Took my dad here for his birthday. First time we were here since the new owners took over. I ordered the Romantica appetizer. It was delicious! The eggplant was so good! Loved the combination of roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella with basil. Yum!! I then had the shrimp salad it was good. My dad had mussels and pasta. He liked it! The owner is sweet and the waiter was very attentive and kind. They even gave us a glass of wine and brought over desert for my dad's birthday. Tiramisu yum!! We'll be back to taste more goodies on the menu.
(4)
W D.
Just discovered this place is under new management. Pizza was not as good as made by previous owners. Crust was terrible, seemed like it was frozen/pre made. French fries were full of grease. Miss the old owners. Won't be going back.
(1)
Twin's Daddy V.
Had the Italiano calzone. It was excellent!! Warm cozy place that's in slightly rundown small strip of stores.
(4)
Greg G.
The bread, the pasta, and stuff, I guess, I don't know. ITS NICE. It's saucey. Good people. We like that. What's pimpin'? What's poppin'. That's it, I guess. It was all good. -- Nate Dog (is in da house)
(5)
Bruce B.
THEY ARE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT AS OF JUNE - They need some time to get their act together. We had been going here for ages and it was an awesome local BYOB. Went there last sunday and nothing was the same. It was the waitress' first day and she said they are keeping the food the same and everything the same. NOT YET! French fries were dripping in grease, bread on hoagie was different, the eggplant parmigiana was pretty good which was the saving grace for two stars, but otherwise no reason to go there. We are bummed by this turn of events, but such is life. We won't be back soon, maybe in a few months. Miss the old owners already.
(2)
Kristina C.
They have a Gluten Free Pizza! This was a great little place, came with some co workers and to my surprise they had a Gluten Free Pizza on the menu. It is a cheese and sauce pizza and the crust is nice and crispy. You can add additional toppings as well if you like, however they seemed a little pricey. The service was great and from the comments from my co workers the calzone's are amazing as well. Really fast service too so it's good for a lunch time stop.
(4)
Dario P.
We had the rudest waitress (the Italian woman) ever. I left her a $6 tip on a $38 check then took my kids to the car. My wife used the ladies room and was still inside. When she emerged, the waitress chastised her for not leaving 20%! Some nerve! We were loyal customers, but we're never coming back. Ciao!
(1)
William M.
Already listed on Yelp...slight change in spelling. Check it out and you'll see a pattern. A couple of years ago I experienced absolutely obnoxious behavior by the owner. Ordered takeout, he gave me the wrong order, I got home, realized his error and took it back (which took up twenty minutes of my time with the back and forth). Got the right order and was heading back to my car. Then, he runs up to me in the parking lot to tell me that I still owe him the difference between the orders (a total of two dollars on a $30+ order!). When I suggested he might want to write off the difference for my inconvenience, he had the audacity to blame me for his error! And this is just one of a couple of bad experiences I've had there since the service is routinely curt and rude. It's a shame, because the food is not bad...actually good...which is why I gave them multiple chances. But, never again. Unfortunately, the owner knows nothing about customer relations.
(1)
Albert L.
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia...and the Anthony's Delight. And, the gnocchi. And the Margherita. And, la mia professoresa d'Italiano dice che questo ristorante e ottimo! The exterior of this restaurant is unassuming. Put one you taste the fare, you know its the the real deal. I believe the owners are from Napoli. They take care to ensure the food is awesome. Enjoy!
(4)
David C.
I came here as part of a wedding party rehearsal dinner, and it was a very nice venue for that person. I had the gnocchi, which was very good. The only drawback that I noticed was for a party of 50 some odd people, they only had three servers for the event, which made the service a little slow and confused.
(3)
Joe S.
If you can avoid this place....do so! Ordered take out food, called for delivery but was told they don't do delivery, even though it is on their menu and on the letter board as you enter the restaurant to pick up the food. We ordered 5 entrees that came with salads and bread. Among the entrees was stuffed shells (which wasn't too bad), Calamari salad (which was charred and not chewable, tasted like burnt cardboard), and Shrimp Scampi (which was 5 shrimp with spaghetti in a white wine sauce that tasted like dish soap. $19 for 5 shrimp and spaghetti. It was absolutely the most DISGUSTING thing I have ever tasted. It took 2 whole trash bags to throw out all of the food because not much was eaten. 5 different people, 5 different entrees and not one person even half finished their meal. I wish I could have taken the food back in the trash bags to them. For an Italian restaurant, it was HORRIBLE! Just got a message from the owner. The following is the email word for word. I guess their food isn't the only horrible thing; so is their attitude towards accepting criticism and treating people. Way to go jerk! Email as follows: " i am the owner and i know its impossible to make everyone happy but one thing is if the food is not good and another thing and if you contest the price that is written on the menu. if you would like to taste the food your welcomed to come anytime because i can assure you it does not taste like soap maybe to you it does because you like junk food and do not know what real food tastes like. Thank you and have a good day" Wow! Yep, I like junk food which is why I ordered from your trashy establishment! I know that I can go 1 block south and eat at Pistachio Grille any night of the week and get a great meal! Good luck staying open with all the other horrible reviews you get! Did you send a nasty message to each person or just me? Have a nice day!
(1)
Phil G.
Have been here many times. Food is generally good. Tonight one of the owners completely screwed up both my and my son's order. His pizza was made with the wrong ingredients. It literally took 1 hour for him to get his dinner. We were never offered either additional water, nor a complimentary dessert. I told the owner that as loyal customers, she should consider not charging us for the pizza. She went nuts! Grabbed the rest of the pizza off the table and told us never to come back!! That we were not welcome at the restaurant. Needless to say, I will NEVER go back and plan to tell my friends and neighbors in Maple Glen about the experience. She needs some instruction on how to treat customers! I have never been treated so incredibly rudely in a restaurant in my life.
