Bella Italia family breakfast feedback thread: find out how the MNers got on checking out the new menu! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

This is the thread for the MN families who were invited to go and check out the new breakfast menu at Bella Italia.

Bella Italia say "We're celebrating the first birthday of our fabulous new breakfast menu packed with yummy favourites like the fruity pancake stack and the gigante breakfast - so big it needs two plates! So here's your chance to join in the celebration, try our breakfast menu with your family let us know what you think!"

Reviewers - please share on this thread your responses to the following questions

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
How would you rate the food quality?
How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
What was the best part about your experience?
How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
And lastly, would you go again?

We'd also love you to add a review on your relevant MN local pages (find restaurant reviews under - On the High Street>Going Out>Restaurants)

Thanks - everyone who adds their feedback on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 voucher for Bella Italia

Good luck
MNHQ

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
The restaurant was very family friendly, they set out crayons for our toddler and while we waited for the food brought her a balloon. The restaurant was clean and the manager was quick to assure me that although the disabled toilet was out of order that I could still use the baby changing facilities in there if needed.
How would you rate the food quality?
The food was ok, not fantastic but nice enough, what I'd expect of a chain restaurant really.
How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
The selection was great, DP and I both had a big breakfast (he's a piggy so got me to order a big one so he could pinch the bits I couldn't finish) and I ordered the pancake with fruit for the toddler and an apple juice which arrived in a suitable cup with a straw. DP had a coffee and due to the lack of decaf tea (the only menu disappointment) I had a soft drink.

What was the best part about your experience?
The staff were great
How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
We found it very friendly and welcoming, not sure how much of that was due to knowing we were reviewers but t
Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
And lastly, would you go again?

Oops, toddler hit post before I'd finished!

The staff were very keen to please and very attentive.

We have been to Bella Italia for lunch before but didn't know they opened for breakfast

We probably would visit again though I think we would be more likely to go for lunch

We really enjoyed it though so thank you!

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
Very good. The activity packs were more exciting than the usual 3 wax crayons type thing you usually get. The service is quick, which you need with young dc. The menu isn't ground breaking but with dc you want something they'll recognise and eat. The prices seemed very reasonable too.

How would you rate the food quality?
This is hard to answer as dd was really impressed and asked if we could come back for lunch and has asked to go back for breakfast, lunch or dinner everyday since. She described her pancake as 'wonderful, simply wonderful' (she's going through a very 'Disney' stage right now!) Dh and I both had the veggie breakfast.We both enjoyed it and thought the potatoes were very good. The eggs tasted freshly done which was good. I loved that the baked beans came in a little pot so they didn't taint everything else but they were stone cold, as if they'd been tipped in directly from the tin which was disappointing.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
As a vegetarian family we are used to limited choice. When we arrived we were told that there wasn't any porridge available which wasn't a good start. Both dh and I liked the options available to us. Both dc were really happy to be getting chocolate for breakfast and so were not upset that it was their only choice. I would have liked to see more options for them even if it was just beans or egg on toast.

What was the best part about your experience?
The service.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The service we received was exceptional. We were seated quickly and the children given their activity packs straight away that they loved. We were given time to look at the menu and make our choices and while waiting for our food we were given balloons for the dc. Although we had only booked for a family of 4 I was asked if I would would like some chopped banana and strawberry for my 3rd dc who is only 7 months old. The staff were efficient and engaged with my dc which pleased them. Both dh and I said that although we have eaten better food elsewhere the staff really 'made' this experience for us to the extent that we would probably choose Bella Italia over the alternatives now.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
No.

And lastly, would you go again?
Definitely. DD is begging that we go. We had a very enjoyable family meal out, probably one of our best. I would love to recreate the experience.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
It was good. We got there at 12 so it was lunch for the kids (DS(3) and DD(1) but breakfast/second breakfast for us. The restaurant was fairly empty when we got there but filled up as we ate. The helium balloons on the table were much coveted and as we were in an old watermill the waterwheel and looking through the table into the river were nice distractions but we weren't offered any colouring/activity pack like previous respondents. We had a good size table for the 4 of us and there was space for the buggy.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
Selection for grownups was good although we both went for the gigante. Kids selection could have been better as it only had two choices - we opted for one of each of the booked breakfast and the pancake and they had half of each, each.

How would you rate the food quality?
The food was good - the bacon and sausages were nice and meaty, fried potatoes rather than preformed waffles. The scrambled eggs were a bit dry (had the feeling like they'd been sitting a bit too long) but came with herbs mixed in which was nice. It would have been better if our breakfasts had come on warmed plates however.

