Bella Nonna's Bistro: A pizza place puzzler

In business for a little longer than two years, Bella Nonna’s Bistro is an enigma for me. The first part of this puzzle is the name and its potential connotations. If one were to apply the traditional definition of bistro (a small, modest café or restaurant), I would say, “Yes, that works for me.” However, today, many associate the word with a more upscale dining experience. Located in the Indian Beach Plaza, across Tamiami Trail from the Ringling College of Art and Design, Bella Nonna’s Bistro is a small, casual-dining pizza place. The restaurant’s charm comes from its über-casual ambience.

The second piece of this puzzle is the menu. Like many other pizza places, Bella Nonna’s offers a range of specialty thin-crust pizzas, calzones, stromboli, and hot and cold sandwiches. However, Bella Nonna’s also offers a range of fresh salads, appetizers, soups, chicken, shrimp, mussels and pastas, many of which are made from multi-generational homemade recipes. For our meals, we chose the following:

• Hail Caesar: Our traditional Caesar salad included crisp romaine hearts, shaved parmesan, Nonna’s croutons and Caesar dressing. $5.95 A generous portion for the price; fresh, crunchy, creamy cheesy flavor.
• Mabel’s Favorite: Fresh field greens, iceberg lettuce, garbanzo beans, sundried tomatoes, cranberries, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, carrots, kalamata olives, shredded mozzarella and Nonna’s croutons. $7.50 Fresh, colorful and chock-full of all the ingredients, this is a great combination of textures and flavors. No skimping here.
• Caprese Stuzzichino: Fresh mozzarella and vine ripe tomatoes topped with basil, imported olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. Served with Italian bread. $5.95

  This appetizer holds promise, but the dish was disappointing. The cheese was too cold and did not seem fresh. The basil was present, but lacked its fresh punch.

   

• The Pope: Classic Italian, loaded with Capicola, hard salami, pepperoni, aged provolone, shredded lettuce, vine ripe tomato, sliced red onion and spicy Italian pepper relish on grilled Italian bread. $8.50 A very nice version of the Italian classic, loaded with filling. The bread was toasted but a bit soggy from the relish, but honestly I like it that way. A spicy vinegar flavor prevails.
• Marco Pollo: Nonna’s version of the traditional chicken parmesan. Mozzarella-and-prosciutto-stuffed chicken breast, lightly breaded, baked and topped with mozzarella and marinara. Served on grilled ciabatta bread. $7.95 An interesting twist to the traditional chicken parm — tender chicken, perfectly melted cheese and a sweet marinara topping. Very good.
• Papa Perry’s Pizza Pie: Ground pepperoni (to order), house-made sausage, green bell peppers and onions. Small $17.95 Large $19.95 This was an outstanding pizza. Thin crust baked to perfect crispy consistency, many ingredients fine-chopped and distributed over the pie, and a Nonna’s large-sized pizza is larger than most.
• Mediterranean Pizza: Traditional style pizza topped with artichokes, kalamata olives, red onions, sun dried tomatoes and feta cheese. Small $17.95, Large $19.95 Yet again, another great pizza experience. Delicious.
• Mediterranean Chicken: Sautéed chicken breast, kalamata olives, red onions, artichokes, capers and tomatoes tossed with ziti pasta. $11.95 (All entrees served with fresh Italian bread, add $1.95 for a small garden salad.) Ordered the salad — deal of the year! The entree was an ample portion, with many levels of flavors and textures.
• Pasta Bella Nonna’s: This fourth-generation family recipe is a slow-simmer (12 hours) tomato sauce including pork, imported sausage, meatballs, Italian cheeses and fresh herbs, served over rigatoni pasta. $12.95

  The hearty, rich red sauce was a tad spicy, but full of slow-cooked flavor. Meatballs were a tad firm but acceptable; sausage was sweet with a nice fennel flavor.

Bella Nonna’s offers a small wine list, beer, and soft drinks to accompany your meal. The service staff is casual and efficient; often alternating between dine-in and take-out customers. Although this looks like a fast, casual restaurant, there is some wait for your order. However, wait times for our meals were very acceptable.

Bella Nonna’s Bistro is serving a niche in the casual restaurant market. Although billed as a bistro, I truly see it as a pizza place “on steroids.” The décor is modest and not necessarily conducive to quiet dining. Even though the restaurant is very casual, Bella Nonna’s offers some of the best pizza in Sarasota, but that is not all. The sandwiches are good, salads fresh, and the pastas very tasty. Thinking of a great-value place to eat in or take out? Check out Bella Nonna’s; it's perfectly suited for quick dining and/or take out.

Bella Nonna’s Bistro: 2801 North Tamiami Trail / 355-4620

Hours: Monday through Thursday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sundays: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.