian place is adorable. I had the pork chops. The eggplant and dipping dishes they bring out with the bread are scrumptious. There was one waitress for the entire place, that’s how cute and small this place is.
Friday night and the place was busy. Food flowing and huge pasta dishes were being served. This part of NJ is an upscale beach town full of beauty and 4.5 million dollar houses. It’s a safe, amazing area that you can easily take the train to, grab dinner and jaunt back to NYC in a heartbeat.
My girlfriend and I went down next door to the wine store and purchased two bottles of Francis Coppola– and brought our own wine to dinner, which this IS a BYOB and we thought that was interesting.
Clean neat bathroom too. Little lotions, perfumes and soaps were there. There were also disposable toothbrushes, mouth rinse and toothpaste available for guests to use as needed. I thought that was a really nice personal touch.

Yes, yes and and yes please! I had a mouthwatering pasta dish here — the Fettucini Cabonara was the hit of the evening. Plus, gotta love BYOB.
Yes, the food took a while, but there’s even a note in the menu that everything is homemade and one should be patient!
Yes, the portion was huge and lasted two meals!
And YES I’ll be back for more next time I’m in town! :)

Bella sogno is a great little Italian restaurant. The food is outstanding. The service has always been good. The décor is quite pleasant for casual dining. I’d sort of forgotten about Bella Sogno because it’s off the beaten path. Honestly it’s worth a trip around the corner.

went here for the first time the other night. Had kids (both 13) and wanted a place reasonable and with a large enough menu to satisfy hopefully everyone. They did just that! We went on a Wednesday where they have a price fix menu if you prefer which included soup or salad and a sweet treat at the end. Three of us had this menu while one had a dish off the regular menu. The soup was just delicious, artichoke and vegetable (we all had soup no salad). The three dishes off the price fix were chicken franchaise over rigatoni, very moist chicken and tasty… Would definitely order again. we also had the broccoli rabe & tomatoes over pasta which was good but not enough broccoli rabe. Lastly on price fix was lasagna. A little bland but I’m Italian and I prefer meat sauce to marinara. The person who ordered off regular menu has chicken rollatini in balsamic glaze with mash potatoes and veges. This was fabulous and I would definitely recommend it. The final dish was their fabulous Italian bread pudding. simply to die for. Cant wait to go back with friends and I have passed along the info to neighbors. We are always looking for a cozy, friendly place especially with BYOB so you can go out more often. This will definitely become a go to for us. Look forward to trying other things on the menu. Affordable, nice atmosphere, great wait staff.

I love this little hole in the wall Italian restaurant. They have a small menu but everything on it is wonderful and the service is very attentive. It’s a BYOB which is another plus. The last time I was there I had the eggplant rollatini, Bella Sogno salad and Flounder Amalfi all were wonderful. I would suggest a reservation if you choose to go a weekend night during the summer season.

This is an excellent restaurant just off of Main Street in Bradley Beach (opposite the train station).
Reservations are always recommended for this very popular BYOB establishment. My wife and I ate there last night and our only disappointment was that they did not have their Calamari Salad. This is worth the trip, in my estimation. The next time we go we will specifically ask for the salad. Our server was not happy to tell us that the salad was not available. For something so popular you would think they would always have it on the menu.
Bread is served with an eggplant tapenade which is very good, but, in my estimation, should be at room temperature, not chilled.
We started with a shared crab cake appetizer which was good but could have been better had it been a little hotter. It had a great corn relish drizzled over it which helped with the crab cakes which were a little bland.
My wife had a veal dish which was excellent and my pork chops with peccorino ragu and rosemary were to die for! Portions are big so expect to bring something home.
Dessert was a very good Crème Brulee’, which we shared.
All in all a great place to go for a special dinner — all year round.