Kids portions were not particularly generous - our two finished the lot of theirs so I can't imagine it satisfying a lot of older ones.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Service was pretty good - definitely friendly and welcoming and our waitress interacted well with the kids. We were offered a choice of pineapple or apple juice as well as the menu'd orange juice for the kids. I declined tomatoes/beans with mine and was offered extra mushrooms (although DP declined the same as wasn't offered anything extra!). We did realise that we hadn't been asked whether kids would prefer sausage or bacon (as per the menu) and got bacon when they'd probably have preferred sausage and although we were asked if we wanted more drinks it wasn't presented as a free refill so I didn't take them up on it :-(

What was the best part about your experience?
It was nice to go out for a "proper" breakfast - since having kids the closest we've got is an occasional bacon sarnie apart from a couple of hotel stays. It worked well as part of our day (we followed it with park and swimming).

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
No

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes :-) Thanks for the introduction Mumsnet!

We went to Bella Italia for breakfast. We mostly ordered pancakes, but they had no bananas for the strawberry and banana pancakes which was disappointing, as bananas are not exactly hard to find are they? I almost offerred to pop to Aldi across the road to get some. My ds had the cooked breakfast and it looked lovely. We had to wait quite some time for the food. Overall, food was nice despite the lack of banana.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
We ended up in the London Strand restaurant, with millions of tourists. Not our usual thing, but it was pleasant enough. It had quite an old-school/80's feel to it; not necessarily a bad thing!

How would you rate the food quality?
A bit hit and miss. We arrived at 1pm - breakfast is served until 2pm, but we seem to have caught the kitchen on the hop. We sat downstairs, which was quiet when we arrived, but soon filled up and quite a few people were served before us. We had to wait a full hour before the food arrived (the waiter noticed this and came over to tell us he'd check on it, without being asked).

Our drinks took about 1/2 an hour to arrive.

I had the Omelette Diavolo - it was okay, but I found only one small trace of the nduja it was supposed to contain, and not much chilli, so it was not nearly as spicy as it was made out to be on the menu!
DD had the maple & bacon pancake stack - either the pancakes had been over-microwaved or they'd been standing on a hotplate for too long. Not so nice.
DS had the breakfast pizza and enjoyed it - topping looked quite generous.
DH had the Gigante breakfast - no complaints. I tasted the sausages and they were nice and fat and juicy.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
The selection was good, a nice variety and one which bridges breakfast/brunch and lunch. Wide choice of drinks too. For our choices see above!

What was the best part about your experience?
The service (see above and below)

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The staff were really sweet and friendly, and a chap called Adriel really stood out. This despite the place being heaving and staff being very stretched. As mentioned, he noticed we'd been waiting for ages and was very friendly and efficient indeed.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
No - I don't recall a time I've ever been to Bella Italia either!

And lastly, would you go again?
Possibly, but we would go for a quieter Bella next time. The prices were okay, but we'd hope the food would be more consistent if we returned.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
We really enjoyed the experience - thank you for this opportunity! We went to the Clifton Moor restaurant in York which is very new (at an out-of-town shopping development) and thought the ambience was bright, modern and pleasant. DH remarked that it was 'more Italian than he was expecting' - for example the pots of rosemary on the outside tables - as he had thought it would be 'just a chain'. There were a range of seating options - we were given a very comfortable booth by a floor-to-ceiling window. At 9am on Sunday morning we were the only customers, though another extended family group arrived a little later, but we didn't feel uncomfortable.

How would you rate the food quality?
The food was good.
My 'Bella Breakfast' (typical English cooked breakfast but with ciabatta toast) looked as if it had been waiting under a hot plate but actually tasted fresh with buttery scrambled eggs, a good quality sausage and crispy bacon. The portion wasn't too big (actually I could have eaten more - at 34 weeks pregnant, maybe I should have ordered the Gigante breakfast!). I asked to swap the baked beans for mushrooms, which didn't seem to be a problem.
DH's 'Breakfast Pizza' was quite 'gooey' but he said he'd choose it again. I tasted a bit and thought it was delicious.
DS's chocolate twist (from the 'snack menu') was big and very chocolatey! It was soft and warm from the oven. DS (aged 2) said it was 'yummy' and he ate it all. (Shame, really, as I was quite hoping to try a bite!)