(1)
t s.
Awful. Service was horrible. Food was not great. What a disappointment. We were last there years ago and stopped going back because of the rude service. Last night friends suggested it and we thought, "Why not, it's been years." We went with an open mind. Menu looked great. My chicken was so non-tender and, in spite of having a sauce, so dry. It was like they just threw thick chicken on the grill (The dish usually is a scallopine-type, but not there, last night.) and dumped sauce on it. We were a party of 8. Most were eating when the waitress brought out boxes for take home... It was so annoying. The waitress was never around to refill drinks, either. I would stay as far away as possible from this place.
(1)
Scott W.
Visited with a dozen coworkers for a retirement luncheon, the food was excellent everyone was very happy with their meals. The roasted vegetables and fresh baked bread make an excellent Friday night dinner.
(4)
Jim R.
I always have such high hopes when I go here and I've been many times but, I have to be honest with my review. The food is always very good to excellent but the waitresses ( I believe they are related) are, at best, curt and on a bad day, genuinely rude and uncaring. It's such a disappointment because I really want to like this place. They do everything else right. I would go much more often if I didn't have to worry how I would be treated. I would NEVER bring an out of town guest here. The risk of embarrasment is too high. I only go maybe 3 times a year at this point (only when I have a major yen for their food) and will probably stop altogether if things don't change.
(2)
RB B.
Very nice neighborhood byo. I've been a couple of times, and because it has been with a party of 8 both times, we sat in the party room to the left of the kitchen. Though it's a tad nicer than the other side, with tablecloths and cloth napkins, the other side looks and feels a little warmer. The pizza rolls they bring you to start are delicious! The pasta and eggplant dishes I have tried are very good. My dad is a New Yorker and says that their pizza is one of the best he's had in the area in a long time. Desserts are homemade and worth every bite. We've had the same waitress each time we've been...a native of Naples, she is very nice and always willing to recommend a good menu choice. Looking forward to going again.
(4)
Linda M.
So my husband and I decide to go to La Vita e' Bella tonight with our restaurant.com certificate. Mind you this is the place we chose to have the rehearsal dinner for our wedding. After we met all the requirements of the certificate, they refused it for no reason. We will not be going back. Very poor business....they did not seem to care...even when we called them after and told them rest.com said they were contractually obligated to honor it. What a bummer!
(1)
Ed R.
Top notch neighborhood byob, better than most in the Horsham-Maple Glen-Ambler area. Best chicken and veal parm I've had; brick oven pizzas excellent also. Everything reasonably priced.
(4)
Jen L.
A nice Italian BYOB, but nothing to write home about either. One of those places that left me rather ambivalent about wanting to return. Decor: Booths had tables made of black marble (very pretty). The walls were painted to look like sandstone with murals of various bay (Venice maybe?) scenes. There was a half wall separating the two dining rooms which was lined with various bottles and plants. The lighting was rather bright as well. All in all the decor was rather busy and somewhat cluttered. I ordered the tortoloni de rosa. Tortoloni is larger versions of tortellini. It was served in a tasty pink cream sauce with ham, peas, and mushrooms. I loved the pink cream sauce. The Tortoloni was nothing to write home about. My MMM (Main Man Muncher) had his usual, Chicken Parm. The breading easily came off the chicken when he cut it and the red sauce that it came with was rather watery, but still had a nice flavor. Entrees came with bread, mini slices of tomato pie which had a nice fresh basil and garlic flavor, and a salad with the house dressing. The house dressing was some type of vinaigrette that I couldn't identify (balsamic maybe?) with some chunky red things in it. Either tomatoes, or red peppers. Not a huge fan of eating something I can't identify. All in all, a place that I would return to if someone suggested to go there or if I was driving by, but it wasn't memorable enough to make me want to return soon.
(3)
Dan B.
My family and I went to La Vita E Bella for dinner. The service was slow. The waitress did not seem to care about providing good service. She barely made eye contact, did not offer to refill waters and was hard to find when you needed her. Food was not that good either. Very disappointing.
(1)
Don G.
This is one of those out of the way places you'd never know existed except by sheer luck. I was lucky to have found it because the food is excellent. I have had the seafood pasta dish and it was the best I ever had. Their pizza is to die for. The only reason this is getting 3 instead of 4 stars is the staff and owner. I got the feeling that I was annoying the wait staff when asking for something. The owner has that I don't care if you eat here or not air about him. They do takeout which is what I do now as opposed to dealing with the staff issues.
(3)
stefani h.
Good, solid, family-style Italian. Nice antipasto selection. Good selection and everything is fresh. Service is spotty. Good value, bring your own wine.
(3)
Jason R.
High quality, authentic Italian food, and great pizza too. Very friendly owners. Been going here for years, surprised it wasn't on Yelp yet.
(5)
Lauren K.
I absolutely LOVE the penne a la vodka. My boyfriend usually gets the pizzas (very good!) or sometime the gnocchi. It's BYOB and has very tasty desserts. The staff is friendly and they took our restaurant.com coupon w/o issue.
(3)
Lois R.
This place has become our family favorite for Italian. We eat here several times a year, and the food and service are always very good. The specialties of the day are excellent, and I go with one of them about half the time, otherwise I almost always have the ravioli aurora. My younger son alternates between pizza and fettucine alfredo. When his brother is home, he always gets the margarete pizza. And my husband usually orders one of the specials. All the entrees come with house salad, with Italian dressing on the side, but they also have a creamy Italian.
