Bella Italia Plymouth, Barbican Leisure Park in Plymouth

Parking is free and ample, i have used this restaurant on many occasions and always found it satisfactory, however my last visit will be my the last time i go there, front of house was a scruffy unkept man who looked liked he slept in his clothes, the food was below average, and the place was under staffed, the restaurant itself is showing its age and the ambience is very poor.

Myself, my wife, son and granddaughter went to the restaurant located at Barbican leisure centre. In Plymouth. We were there for Mother’s Day meal. We had the fixed 3 course menu. What a gorgeous meal we had. Best meal we have had whilst eating out in a long time. Generous portions. Drinks were overly expensive though but great Italian beer. Would we eat there again ? Yes we would ! And thank you to the lovely young lady that looked after us. Polite and friendly. Looked after us well.

The place is amazing the staff are so friendly and the food is brilliant. Never had a bad meal here would highly recommend this place. Especially Paul the manager xx

This was an absolutely delicious meal for me and my partner and even though we ordered on uber eats it was just like we were actually sitting in your restaurant and now we have just finished our food, I had spaghetti and meatballs with doh balls and garlic tear and share and my partner had spaghetti bolognese and we had Tiramisu for desert. We will definitely be coming to your restaurant next time. As we think your absolutely brilliant :)

Booked a table for 6.30, we arrived at 10 past due to the film we went to see finishing earlier. Was told we’d have to wait until half past to order food but we could be seated and order a drink. Which is fine. Waited until 6.50 for a beer and glass of wine, then waited another 15 minutes for them to come back and take the food order. I understand you don’t want to overwhelm the kitchen but it wasn’t that busy at all. Dip brought 10 mins after the pizza, didn’t ask if we’d like Parmesan on the pasta. Average food, edible but not seasoned carbonara. Probably won’t bother again.

visited your restaurant Bella Italia in Plymouth tonight and all I can say is that I am absolutely appalled by the customer service and wait times. The restaurant was not that busy or full but the staff just do not understand how to run the business. When we entered we were greeted by an unfriendly member of staff who rudely told us that our booked table was not ready, which was fine so we waited. We were finally sat down and ordered drinks these arrived and we placed our starter and main orders. 30 minutes go by and a staff member asks if we would like more drinks we decline as we are still waiting for our starters. During this time a staff member is offering free drinks (lemon cello) to upset customers and the manager is just hiding behind the bar, obviously this is not good enough seems as the few tables that were in the restaurant were all waiting for something. An hour then goes by of us just waiting and we finally decide to cancel the order and leave, when we ask to cancel the kitchen hadn’t even started on the ticket an hour after we had placed it, then as we are talking to the member of staff about cancelling she says that’s £8 to pay for the drinks. The disrespect to ask us to pay for our drinks when we have been waiting over an hour at this point for food that hadn’t even been started. We had our booking for 8:30 and we left the restaurant at 9:45. The fact that this could happen especially on Valentine’s Day is ridiculous and absolutely ruined our evening. I won’t be returning to this restaurant and I suggest you look into how this branch is being run because on multiple occasions the service has not been good in this location, however this evening was the final straw.

We came here a year ago and was not impressed, but the place has been turned around. The staff were fantastic and the food was out quick and delicious. Can't fault any part of our experience.

Started really well, Starter was very nice,all went down hill from there. After waiting an hour for our main meal🤔(it was not very busy ) daughter ordered seafood risotto ,I'm sure it was packet microwave rice with some mussels scattered over the top ,it was uneatable, so dry,husband has carbonara,looked like it had been sat under the light for ages,I had chicken caesar salad (hunt the chicken) service was good ,chef not good🤔.