Drinks: we had a vanilla latte, hot chocolate and apple juice. The hot drinks were really smooth, sweet and lovely, and we were offered free refills.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
See above for our choices. We thought the selection of food for adults was good, with some traditional options and some more unusual ones (eg the breakfast pizza!). For children, as others have said, the menu was a bit more limited, but I think the 'children's menu' was probably appropriate for under 5s and others could choose from the adult menu as the portions weren't huge and the prices didn't seem excessive (eg about £5 for my Bella Breakfast).

What was the best part about your experience?
The friendly waitress with her prompt and helpful service, and her comically HUGE pepper grinder! We also liked the free refills of hot drinks. The whole experience was good, though, as we definitely enjoyed the food.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Yes (see above!). We were welcomed at the door and shown straight to our table, where there was a kids' activity pack already waiting for DS (he really enjoyed colouring things in using the crayon stack). The waitress came to take our order quickly, and she offered us free refills just before we'd finished our first drinks, so she was prompt and attentive but didn't 'bother' us unnecessarily. She also brought a balloon for DS towards the end of the meal.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
No.

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes, as a family treat (sadly we couldn't afford to go regularly, even though the prices were quite reasonable). I think it would also be an excellent option for brunch.

Thank you for selecting us!

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast? It did feel a bit odd going there for breakfast. The decor seems very eveningish and it wasn't somewhere I would immediately associate with having breakfast on the menu.
How would you rate the food quality? The good quality was really good, the bacon and sausages were excellent.
How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose? The selection for adults was great, for children not so great! Dp and I chose a cooked breakfast which was very tasty but quite cold, I don't think I would have accepted this if I was paying. DD (2.5) had the happy face pancake which was teeny!
What was the best part about your experience? The food quality.
How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? It was okay! We were the only ones in there and to be honest it was neither here not there.
Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this? No idea!
And lastly, would you go again? Yes I would, I had only been to Bella italia once before and it was so dreadful, it was the worst dining experience I had ever had but they've really turned it around, I cannot fault the quality of the food and the prices were pretty reasonable. I think staff seemed a little like they didn't really want to be there, they seemed pretty bored but it was so so quiet in there. Really enjoyed the meal. Thank you.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
The restaurant was good and very child friendly, which was perfect for us. The waitress also took time to engage with our son which was lovely.

How would you rate the food quality? How would you rate the selection of food - grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
The food quality was surprisingly good and I have to admit I wasn't convinced this would be the case before we went. DH had the gigante breakfast, I had the veggie breakfast and DS had porridge. I have to say the porridge was outstanding and this comes from someone who is very fussy about how porridge is made! As we were out DS had the cherry compote which is more sugary than he'd usually be allowed for breakfast but it was really lovely.

The selection of children's breakfasts was not good at all. When we went there were no pancakes so all that left was the kids' breakfast which wasn't good for us as DS and I are veggie.

That said, this could so easily be solved by adding some of the breakfast snacks to the children's menu - for example the porridge or the toast or croissants could also be reprinted as kids options, which would make a big difference in terms of signposting. I also don't understand why there wasn't a kids' veggies option.

It was also a shame that they didn't have veggie sausages included in the veggie breakfast. That said, the avocado was a nice touch.

One thing I definitely cannot fault is the Bella Italia coffee, it was fantastic and I would choose a Bella Italia coffee over Starbucks, Costa or similar every day. I wish they did takeaway coffees, especially as there is a Bella Italia is on my way to work.

What was the best part about your experience?
It was all really good and much better than I'd expected. That said the coffee did it for me!

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The service was great - from booking our table to being looked after in the restaurant. The service was faultless and pitched just right in terms of friendliness.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
I had seen signage but hadn't really engaged with it and I wouldn't have thought of it for breakfast.

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes, we would. Especially when we're Christmas shopping and in a hurry to get out of the house and get going.