(4)
Siobhann H.
Took my dad here for his birthday. First time we were here since the new owners took over. I ordered the Romantica appetizer. It was delicious! The eggplant was so good! Loved the combination of roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella with basil. Yum!! I then had the shrimp salad it was good. My dad had mussels and pasta. He liked it! The owner is sweet and the waiter was very attentive and kind. They even gave us a glass of wine and brought over desert for my dad's birthday. Tiramisu yum!! We'll be back to taste more goodies on the menu.
(4)
W D.
Just discovered this place is under new management. Pizza was not as good as made by previous owners. Crust was terrible, seemed like it was frozen/pre made. French fries were full of grease. Miss the old owners. Won't be going back.
(1)
Twin's Daddy V.
Had the Italiano calzone. It was excellent!! Warm cozy place that's in slightly rundown small strip of stores.
(4)
Greg G.
The bread, the pasta, and stuff, I guess, I don't know. ITS NICE. It's saucey. Good people. We like that. What's pimpin'? What's poppin'. That's it, I guess. It was all good. -- Nate Dog (is in da house)
(5)
Bruce B.
THEY ARE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT AS OF JUNE - They need some time to get their act together. We had been going here for ages and it was an awesome local BYOB. Went there last sunday and nothing was the same. It was the waitress' first day and she said they are keeping the food the same and everything the same. NOT YET! French fries were dripping in grease, bread on hoagie was different, the eggplant parmigiana was pretty good which was the saving grace for two stars, but otherwise no reason to go there. We are bummed by this turn of events, but such is life. We won't be back soon, maybe in a few months. Miss the old owners already.
(2)
Kristina C.
They have a Gluten Free Pizza! This was a great little place, came with some co workers and to my surprise they had a Gluten Free Pizza on the menu. It is a cheese and sauce pizza and the crust is nice and crispy. You can add additional toppings as well if you like, however they seemed a little pricey. The service was great and from the comments from my co workers the calzone's are amazing as well. Really fast service too so it's good for a lunch time stop.
(4)
Dario P.
We had the rudest waitress (the Italian woman) ever. I left her a $6 tip on a $38 check then took my kids to the car. My wife used the ladies room and was still inside. When she emerged, the waitress chastised her for not leaving 20%! Some nerve! We were loyal customers, but we're never coming back. Ciao!
(1)
William M.
Already listed on Yelp...slight change in spelling. Check it out and you'll see a pattern. A couple of years ago I experienced absolutely obnoxious behavior by the owner. Ordered takeout, he gave me the wrong order, I got home, realized his error and took it back (which took up twenty minutes of my time with the back and forth). Got the right order and was heading back to my car. Then, he runs up to me in the parking lot to tell me that I still owe him the difference between the orders (a total of two dollars on a $30+ order!). When I suggested he might want to write off the difference for my inconvenience, he had the audacity to blame me for his error! And this is just one of a couple of bad experiences I've had there since the service is routinely curt and rude. It's a shame, because the food is not bad...actually good...which is why I gave them multiple chances. But, never again. Unfortunately, the owner knows nothing about customer relations.
(1)
Albert L.
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia...and the Anthony's Delight. And, the gnocchi. And the Margherita. And, la mia professoresa d'Italiano dice che questo ristorante e ottimo! The exterior of this restaurant is unassuming. Put one you taste the fare, you know its the the real deal. I believe the owners are from Napoli. They take care to ensure the food is awesome. Enjoy!
(4)
David C.
I came here as part of a wedding party rehearsal dinner, and it was a very nice venue for that person. I had the gnocchi, which was very good. The only drawback that I noticed was for a party of 50 some odd people, they only had three servers for the event, which made the service a little slow and confused.
(3)
Scott W.
Visited with a dozen coworkers for a retirement luncheon, the food was excellent everyone was very happy with their meals. The roasted vegetables and fresh baked bread make an excellent Friday night dinner.
(4)
Jim R.
I always have such high hopes when I go here and I've been many times but, I have to be honest with my review. The food is always very good to excellent but the waitresses ( I believe they are related) are, at best, curt and on a bad day, genuinely rude and uncaring. It's such a disappointment because I really want to like this place. They do everything else right. I would go much more often if I didn't have to worry how I would be treated. I would NEVER bring an out of town guest here. The risk of embarrasment is too high. I only go maybe 3 times a year at this point (only when I have a major yen for their food) and will probably stop altogether if things don't change.
(2)
Joe S.
If you can avoid this place....do so! Ordered take out food, called for delivery but was told they don't do delivery, even though it is on their menu and on the letter board as you enter the restaurant to pick up the food. We ordered 5 entrees that came with salads and bread. Among the entrees was stuffed shells (which wasn't too bad), Calamari salad (which was charred and not chewable, tasted like burnt cardboard), and Shrimp Scampi (which was 5 shrimp with spaghetti in a white wine sauce that tasted like dish soap. $19 for 5 shrimp and spaghetti. It was absolutely the most DISGUSTING thing I have ever tasted. It took 2 whole trash bags to throw out all of the food because not much was eaten. 5 different people, 5 different entrees and not one person even half finished their meal. I wish I could have taken the food back in the trash bags to them. For an Italian restaurant, it was HORRIBLE! Just got a message from the owner. The following is the email word for word. I guess their food isn't the only horrible thing; so is their attitude towards accepting criticism and treating people. Way to go jerk! Email as follows: " i am the owner and i know its impossible to make everyone happy but one thing is if the food is not good and another thing and if you contest the price that is written on the menu. if you would like to taste the food your welcomed to come anytime because i can assure you it does not taste like soap maybe to you it does because you like junk food and do not know what real food tastes like. Thank you and have a good day" Wow! Yep, I like junk food which is why I ordered from your trashy establishment! I know that I can go 1 block south and eat at Pistachio Grille any night of the week and get a great meal! Good luck staying open with all the other horrible reviews you get! Did you send a nasty message to each person or just me? Have a nice day!