This spot is great for some lovely pizza and amazing deal for kids a quid for a kids meal!! Absolutely amazing!!! Well done keep up the work! Spaghetti is hanging

My meal started well, a nice glass of white wine anda lovely bruschetta with mozzarella, basil and fresh tomato- really light and fresh. But my husband had olives, they were dry and tasteless. The restaurant then got quite busy and not enough staff. My husband had ordered the Carbonara, it looked nice but not much pancetta in it and then fairly tasteless, and needed more seasoning. I had the sea bass dish, it was so dry as an overall dish, no sauce at all, just a piece of fish on top of potatoes, beans, onion and some other veg. I enjoyed the bits of onion as it actually gave it some flavour. We then ordered desserts, the tiramisu was very good so we shared it, as the passion fruit and raspberry semifreddo wasn't great either. I usually read reviews before I go places but as we had Tesco vouchers I didn't, now wishing I had and gone to pizza express instead.

Honestly. The pizza looked no different to a frozen supermarket version, tasted like it also. The bruschetta starter would have been good if I had some bruschetta with my tomatoes. All this for £40. Honestly, will never go to another Bella italia. I can’t believe how poor it really was.

After seeing some bad reviews we were apprehensive but the food and service were amazing . Absolutely lovely staff , food was quick and tasty . Cannot fault

This has got to be the worse meal we have ever had it was disgusting 3hrs in total waiting the service is very poor 1 chef doing everything 2 waitresses just so poor how is this place still open food tasteless, it was cold just awful I definitely will not be returning I stood my ground and paid for our drinks but refused to pay for food we could not eat way over priced for absolute rubbish. Avoid at all cost terrible place

Awful. Chef having to shout to get waitresses to take food. Some food left there for ages. 3 hours to have 2 courses. Manager fixed a flickering light by placing a bin bag over it - still being on. Won't return

Ridiculously long wait for food. We waited an hour for our main course. There were 7 of us and 2 meals came out with a long wait then 1 meal, then I was handed my meal which was a salad with chicken (except they forgot to add chicken) the salad was basically a huge pile of lettuce which I ended up leaving as it tasted awful. Several of our meals were cold. Apparently they are low on staff as they are waiting for business to pick up but if they carry on like this then I can’t see it improving. I won’t be returning to Bella Italia and advise others not to bother. Yuk!

Really poor overall. Service was fine but the starters stayed on the hot plate for 10 minutes. They nachos ravioli was odd and a step too far. The garlic lasagne pizza was soggy and average.

I booked a few weeks ago for my wife's birthday. On arrival we were told to expect a wait for food. Not the best welcome. We ordered drinks and one was out of stock...ok no problem. Main course was ordered. 2 of us had the...

The food was abismal. Under seasoned pasta dishes, sauces from a jar, overcooked chicken, and squash risotto that came out as a seafood risotto (with seafood allergies at the table!) The wait staff tried to make it better and went back to get a veggie...

Late getting my order wrong, they gave me a Gamberoni with mixed sea food in a cream source with the garlic bread with cheese.. I told them they got the order wrong, as said I can't have cream source as I'm lactose intolerant... The second...

Waited 45 mins for kids food which looked and tasted like it had been microwaved. Adult food was spare ribs which one portion was cold! After asking for cutlery and none spearing for over 5 mins we went and helped ourselves. Very disappointing

This restaurant reinforced my opinion that if you want an enjoyable meal, avoid franchises like this. The service is appallingly slow and the food is average. The waiting staff are unaware of items on the menu that are unavailable. One of our party ordered sea...

We went to Bella Italia Plymouth for a family evening meal during the half term. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Portions were great and it was delicious. Food came out really quickly. We return regularly because the staff are so welcoming and always recognise...

Booked for a party of 7 for our sons 16th birthday and have to say we were really disappointed. Even thought it wasn't very busy, service was so slow it took 20 mins to get drinks. We ordered based on what we were told was...

Booked a table for 5.15pm, in time for a 6.30pm at Vue next door. On arrival, we were casually told there would be an hour's wait for food! When we asked why, we were told that the chefs were behind, but there was barely anyone...

Food was nice but the service was alot to be desired. Felt so sorry for chef as could see the dishes piling up on the pass but no one was bothering to take them out to the customers. Saw our starter sitting there for over...

From the minute we got there we were treated very well. The staff were attentive and the portions were a good size with good quality ingredients. We used a blue light discount. Nothing was too much trouble. Looking forward to returning.