Went to Bella Italia this morning for our breakfast.
The restaurant was ok in general and the children's pack was very good.
The selection wasn't bad, DD couldnt really find anything she wanted but that's not unusual for her to be honest. I asked what she would have liked and she said more fruit on its own. Service was ok, but we waited quite a while for our food to be served and it wasn't very warm ( see below).
When the plates were cleared mine was left so I was looking at my empty plate for the rest of the time we were there.
DS had the children's pancake, I had steak and eggs, DH had the Gigante Breakfast and DD had the ciabatta toast.
The quality wasn't bad, my steak was especially good but the main issue was temperature. All the food, and the coffees were only just warm enough so 5 minutes into eating it was a bit cold. The coffee and hot chocolates could be gulped straight down and indeed had to be unless you wanted them cold.
DD's toast wasn't warm at all so it was very hard to spread the butter and it was so crunchy she could only eat the middle bit and leave all the edges.
DS' s pancake was rubbery and the strawberries looked a bit sorry for themselves and he didn't eat much of it
DH said his breakfast was fine but that was it.
Also, we were charged £5 for 2 lattes that I thought were included in our free offer but we were told they weren't.
We didn't know that Bella Italia did breakfast and we wouldn't go again, there are much nicer places for breakfast that are much closer.
Thanks for the free Brunch Mumsnet, to be honest I was pretty glad we hadn't paid for it as it wouldn't have been worth it. I have had quite nice meals in Bella Italia before but this one wasn't really very good.

DH, DD1 (3) and DD2 (20 months) and I went to the Cambridge Leisure Park Bella.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?

The atmosphere was lovely, very calm and unhurried and the restaurant was clean and tidy.

How would you rate the food quality?

Excellent. We were all really pleased with our choices. Everything that should have been hot was and it all looked and tasted lovely.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?

The selection was good, even for vegetarians, it's quite unusual to find interesting veggie breakfasts in chain restaurants. We had,
Me: Avocado, tomato and mozzarella ciabatta sandwich. Perfectly ripe avocado, good quality mozzarella, really lovely.

DH: Breakfast pizza. He really enjoyed it, novel idea.

DDs: Both had pancakes, although DD2 couldn't eat it all (I stepped into the breach...) Bit too much in the way of sweet stuff, but ok as a treat and they both loved it.

What was the best part about your experience?

The friendly staff and quality of the food.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Absolutely excellent, could not be faulted. Everyone was lovely with the children and very attentive.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
And lastly, would you go again?

I didn't, but we'll definitely go again.

We went to the Inverness Bella Italia today for Brunch. There were 4 of us myself and 3 boys (19, 17 and 8)

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
Excellent. The restaurant was nicely decorated and really comfortable. Everything looked very clean and ds2 (who is extremely fussy about hygiene) used the toilets and reported that they were great.

How would you rate the food quality?
Fantastic. I really couldn't complain about anything. The coffees were lovely. Ds1 had Mocca and ds2 and I had lattes. We were offered free refils just as we were finishing our first ones and ds1 had a third one. All the food was good and hot with the beans in seperate little dishes which suits my strange children who don't like things to run together.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
The adult menu was fairly extensive and I'm sure there would be something to suit most tastes. I had a bacon and egg ciabatta sandwich. There was plenty of bacon, the egg was just right and I really enjoyed it. Ds1 had the steak and fried eggs with roasted potato wedges. He was asked how he wanted the steak cooked and it was perfect. The potatoes were lovely too. Ds2 had the gigante breakfast which came with 3 slices of ciabatta toast and butter. The children's menu could have been a bit of a disappointment as there was not a lot on it but there are lots of things suitable for children on the main menu and ds3 had a Bella breakfast and coke which he really enjoyed.

What was the best part about your experience?
We used to eat out together when the older dc's were younger but it's hard to catch them all together now. The whole experience of a "family meal out" made a nice change.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The service we received was exceptional. We were shown to our table on arrival and ds3 was given a placemat to colour. We were given our coffee whilst we made our breakfast choices and the waitress was pleasant and helpful.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
No, I had no idea.

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes. We are already planning a Christmas shopping day with a Bella Italia breakfast.

We went today as its the first day of DHs holiday so it was a nice way to start them!

We found bella italia a lovely place to visit with the children. Our one has booths to sit in which is great for younger children I find as they have plenty of room but can be blocked in by an adult!
The disabled toilet was fine for baby changing etc but the main toilet cubicles are absolutely tiny! When I took dd to the toilet I had to leave the door open as there was no way I would have been able to shut it with us both in (and we are tiny!)

The food quality was good - Cumberland sausages perhaps not to everyone's taste for breakfast tho especially the children.
All the bacon was really overcooked, even my dh who loves crispy bacon said so. And what was really funny was the tiny little pot of beans that came with each breakfast - there must have been about 20 beans in each one!

The selection for a breakfast menu was really good. I didn't know what to choose! The children's was poor, just two options of pancakes or cooked breakfast. However the staff were so helpful that I suspect if I had asked for mini adult portions or something like eggs and toast for them it would not have been a problem. A bigger selection would have been nice though.