(1)
Lois R.
This place has become our family favorite for Italian. We eat here several times a year, and the food and service are always very good. The specialties of the day are excellent, and I go with one of them about half the time, otherwise I almost always have the ravioli aurora. My younger son alternates between pizza and fettucine alfredo. When his brother is home, he always gets the margarete pizza. And my husband usually orders one of the specials. All the entrees come with house salad, with Italian dressing on the side, but they also have a creamy Italian.
(4)
Phil G.
Have been here many times. Food is generally good. Tonight one of the owners completely screwed up both my and my son's order. His pizza was made with the wrong ingredients. It literally took 1 hour for him to get his dinner. We were never offered either additional water, nor a complimentary dessert. I told the owner that as loyal customers, she should consider not charging us for the pizza. She went nuts! Grabbed the rest of the pizza off the table and told us never to come back!! That we were not welcome at the restaurant. Needless to say, I will NEVER go back and plan to tell my friends and neighbors in Maple Glen about the experience. She needs some instruction on how to treat customers! I have never been treated so incredibly rudely in a restaurant in my life.
(1)
t s.
Awful. Service was horrible. Food was not great. What a disappointment. We were last there years ago and stopped going back because of the rude service. Last night friends suggested it and we thought, "Why not, it's been years." We went with an open mind. Menu looked great. My chicken was so non-tender and, in spite of having a sauce, so dry. It was like they just threw thick chicken on the grill (The dish usually is a scallopine-type, but not there, last night.) and dumped sauce on it. We were a party of 8. Most were eating when the waitress brought out boxes for take home... It was so annoying. The waitress was never around to refill drinks, either. I would stay as far away as possible from this place.
(1)
RB B.
Very nice neighborhood byo. I've been a couple of times, and because it has been with a party of 8 both times, we sat in the party room to the left of the kitchen. Though it's a tad nicer than the other side, with tablecloths and cloth napkins, the other side looks and feels a little warmer. The pizza rolls they bring you to start are delicious! The pasta and eggplant dishes I have tried are very good. My dad is a New Yorker and says that their pizza is one of the best he's had in the area in a long time. Desserts are homemade and worth every bite. We've had the same waitress each time we've been...a native of Naples, she is very nice and always willing to recommend a good menu choice. Looking forward to going again.
(4)
Linda M.
So my husband and I decide to go to La Vita e' Bella tonight with our restaurant.com certificate. Mind you this is the place we chose to have the rehearsal dinner for our wedding. After we met all the requirements of the certificate, they refused it for no reason. We will not be going back. Very poor business....they did not seem to care...even when we called them after and told them rest.com said they were contractually obligated to honor it. What a bummer!
(1)
Ed R.
Top notch neighborhood byob, better than most in the Horsham-Maple Glen-Ambler area. Best chicken and veal parm I've had; brick oven pizzas excellent also. Everything reasonably priced.
(4)
Jen L.
A nice Italian BYOB, but nothing to write home about either. One of those places that left me rather ambivalent about wanting to return. Decor: Booths had tables made of black marble (very pretty). The walls were painted to look like sandstone with murals of various bay (Venice maybe?) scenes. There was a half wall separating the two dining rooms which was lined with various bottles and plants. The lighting was rather bright as well. All in all the decor was rather busy and somewhat cluttered. I ordered the tortoloni de rosa. Tortoloni is larger versions of tortellini. It was served in a tasty pink cream sauce with ham, peas, and mushrooms. I loved the pink cream sauce. The Tortoloni was nothing to write home about. My MMM (Main Man Muncher) had his usual, Chicken Parm. The breading easily came off the chicken when he cut it and the red sauce that it came with was rather watery, but still had a nice flavor. Entrees came with bread, mini slices of tomato pie which had a nice fresh basil and garlic flavor, and a salad with the house dressing. The house dressing was some type of vinaigrette that I couldn't identify (balsamic maybe?) with some chunky red things in it. Either tomatoes, or red peppers. Not a huge fan of eating something I can't identify. All in all, a place that I would return to if someone suggested to go there or if I was driving by, but it wasn't memorable enough to make me want to return soon.
(3)
Dan B.
My family and I went to La Vita E Bella for dinner. The service was slow. The waitress did not seem to care about providing good service. She barely made eye contact, did not offer to refill waters and was hard to find when you needed her. Food was not that good either. Very disappointing.
(1)
Don G.
This is one of those out of the way places you'd never know existed except by sheer luck. I was lucky to have found it because the food is excellent. I have had the seafood pasta dish and it was the best I ever had. Their pizza is to die for. The only reason this is getting 3 instead of 4 stars is the staff and owner. I got the feeling that I was annoying the wait staff when asking for something. The owner has that I don't care if you eat here or not air about him. They do takeout which is what I do now as opposed to dealing with the staff issues.
(3)
stefani h.
Good, solid, family-style Italian. Nice antipasto selection. Good selection and everything is fresh. Service is spotty. Good value, bring your own wine.
(3)
Jason R.
High quality, authentic Italian food, and great pizza too. Very friendly owners. Been going here for years, surprised it wasn't on Yelp yet.
(5)
Lauren K.
I absolutely LOVE the penne a la vodka. My boyfriend usually gets the pizzas (very good!) or sometime the gnocchi. It's BYOB and has very tasty desserts. The staff is friendly and they took our restaurant.com coupon w/o issue.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : No Outdoor Seating : Yes Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Siobhann H.