Arrived around 6:30. Couldn't use vouchers apparently but the set meals were pointed out as great value. Ordering wasn't too bad. There was no lasagne left or carbonara at this point, limiting the options on the set meal. Encouraged to order all 3 courses. I...

Booked our table for 8:00 and were seated and served promptly by a younger lady, she seemed rather new but was extremely kind and attentive to our table. When presented with food choices not being available she was very helpful in giving other suggestions and...

Great food and lovely staff. Gabbie looked after us very well. Regularly come here and am never disappointed.

Great food. Great service. Would happily return. Service was quick and met with a smile. Banter is always a good bonus too

Fawlty Towers would probably have been a better choice! We booked for a special occasion - our daughters graduation. Some of our party had travelled 250 miles for the dinner. On arrival we were greeted and shown to a table (which had a defect meaning...

We enjoyed our meal, staff were friendly and would help with anything you needed, our server Sophie was new to the job but you would not of known.

I am extremely disappointed with my experience today. To begin with, we were seated at our table and it took the servers 15 minutes before our drinks order was taken. It took about 20 minutes for our drinks to even arrive and our starters arrived...

Such good food and even better service, The desserts are to die for! I will definitely be coming here again!

Great experience was warned pre hand there may be a bit of a wait on food but it was all done very quickly with great staff on a busy Friday. Highly recommend, the staff truly make the place worth trying if you haven’t already

Busy, only one staff member but was coping well, fun friendly, enjoyable experience! Will go again and recommend to friends.

Lovely meal, nice, hot and tasty. Good service by Holly, very attentative with a smile, what a lovely change. Kindly give 25% discount for service and blue light card, thank you

Great place to eat. We were served by Kerry who was an absolute pleasure. Catered to everything we needed like it was no problem at all. Would highly recommend, even if its just meet Kerry!

All our fizzy drinks arrived flat. When I told the waitress she argued that she’d been drinking soda water all day and it was fine. Eventually she said I could speak to the manager who agreed to redo the drinks, they were marginally better 2nd...

Very good service from our waitress Holly excellent food, clean table woild definitely visit again.

This used to be such a lovely restaurant to visit. Awful experience today - after visiting regularly for the past 8 years we won't be returning.

Don’t eat here whatever you do , order was all wrong , waitress forgot to put items down so wrong food turned up , asked to speak to manager , he had gone to the shops apparently? Half the food turned up too late and...

Went to celebrate my birthday, waited an hour before waitress came to our table. Food was medioca Waitress didn't really look like she wanted to be there. Worst experience ever. Will never go back.

To be honest only went to off load some tescos vouchers and no way would you spend real hard earned money on sub standard chain food. The manager was polite enough but you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Don't think...

We arrived at 06.45 for an 18th birthday meal. We were given a menu before being seated with 20 meals crossed through in black marker as unavailable. We asked if there were any gluten free meals and were told there was chicken burger and cheese...

Stopped in for lunch we were informed it was a new menu as soon as we sat down. Drinks order was taken we checked out the new menu. My husband ordered the Seafood Risotto and I ordered the chicken on a bed of spinach. I...

Gosh if you can't get a salad right why are you even there ?? Myself and my son had the chicken caeser salad which was half a bowl of green mush , stale croutons and dried up rubbery chicken. If my grandson hasn't been there...

I came to visit with my husband for lunch and we were served by a waitress who was very helpful, she apologised for not having something on the menu so she helped me choose something else due to my dietary requirements. The new risotto is...

Friendly staff very happy smiley and welcoming, lovely food served quick and hot, will return again soon! :)

Lovely waitress, massively understaffed both waiter and kitchen. Wait was far too long, food was below average. Staff were lovely but would be surprised if this place is still there within the next couple of years.

Bit of a s#!t sandwich tbf, arrived pre cinema and welcomed by some very friendly staff, a happy waitress with a good grasp of the menu and promptly served drinks. Ordered a pasta, a pizza and chicken dish all of which failed to overwhelm. Chicken...

