CASA BELLA

Of course, none of these suggestions should take away from what we've discovered here: A restaurant in Little Italy that's well worth visiting. All in all, Casa Bella is a restaurant that I can recommend without hesitation... All that being said, there is, as with any restaurant, room for improvement at Casa Bella. Meet-and-greet procedures range from warm and welcoming to a bit sloppy to, sometimes, aggressive-depending on who happens to be working the front. Despite management's intention to the contrary, the staff nonetheless can be prone to lapsing into sleepy-eyed, tourist-herding mode (I would)-although, most of the time, they are very enthusiastic and solicitous. The specials are listed without prices, a practice I find annoying (especially since the heavy-duty lobster-type dishes can reach into the $40 neighborhood, which can come as a surprise when regular menu entrees are in the mid-teens). The restaurant could easily move itself to the next level by sprucing up the decor..

Also known as: Casa Bella Restaurant