Took my dad here for his birthday. First time we were here since the new owners took over. I ordered the Romantica appetizer. It was delicious! The eggplant was so good! Loved the combination of roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella with basil. Yum!! I then had the shrimp salad it was good. My dad had mussels and pasta. He liked it! The owner is sweet and the waiter was very attentive and kind. They even gave us a glass of wine and brought over desert for my dad's birthday. Tiramisu yum!! We'll be back to taste more goodies on the menu.
(4)W D.
Just discovered this place is under new management. Pizza was not as good as made by previous owners. Crust was terrible, seemed like it was frozen/pre made. French fries were full of grease. Miss the old owners. Won't be going back.
(1)Twin's Daddy V.
Had the Italiano calzone. It was excellent!! Warm cozy place that's in slightly rundown small strip of stores.
(4)Greg G.
The bread, the pasta, and stuff, I guess, I don't know. ITS NICE. It's saucey. Good people. We like that. What's pimpin'? What's poppin'. That's it, I guess. It was all good. -- Nate Dog (is in da house)
(5)Bruce B.
THEY ARE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT AS OF JUNE - They need some time to get their act together. We had been going here for ages and it was an awesome local BYOB. Went there last sunday and nothing was the same. It was the waitress' first day and she said they are keeping the food the same and everything the same. NOT YET! French fries were dripping in grease, bread on hoagie was different, the eggplant parmigiana was pretty good which was the saving grace for two stars, but otherwise no reason to go there. We are bummed by this turn of events, but such is life. We won't be back soon, maybe in a few months. Miss the old owners already.
(2)Kristina C.
They have a Gluten Free Pizza! This was a great little place, came with some co workers and to my surprise they had a Gluten Free Pizza on the menu. It is a cheese and sauce pizza and the crust is nice and crispy. You can add additional toppings as well if you like, however they seemed a little pricey. The service was great and from the comments from my co workers the calzone's are amazing as well. Really fast service too so it's good for a lunch time stop.
(4)Dario P.
We had the rudest waitress (the Italian woman) ever. I left her a $6 tip on a $38 check then took my kids to the car. My wife used the ladies room and was still inside. When she emerged, the waitress chastised her for not leaving 20%! Some nerve! We were loyal customers, but we're never coming back. Ciao!
(1)William M.
Already listed on Yelp...slight change in spelling. Check it out and you'll see a pattern. A couple of years ago I experienced absolutely obnoxious behavior by the owner. Ordered takeout, he gave me the wrong order, I got home, realized his error and took it back (which took up twenty minutes of my time with the back and forth). Got the right order and was heading back to my car. Then, he runs up to me in the parking lot to tell me that I still owe him the difference between the orders (a total of two dollars on a $30+ order!). When I suggested he might want to write off the difference for my inconvenience, he had the audacity to blame me for his error! And this is just one of a couple of bad experiences I've had there since the service is routinely curt and rude. It's a shame, because the food is not bad...actually good...which is why I gave them multiple chances. But, never again. Unfortunately, the owner knows nothing about customer relations.
(1)Albert L.
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia...and the Anthony's Delight. And, the gnocchi. And the Margherita. And, la mia professoresa d'Italiano dice che questo ristorante e ottimo! The exterior of this restaurant is unassuming. Put one you taste the fare, you know its the the real deal. I believe the owners are from Napoli. They take care to ensure the food is awesome. Enjoy!
(4)David C.
I came here as part of a wedding party rehearsal dinner, and it was a very nice venue for that person. I had the gnocchi, which was very good. The only drawback that I noticed was for a party of 50 some odd people, they only had three servers for the event, which made the service a little slow and confused.
(3)Joe S.
If you can avoid this place....do so! Ordered take out food, called for delivery but was told they don't do delivery, even though it is on their menu and on the letter board as you enter the restaurant to pick up the food. We ordered 5 entrees that came with salads and bread. Among the entrees was stuffed shells (which wasn't too bad), Calamari salad (which was charred and not chewable, tasted like burnt cardboard), and Shrimp Scampi (which was 5 shrimp with spaghetti in a white wine sauce that tasted like dish soap. $19 for 5 shrimp and spaghetti. It was absolutely the most DISGUSTING thing I have ever tasted. It took 2 whole trash bags to throw out all of the food because not much was eaten. 5 different people, 5 different entrees and not one person even half finished their meal. I wish I could have taken the food back in the trash bags to them. For an Italian restaurant, it was HORRIBLE! Just got a message from the owner. The following is the email word for word. I guess their food isn't the only horrible thing; so is their attitude towards accepting criticism and treating people. Way to go jerk! Email as follows: " i am the owner and i know its impossible to make everyone happy but one thing is if the food is not good and another thing and if you contest the price that is written on the menu. if you would like to taste the food your welcomed to come anytime because i can assure you it does not taste like soap maybe to you it does because you like junk food and do not know what real food tastes like. Thank you and have a good day" Wow! Yep, I like junk food which is why I ordered from your trashy establishment! I know that I can go 1 block south and eat at Pistachio Grille any night of the week and get a great meal! Good luck staying open with all the other horrible reviews you get! Did you send a nasty message to each person or just me? Have a nice day!
(1)Phil G.
Have been here many times. Food is generally good. Tonight one of the owners completely screwed up both my and my son's order. His pizza was made with the wrong ingredients. It literally took 1 hour for him to get his dinner. We were never offered either additional water, nor a complimentary dessert. I told the owner that as loyal customers, she should consider not charging us for the pizza. She went nuts! Grabbed the rest of the pizza off the table and told us never to come back!! That we were not welcome at the restaurant. Needless to say, I will NEVER go back and plan to tell my friends and neighbors in Maple Glen about the experience. She needs some instruction on how to treat customers! I have never been treated so incredibly rudely in a restaurant in my life.