I had the bella breakfast - it was a fiver I think for one sausage, two tiny bits of bacon, egg, half a tomato and the aforementioned beans. Not a huge amount, I filled up on ciabatta from dh's gigantia breakfast. He asked for the mushrooms and tomatoes to be replaced with sausage and that was no problem. Bit even still it wasn't really a large portion for brunch.
The kids had a pancake breakfast for ds and a cooked one for dd.
Ds was still really hungry after his, he is 5 and one pancake and a couple of bits of fruit isn't enough for him.
Dd wasn't keen on the sausage or the fried egg which was hard so she ate beans and ciabatta and some of dh's.

The best part of or experience was the service. Although they knew we were doing a review we have been there before and they are always lovely. Kelly gave us lovely service and so I left her a tip. I wouldn't have based in the food though.
Yes it was welcoming and friendly and the kids colouring stuff and cutlery is good. They both got balloons as well as two spare ones to inflate at home which was a nice touch as ds was worried about losing his in town so the waitress fetched him spares!

I didn't know they did breakfast before, we have been loads of times at tea time or for lunch but didn't realise they opened at 9am.

We would definitely visit again (will probably go next week for lunch when we go xmas shopping) but not for the breakfast. We have had nicer, better cooked breakfasts elsewhere which don't cost as much.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
We enjoyed the atmosphere and choice of food

How would you rate the food quality?
Good, well cooked

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
Very good choice for adults. We chose the veggie breakfast and the steak with eggs. The children had only 2 choices. The child's cooked breakfast was a very small portion, would have been ok for a preschooler though. My other child chose a scrambled egg and tomato ciabatta

What was the best part about your experience?
The children thiught it was fun to go for breakfast, and we liked the laid back atmosphere away from the christmas shopping crowds outside. The steak was very good, as wasthe coffee

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The service was welcoming, but slow. The waiter remembered our order, without writing it down, even though we substituted a couple of items

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
No

And lastly, would you go again?
Possibly, with tesco vouchers

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?

Initially my heart sank when we arrived - I hadn't realised the restaurant was accessed only by going down a steep flight of external stairs (not Bella's fault, it's an old building in an old city!) and was worried about how we were going to get in with a heavy pushchair. When I went in to investigate though, the staff were more than happy to help us with it, and apparently do so regularly.

I found Bella really family friendly. DS (10 months) was given a balloon (which he adored) and an activity pack which although he was a little young for was a sweet thought. He was also given child-sized cutlery and glass, which I hadn't seen elsewhere and think is a nice idea. I also appreciated that the toilets had a little amenity box with complimentary nappies, wipes, creams etc in, another really thoughtful touch.

I think the decor could possibly do with an update, but the restaurant was otherwise pleasant, clean and tidy.

How would you rate the food quality?

The food quality was generally very good - hot, freshly prepared and arrived promptly.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?

I had the veggie breakfast. It was delicious, everything was very fresh (including the avocado) and it was very attractive-looking and well presented. I liked the little pots of ketchup and brown sauce presented on the plate too!

DH had the bacon and syrup pancake stack. He enjoyed it, though the bacon could have been a little crispier and the syrup was more like a golden syrup rather than maple which would have been better. He also had the orange juice which was obviously freshly squeezed (and not from a carton, as other chains are guilty of!)

DS had the happy face pancake minus the chocolate. He seemed to really enjoy it and ate most of it. It was a good sized portion for him, though probably a bit small for an older child.

The ciabatta toast was delicious too, though the coffee (a latte and a cappuccino) was just ok.

What was the best part about your experience?

A really enjoyable family breakfast.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The service was excellent. The staff were very friendly and attentive and couldn't do enough for us.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
And lastly, would you go again?

I didn't, and hadn't visited Bella prior to this. We would visit again!

We - DH, DS6 and DD2- went today to the Covent Garden branch in Henrietta Street. To be honest it was a pretty dreadful experience and I'm afraid not one I would repeat nor recommend to anyone.

The restaurant is very tatty with peeling paint and wobbly tables, and unfortunately also not very clean (especially the ladies loos - to be fair DH said the mens was fine). We were seated downstairs where there was a slight smell of damp and sat opposite the room with the freezers in which had the door left open so that was a bit grim.

The service was quite friendly and our waitress took our order very quickly, although she had to tell us there were no croissants, no steak, and - devastatingly for DD - no pancakes.