Jas was lovely as well as all of the staff, will be coming back again for sure. food was fantastic ❤️

Really great service by Freya/Bex! I had the prawns to start and pepperoni pizza for main which was very tasty.

Nice atmosphere and food. Good service by Freya. I would recommend eating here to friends and family.

Can't even review the food as we were told to go away and come back in 45 minutes even though we had made a booking. Seeing as there's nowhere close by to go and have a drink we decided to go and get fish and...

Food arrived quickly and was excellent quality. Melanie, a waitress, was extremely helpful and friendly, would recommend

Lovely meal. made my little boy a lovely milkshake even though it wasn’t on the menu (thanks Holly!)

Fantastic service from Holly. Food was delicious. Would definitely visit again. First time coming to this Bella Italia.

Awful service and food! I’ve never written a review before but really feel the need to on this occasion. There were many issues. Issue 1: I requested a quiet table on my online booking due to my daughter having Autism and preferring quieter areas. The...

Really tasty food (and surprisingly big portions), friendly service and great value. The meat feast pizza is tastier, cheaper and more filling than you would get elsewhere. Kids menu is a real winner for value for money (and quality). Family friendly and will come again.

A lovely lunch, my piccante pizza was fantastic as was the bruschetta stater. The staff were friendly and in particular our waitress Beth was super smiley and made us feel incredibly welcome. Would definitely recommend

I've been a coeliac for well over 30 years and have had some very indifferent experiences from eateries. Bella Italia at the Barbican Leisure Park has the distinction of being easily the best experience I've every had From first entering the restaurant to finishing my...

Dined on my 1s, ordered a spag bol with Dough balls, both of which were the best I've had in the area (Barbican Leisure Park) I was served by Madii, who made me feel very welcome and had everything you want in front of house...

Absolutely awful experience. Not one to complain but felt the need to write a review based on the service received. Issue 1: table wasn’t ready after arriving on time. Issue 2: took our order and never passed it on to the kitchen, meaning that after...

I don't remember ever writing a bad review for a restaurant so this doesn't sit right with me but I am so disapointed in the service we recieved. Last night myself, my Partner, my sister, her partner and their 2 children went to Bella. We...

Awful evening last night booked a table and took them ages to seat us and took them 20 mins to order our drinks and an even longer time to serve the drinks starters mains…my partners main burger was under cooked red raw and chewy and...

I ate here with my partner on Saturday night. The restaurant was very busy with only a few members of staff on duty. Melissa was extremely hard working and was able to manage the queues of expectant diners well despite clearly overseeing other aspects of...

Myself and my husband went in on Saturday night and even though it was mad busy we were looked after and the food was fab! Service was at attentive without being too much and we were never without a drink

Came in yesterday for a booked meal of 15. Previously booked for 7:15, unfortunately didn’t end up getting seated till around 7:30 as they didn’t have the table available at the time. The service was wonderful, considering there was only two floor staff (one making...

A family group of 8 of us enjoyed a really good meal at Bella Italia, made even more special due to a special low price as it was my birthday. Our waiter, Jethro, was charming - nothing was too much trouble, and the food was...

Yummy food and really lovely staff! Jethro made sure we’d had a lovely evening! thank you very much!

Bethel is a super host - he has a ready sense of humour and nothing was too much trouble! Thank you Jethro for making our double birthday meal out so lovely.

Dropped in for a drink before our film started and was warmly greeted by the team. While drinks were a bit pricey (£9.49 for a single measure G&T?!) the atmostsphere was calm and relaxed and chatting to Jethrow and Beth was an absolute pleasure. Great...

Had a lovely family meal out for my mothers birthday jethro was our waiter and his service was outstanding, very friendly and accommodating. Great atmosphere and lovely food 10/10

We visited Bella Italia before our cinema trip after being turned away from every other restaurant due to lack of staff, bank holiday, and lack of food deliveries. Crazy excuses! We were very warmly welcomed into Bella Italia from the rain by Manager Tyler and...