(1)t s.
Awful. Service was horrible. Food was not great. What a disappointment. We were last there years ago and stopped going back because of the rude service. Last night friends suggested it and we thought, "Why not, it's been years." We went with an open mind. Menu looked great. My chicken was so non-tender and, in spite of having a sauce, so dry. It was like they just threw thick chicken on the grill (The dish usually is a scallopine-type, but not there, last night.) and dumped sauce on it. We were a party of 8. Most were eating when the waitress brought out boxes for take home... It was so annoying. The waitress was never around to refill drinks, either. I would stay as far away as possible from this place.
(1)Scott W.
Visited with a dozen coworkers for a retirement luncheon, the food was excellent everyone was very happy with their meals. The roasted vegetables and fresh baked bread make an excellent Friday night dinner.
(4)Jim R.
I always have such high hopes when I go here and I've been many times but, I have to be honest with my review. The food is always very good to excellent but the waitresses ( I believe they are related) are, at best, curt and on a bad day, genuinely rude and uncaring. It's such a disappointment because I really want to like this place. They do everything else right. I would go much more often if I didn't have to worry how I would be treated. I would NEVER bring an out of town guest here. The risk of embarrasment is too high. I only go maybe 3 times a year at this point (only when I have a major yen for their food) and will probably stop altogether if things don't change.
(2)RB B.
Very nice neighborhood byo. I've been a couple of times, and because it has been with a party of 8 both times, we sat in the party room to the left of the kitchen. Though it's a tad nicer than the other side, with tablecloths and cloth napkins, the other side looks and feels a little warmer. The pizza rolls they bring you to start are delicious! The pasta and eggplant dishes I have tried are very good. My dad is a New Yorker and says that their pizza is one of the best he's had in the area in a long time. Desserts are homemade and worth every bite. We've had the same waitress each time we've been...a native of Naples, she is very nice and always willing to recommend a good menu choice. Looking forward to going again.
(4)Linda M.
So my husband and I decide to go to La Vita e' Bella tonight with our restaurant.com certificate. Mind you this is the place we chose to have the rehearsal dinner for our wedding. After we met all the requirements of the certificate, they refused it for no reason. We will not be going back. Very poor business....they did not seem to care...even when we called them after and told them rest.com said they were contractually obligated to honor it. What a bummer!
(1)Ed R.
Top notch neighborhood byob, better than most in the Horsham-Maple Glen-Ambler area. Best chicken and veal parm I've had; brick oven pizzas excellent also. Everything reasonably priced.
(4)Jen L.
A nice Italian BYOB, but nothing to write home about either. One of those places that left me rather ambivalent about wanting to return. Decor: Booths had tables made of black marble (very pretty). The walls were painted to look like sandstone with murals of various bay (Venice maybe?) scenes. There was a half wall separating the two dining rooms which was lined with various bottles and plants. The lighting was rather bright as well. All in all the decor was rather busy and somewhat cluttered. I ordered the tortoloni de rosa. Tortoloni is larger versions of tortellini. It was served in a tasty pink cream sauce with ham, peas, and mushrooms. I loved the pink cream sauce. The Tortoloni was nothing to write home about. My MMM (Main Man Muncher) had his usual, Chicken Parm. The breading easily came off the chicken when he cut it and the red sauce that it came with was rather watery, but still had a nice flavor. Entrees came with bread, mini slices of tomato pie which had a nice fresh basil and garlic flavor, and a salad with the house dressing. The house dressing was some type of vinaigrette that I couldn't identify (balsamic maybe?) with some chunky red things in it. Either tomatoes, or red peppers. Not a huge fan of eating something I can't identify. All in all, a place that I would return to if someone suggested to go there or if I was driving by, but it wasn't memorable enough to make me want to return soon.
(3)Dan B.
My family and I went to La Vita E Bella for dinner. The service was slow. The waitress did not seem to care about providing good service. She barely made eye contact, did not offer to refill waters and was hard to find when you needed her. Food was not that good either. Very disappointing.
(1)Don G.
This is one of those out of the way places you'd never know existed except by sheer luck. I was lucky to have found it because the food is excellent. I have had the seafood pasta dish and it was the best I ever had. Their pizza is to die for. The only reason this is getting 3 instead of 4 stars is the staff and owner. I got the feeling that I was annoying the wait staff when asking for something. The owner has that I don't care if you eat here or not air about him. They do takeout which is what I do now as opposed to dealing with the staff issues.
(3)stefani h.
Good, solid, family-style Italian. Nice antipasto selection. Good selection and everything is fresh. Service is spotty. Good value, bring your own wine.
(3)Jason R.
High quality, authentic Italian food, and great pizza too. Very friendly owners. Been going here for years, surprised it wasn't on Yelp yet.
(5)Lauren K.
I absolutely LOVE the penne a la vodka. My boyfriend usually gets the pizzas (very good!) or sometime the gnocchi. It's BYOB and has very tasty desserts. The staff is friendly and they took our restaurant.com coupon w/o issue.
(3)Lois R.
This place has become our family favorite for Italian. We eat here several times a year, and the food and service are always very good. The specialties of the day are excellent, and I go with one of them about half the time, otherwise I almost always have the ravioli aurora. My younger son alternates between pizza and fettucine alfredo. When his brother is home, he always gets the margarete pizza. And my husband usually orders one of the specials. All the entrees come with house salad, with Italian dressing on the side, but they also have a creamy Italian.
