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PAWTUCKET — Bella Pasta Ristorante might be one of Rhode Island's best-kept secrets.
Maybe it's because owners Edwin Mejia and Tony Martinez didn't stick it in the middle of Federal Hill or along Cranston's Restaurant Row in Knightsville. Maybe it's because it's tucked away in a residential neighborhood a couple of blocks off bustling Newport Avenue in Pawtucket.
But then a lot of people MUST know about Bella Pasta and the kitchen talents of Mejia and Martinez, as it has been serving customers on Benefit Street for the past five years. And when we arrived at 8:30 on a recent midweek evening there were still diners at several of the tables that are spread out in the L-shaped dining room.
Bella Pasta is a cozy, unpretentious place that seats 50, with black-padded metal chairs, glass tops over white tablecloths and knotty-pine wainscoting all around the room. Familiar Italian favorites sung by the likes of Dean Martin and Louis Prima are kept at a low volume in the background. The service is prompt and cordial, and the staff is knowledgeable about ingredients.
It's a BYOB place, something that keeps dining prices down during these trying times. There's a $1.50 per person corking fee, no matter how many bottles are opened, said manager Stephen Hay. We just had glasses of water from appetizers to desserts and the glasses were promptly filled without having to ask, always a good sign that the staff is on its toes. (Soda, coffee and tea are also available.)
We were impressed with the welcoming dish of olive oil dipping sauce, which was surprisingly warm, for the very good two kinds of crusty Italian bread that accompanied it. The dipping sauce had been tarted up with lots of garlic, oregano, basil and rosemary and was good enough to be an appetizer all by itself.
We'd heard rave reviews about the fried calamari appetizer ($9.99) with banana pepper rings sautéed with garlic and olive oil in a spicy lemon wine sauce, but we decided to go for things one doesn't often find on every menu. We couldn't pass up the Crostini di Polenta ($8.99), polenta being a cornmeal staple of many Italian homes, but here topped with lobster meat, melted mozzarella and chunks of plum tomato. We were surprised at the large portion of good-sized pieces of lobster meat that were scattered on top of the polenta, the cornmeal having been cooked in chicken stock until it turned into firm little cakes. The dish was served in a puddle of garlic wine sauce that was mildly unobtrusive — just like the polenta itself — allowing the delicate flavors of the lobster, mozzarella and tomatoes to dominate. Nevertheless, when some of the bread was dipped into the sauce at the end, the taste was impressive, even better than the dipping sauce itself.
The Portobello mushroom caps ($8.99) had all the colors of Italy's flag on top, with green spinach, slices of red roasted peppers and creamy white melted mozzarella vying for attention. It was a delicious blend of colors and flavors, topped with a wonderfully fragrant and creamy lemon butter wine sauce that enhanced the ingredients and gave a boost to the mushrooms themselves.
There's a choice of soup or a garden salad with the dinners. The chicken and vegetable soup had a good variety of veggies in a light tomato broth with nice chunks of chicken throughout. The clam chowder was light yet creamy with lots of clams, square-cut potatoes and celery bits with a very good seafood flavor.
For entrées, the Piatto Zingerella ($21.95) had tender sea scallops, three jumbo shrimp and a generous serving of lobster meat sautéed with slices of mushrooms and roasted red pepper in a garlic wine sauce over fettuccine. It was a light and creamy sauce that allowed the seafood to stand out on its own, the only strident chord struck by the red peppers in the dish … but not a discordant chord at all.
The Pollo alla Bella ($15.99) was a wonderfully hearty dish, with a thick, rich marinara sauce finished with a touch of sherry and tossed with fettuccine. There were big chunks of fork-tender chicken throughout, as well as slightly crunchy pieces of fried eggplant, cubes of mozzarella and many slices of sun-dried tomatoes that added a wonderfully tart-tangy touch.
We were told by Mike, our efficient waiter, that none of the desserts were homemade, even though the legend "HMDE Dessert" appeared on the credit card printout. It was a collection of familiar items when he brought around the dessert tray, including a decadent-looking double chocolate cake and a cheesecake. The Lava Cake ($5.50), dense chocolate cake surrounding a fudgy interior was drizzled with a dark, rich chocolate sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Competing for attention was my Fried Banana ($5.50), sort of like a large, lightly fried tubular wrapper stuffed with warm, mashed banana. There were spurts of whipped cream on the open end of the cannoli-style dessert that almost looked like popcorn, a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, all drizzled with butterscotch sauce. It was something I'd order again without hesitation and was something that would satisfy any sweet tooth … and then some. Bella Pasta Ristorante, 514 Benefit St., Pawtucket. (401) 722-6297; bellapastaristorante.com. Casual. Wheelchair accessible through a side door. Child seats. Reservations Tuesday-Thursday and Sundays for 6 or more. AE, MC, V, DIS. Open noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; noon to 10 p.m. Friday; 4-10 p.m. Saturday; and 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday. Early Bird menu 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday. Appetizers $7.99 to $11.99. Entrees $13.99 to $22.99. BYOB, $1.50 per person corking fee. Dinner for two at Bella Pasta Ristorante might look something like this: Crostini di Polenta … $8.99 Piatto Zingerella … $21.95 Pollo alla Bella … $15.99 Fried bananas … $5.50 Total food and drink … $52.43 Tax … $4.19 Tip … $11.00 Total bill … $67.62