Lovely meal served by jethro who was really nice he explained vegan burgers not available but was kind and helpful Nice food lovely service didn’t feel rushed was nice and relaxing

We came in for dinner and there were only 3 front of house staff working. Although they were short staffed they were extremely professional, kind, hard working and catered too our needs. Service was great, they were polite and kind and just over all really...

Food was brilliant but the hosting was exceptional! Holly was really attentive & friendly, she made our night and Jade was great too! Will definitely visit again soon 😊

Great service lovely food and well looked after by Tyler and the staff.Food was very tasty. Definately recommend will be returning soon.

Young lady with red hair and glasses was amazing! great service, fast and the food hit all the right spots, compliments to the kitchen! will be back!

Despite the restaurant being relatively quiet, service was very slow. It took well over an hour before we got our starter. I understand we were a large group, but it shouldn't take this long and there was no communication from staff. When food did arrive,...

Jethro was really helpful all evening, great service despite a busy night for him. Food was also nice

Great service from Jethro last night. Busy restaurant, but we weren't kept hanging around. Food was really good and plenty of it. Made to feel welcome from the moment we arrived.

Jethro amazing service very polite and friendly despite only being 2 of us. Had a really nice time..

After a long journey from London my girlfriend deserved a good meal and splendid evening. Criteria which our waiter Jethro ensured. He made sure we were fed and watered swiftly and facilitated a delightful evening. 10/10, would Bella again.

Went to the restaurant with other mothers and their kids. Jethro the waiter couldn’t have been more amazing, looked after the table really well. Friendly and welcoming! Would definitely come back again! Oh and good food!

Visited the restaurant with friends and our children. We where served by Jethro and he was absolutely brilliant with the children friendly and welcoming to all. The food was delicious and served in good time. Wi definitely return.

Had a meal with friends and our children. Although it was busy and somewhat understaffed, Jethro went above and beyond to make sure all of us were well looked after. Rushed off their feet, all the staff kept a smile on their faces and worked...

I visited with my son in October. Joe, our server, was very friendly and accommodating to my son who has disabilities. The food came quickly and was delicious. Would definitely recommend, good service and good food.

Took my granddaughter to the cinema and went to Bella Italia for lunch. The meal was fine and very obliging staff. Went to pay the bill on leaving gave the girl cash to be told we can take your cash but cannot give you any...

Our carbonara was absolutely perfect and our server (Jethro) was so polite, funny and paitent. He is exactly what i expect for a server to be like. I’m definitely going to be eating here more often with either my girlfriend, friends and family, and i...

Brilliant service from Jethro (who wants us to say hi to his dad) and James, very friendly and kept us entertained throughout, food was fantastic and would definitely come again, thanks guys for all your hard work!

came in to be greeted by the lovely Jethro who was amazing and immediately acknowledged our requirements. service was quick, excellent food quality as well, lots of great gluten free options, along side vegan/veggie options as well. 10/10 will be going again some time soon....

Got there had waited for a very long time to get served. There were only two staff waiting on tables and tending to the bar. I asked them if they were short staffed and the waitress said “yes, that she was supposed to have finished...

For a chain restaurant I couldn’t fault it. Food was tasty and served hot but what absolutely made the night was our superb waiter…Jethro.Nothing was too much trouble and his interaction with the customers was brilliant.All in all a fantastic evening celebrating my grandsons birthday.

We had a great meal at Bella tonight for my birthday dinner! Jethro looked after us an his service was outstanding! Can’t wait to go back again

Great service from staff always with a smile and great quality food. Highly recommend this establishment. :)

Came in for dinner and drinks before going out. Was served by James and Jethro. Brilliant service. They were very welcoming and friendly towards us even though they were minutes before closing. Would highly recommend coming for a meal here.

Me my partner and our friend went for dinner and was served by a lovely waiter named Joe. He was beyond friendly and had the entire table smiling and laughing . He was the only floor staff as it was before rush hours and he...

To be honest the food was just OK but the service from Joseph was awesome so the 5 stars are for him. Lovely friendly chap & his superb service really made the experience great.