(4)Siobhann H.
Took my dad here for his birthday. First time we were here since the new owners took over. I ordered the Romantica appetizer. It was delicious! The eggplant was so good! Loved the combination of roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella with basil. Yum!! I then had the shrimp salad it was good. My dad had mussels and pasta. He liked it! The owner is sweet and the waiter was very attentive and kind. They even gave us a glass of wine and brought over desert for my dad's birthday. Tiramisu yum!! We'll be back to taste more goodies on the menu.
(4)W D.
Just discovered this place is under new management. Pizza was not as good as made by previous owners. Crust was terrible, seemed like it was frozen/pre made. French fries were full of grease. Miss the old owners. Won't be going back.
(1)Twin's Daddy V.
Had the Italiano calzone. It was excellent!! Warm cozy place that's in slightly rundown small strip of stores.
(4)Greg G.
The bread, the pasta, and stuff, I guess, I don't know. ITS NICE. It's saucey. Good people. We like that. What's pimpin'? What's poppin'. That's it, I guess. It was all good. -- Nate Dog (is in da house)
(5)Bruce B.
THEY ARE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT AS OF JUNE - They need some time to get their act together. We had been going here for ages and it was an awesome local BYOB. Went there last sunday and nothing was the same. It was the waitress' first day and she said they are keeping the food the same and everything the same. NOT YET! French fries were dripping in grease, bread on hoagie was different, the eggplant parmigiana was pretty good which was the saving grace for two stars, but otherwise no reason to go there. We are bummed by this turn of events, but such is life. We won't be back soon, maybe in a few months. Miss the old owners already.
(2)Kristina C.
They have a Gluten Free Pizza! This was a great little place, came with some co workers and to my surprise they had a Gluten Free Pizza on the menu. It is a cheese and sauce pizza and the crust is nice and crispy. You can add additional toppings as well if you like, however they seemed a little pricey. The service was great and from the comments from my co workers the calzone's are amazing as well. Really fast service too so it's good for a lunch time stop.
(4)Dario P.
We had the rudest waitress (the Italian woman) ever. I left her a $6 tip on a $38 check then took my kids to the car. My wife used the ladies room and was still inside. When she emerged, the waitress chastised her for not leaving 20%! Some nerve! We were loyal customers, but we're never coming back. Ciao!
(1)William M.
Already listed on Yelp...slight change in spelling. Check it out and you'll see a pattern. A couple of years ago I experienced absolutely obnoxious behavior by the owner. Ordered takeout, he gave me the wrong order, I got home, realized his error and took it back (which took up twenty minutes of my time with the back and forth). Got the right order and was heading back to my car. Then, he runs up to me in the parking lot to tell me that I still owe him the difference between the orders (a total of two dollars on a $30+ order!). When I suggested he might want to write off the difference for my inconvenience, he had the audacity to blame me for his error! And this is just one of a couple of bad experiences I've had there since the service is routinely curt and rude. It's a shame, because the food is not bad...actually good...which is why I gave them multiple chances. But, never again. Unfortunately, the owner knows nothing about customer relations.
(1)Albert L.
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia...and the Anthony's Delight. And, the gnocchi. And the Margherita. And, la mia professoresa d'Italiano dice che questo ristorante e ottimo! The exterior of this restaurant is unassuming. Put one you taste the fare, you know its the the real deal. I believe the owners are from Napoli. They take care to ensure the food is awesome. Enjoy!
(4)David C.
I came here as part of a wedding party rehearsal dinner, and it was a very nice venue for that person. I had the gnocchi, which was very good. The only drawback that I noticed was for a party of 50 some odd people, they only had three servers for the event, which made the service a little slow and confused.
(3)Scott W.
Visited with a dozen coworkers for a retirement luncheon, the food was excellent everyone was very happy with their meals. The roasted vegetables and fresh baked bread make an excellent Friday night dinner.
(4)Jim R.
I always have such high hopes when I go here and I've been many times but, I have to be honest with my review. The food is always very good to excellent but the waitresses ( I believe they are related) are, at best, curt and on a bad day, genuinely rude and uncaring. It's such a disappointment because I really want to like this place. They do everything else right. I would go much more often if I didn't have to worry how I would be treated. I would NEVER bring an out of town guest here. The risk of embarrasment is too high. I only go maybe 3 times a year at this point (only when I have a major yen for their food) and will probably stop altogether if things don't change.
(2)Joe S.
If you can avoid this place....do so! Ordered take out food, called for delivery but was told they don't do delivery, even though it is on their menu and on the letter board as you enter the restaurant to pick up the food. We ordered 5 entrees that came with salads and bread. Among the entrees was stuffed shells (which wasn't too bad), Calamari salad (which was charred and not chewable, tasted like burnt cardboard), and Shrimp Scampi (which was 5 shrimp with spaghetti in a white wine sauce that tasted like dish soap. $19 for 5 shrimp and spaghetti. It was absolutely the most DISGUSTING thing I have ever tasted. It took 2 whole trash bags to throw out all of the food because not much was eaten. 5 different people, 5 different entrees and not one person even half finished their meal. I wish I could have taken the food back in the trash bags to them. For an Italian restaurant, it was HORRIBLE! Just got a message from the owner. The following is the email word for word. I guess their food isn't the only horrible thing; so is their attitude towards accepting criticism and treating people. Way to go jerk! Email as follows: " i am the owner and i know its impossible to make everyone happy but one thing is if the food is not good and another thing and if you contest the price that is written on the menu. if you would like to taste the food your welcomed to come anytime because i can assure you it does not taste like soap maybe to you it does because you like junk food and do not know what real food tastes like. Thank you and have a good day" Wow! Yep, I like junk food which is why I ordered from your trashy establishment! I know that I can go 1 block south and eat at Pistachio Grille any night of the week and get a great meal! Good luck staying open with all the other horrible reviews you get! Did you send a nasty message to each person or just me? Have a nice day!
(1)Lois R.
This place has become our family favorite for Italian. We eat here several times a year, and the food and service are always very good. The specialties of the day are excellent, and I go with one of them about half the time, otherwise I almost always have the ravioli aurora. My younger son alternates between pizza and fettucine alfredo. When his brother is home, he always gets the margarete pizza. And my husband usually orders one of the specials. All the entrees come with house salad, with Italian dressing on the side, but they also have a creamy Italian.
(4)Phil G.
Have been here many times. Food is generally good. Tonight one of the owners completely screwed up both my and my son's order. His pizza was made with the wrong ingredients. It literally took 1 hour for him to get his dinner. We were never offered either additional water, nor a complimentary dessert. I told the owner that as loyal customers, she should consider not charging us for the pizza. She went nuts! Grabbed the rest of the pizza off the table and told us never to come back!! That we were not welcome at the restaurant. Needless to say, I will NEVER go back and plan to tell my friends and neighbors in Maple Glen about the experience. She needs some instruction on how to treat customers! I have never been treated so incredibly rudely in a restaurant in my life.
(1)t s.
Awful. Service was horrible. Food was not great. What a disappointment. We were last there years ago and stopped going back because of the rude service. Last night friends suggested it and we thought, "Why not, it's been years." We went with an open mind. Menu looked great. My chicken was so non-tender and, in spite of having a sauce, so dry. It was like they just threw thick chicken on the grill (The dish usually is a scallopine-type, but not there, last night.) and dumped sauce on it. We were a party of 8. Most were eating when the waitress brought out boxes for take home... It was so annoying. The waitress was never around to refill drinks, either. I would stay as far away as possible from this place.
(1)RB B.
Very nice neighborhood byo. I've been a couple of times, and because it has been with a party of 8 both times, we sat in the party room to the left of the kitchen. Though it's a tad nicer than the other side, with tablecloths and cloth napkins, the other side looks and feels a little warmer. The pizza rolls they bring you to start are delicious! The pasta and eggplant dishes I have tried are very good. My dad is a New Yorker and says that their pizza is one of the best he's had in the area in a long time. Desserts are homemade and worth every bite. We've had the same waitress each time we've been...a native of Naples, she is very nice and always willing to recommend a good menu choice. Looking forward to going again.
(4)Linda M.
So my husband and I decide to go to La Vita e' Bella tonight with our restaurant.com certificate. Mind you this is the place we chose to have the rehearsal dinner for our wedding. After we met all the requirements of the certificate, they refused it for no reason. We will not be going back. Very poor business....they did not seem to care...even when we called them after and told them rest.com said they were contractually obligated to honor it. What a bummer!
(1)Ed R.
Top notch neighborhood byob, better than most in the Horsham-Maple Glen-Ambler area. Best chicken and veal parm I've had; brick oven pizzas excellent also. Everything reasonably priced.
(4)Jen L.
A nice Italian BYOB, but nothing to write home about either. One of those places that left me rather ambivalent about wanting to return. Decor: Booths had tables made of black marble (very pretty). The walls were painted to look like sandstone with murals of various bay (Venice maybe?) scenes. There was a half wall separating the two dining rooms which was lined with various bottles and plants. The lighting was rather bright as well. All in all the decor was rather busy and somewhat cluttered. I ordered the tortoloni de rosa. Tortoloni is larger versions of tortellini. It was served in a tasty pink cream sauce with ham, peas, and mushrooms. I loved the pink cream sauce. The Tortoloni was nothing to write home about. My MMM (Main Man Muncher) had his usual, Chicken Parm. The breading easily came off the chicken when he cut it and the red sauce that it came with was rather watery, but still had a nice flavor. Entrees came with bread, mini slices of tomato pie which had a nice fresh basil and garlic flavor, and a salad with the house dressing. The house dressing was some type of vinaigrette that I couldn't identify (balsamic maybe?) with some chunky red things in it. Either tomatoes, or red peppers. Not a huge fan of eating something I can't identify. All in all, a place that I would return to if someone suggested to go there or if I was driving by, but it wasn't memorable enough to make me want to return soon.
(3)Dan B.
My family and I went to La Vita E Bella for dinner. The service was slow. The waitress did not seem to care about providing good service. She barely made eye contact, did not offer to refill waters and was hard to find when you needed her. Food was not that good either. Very disappointing.
(1)Don G.
This is one of those out of the way places you'd never know existed except by sheer luck. I was lucky to have found it because the food is excellent. I have had the seafood pasta dish and it was the best I ever had. Their pizza is to die for. The only reason this is getting 3 instead of 4 stars is the staff and owner. I got the feeling that I was annoying the wait staff when asking for something. The owner has that I don't care if you eat here or not air about him. They do takeout which is what I do now as opposed to dealing with the staff issues.
(3)stefani h.
Good, solid, family-style Italian. Nice antipasto selection. Good selection and everything is fresh. Service is spotty. Good value, bring your own wine.
(3)Jason R.
High quality, authentic Italian food, and great pizza too. Very friendly owners. Been going here for years, surprised it wasn't on Yelp yet.
(5)Lauren K.
I absolutely LOVE the penne a la vodka. My boyfriend usually gets the pizzas (very good!) or sometime the gnocchi. It's BYOB and has very tasty desserts. The staff is friendly and they took our restaurant.com coupon w/o issue.
(3)