Drinks came fast and my latte was very good (often they're way too milky) but DH wasn't thrilled to get plastic orange juice, and not that cold either.

Then we waited fifty minutes for any food to arrive . We chased up a couple of times and they kept saying it was coming.

When eventually it appeared it was really disappointing. DH and I had ordered the cooked breakfast and it came on cold plates, on which the beans, mushrooms and potatoes had obviously been sitting congealing for about 15 minutes as they were also stone cold. The sausages, bacon and egg were hot and so although we let the waitress know (and she was lovely and offered to sort it out) we said we'd eat it anyway rather than wait any longer. To be fair the bacon and eggs were fine and the sausage was really nice and seemed quite good quality. My fried eggs were cooked with the yolk solid which I'm not keen on but DH likes them that way so that's preference.

The ciabatta toast was also cold, dry, and the butter a) was obviously some kind of I Can Believe Perfectly Well It's Not Butter Thanks and b) had the odd fleck of parsley in it, not enough to be deliberate so it just felt like it was in a dirty dish.

The kids also had the kids cooked breakfast and were quite happy, although neither of them ate more than one bite of the toast which was just too dry for them to get through. I thought portion size was ok, not very generous and DS started on my eggs once he'd eaten his.

We didn't see any sign of any activity packs or balloons, we had normal size cutlery and there was no particular attention paid to the children although our waitress was perfectly nice. I noticed high chairs but DD is nearly 3 and disdains a high chair now so we didn't ask.

Overall therefore it was a really disappointing experience, I won't go again and I shan't recommend it to anyone. Sorry Bella Italia and thanks anyway for the opportunity to try it out!

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
We were the only customers in there dining, I'm not sure if I would take the toddler again as there were lots of wine glasses out on other tables and he wanted to make a run for it!
The restaurant was well decorated and clean (the cleaner was there cleaning around us )

How would you rate the food quality?
I thought the food quality was generally very good, the bacon and sausage seemed to be of good quality and it was all definitely fresh. The coffee was amazing.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
I thought the adult menu was very good, lots of choice so we couldn't make up our minds. Hubby and I had the gigantia breakfast with hazelnut latte and a fresh orange juice.
The children's menu was very poor with just two choices. I ordered the pancake for the 22mth old and it was tiny. He ended up sharing my breakfast.
Dd age 4 chose the sausage sandwich which arrived on ciabatta bread and looked really nice. She said the sausages were yummy but it was so big she couldn't finish it.
Ds1 age 6 had the fruity pancake stack, he has a real sweet tooth and loved the syrup. He managed to finish it all so I'm glad I didn't order from the children's menu.

What was the best part about your experience?
Eating breakfast out as a family as this is something we'd never do, we were on our way to york for the day so it filled us up nicely.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The service was very friendly, our waitress was young and abit shy but she didn't hover too much and got the kids lots of crayons and an activity pack which was great.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
I didn't know bella italia did breakfast

And lastly, would you go again?
We will definitely be visiting again, probably not for breakfast but we had a look at the menus while we were there and they have some great deals on a lunch time and an evening.

I've changed my name so I can upload photos - we went yesterday. Going to switch to mobile and post in a minute!

Thank you for the opportunity to go out for breakfast. We went to the Bella Italian in Camberley. It was a real treat. The restaraunt was clean and modern.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?

Really lovely. Warm and friendly.

How would you rate the food quality?

Excellent food - especially for the children. I do think the adults' breakfast could have been warmer.

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?

DCs chose pancakes - actually we chose for them so there was no arguing. We had the cooked breakfasts. The coffee was delicious. Really strong and hot. The juices were freshly squeezed. The kids thought the pancakes were really special. After they finished theirs, the started to finish off ours . I think this was more for comedy value than real hunger.

What was the best part about your experience?

The pancakes were so unusual with really good quality ingredients. I think the portion sizes were just right.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Yes - enough attention but not too much.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?

No. Wouldn't think of an Italian restaurant doing breakfast. It felt like being on holiday.

And lastly, would you go again?

Yes definitely. I'd love it if it opened earlier as we did have to give the DCs some food before going (table booked at 9am)

Clean plates all round!

Thanks for the opportunity to try this out! We went today for some brunch at about 11am to the Oxford branch.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
It was easy to get to in town and access with a pushchair was easy. It felt welcoming and had a nice atmosphere.

How would you rate the food quality?
Everything was tasty and seemed good quality. It wasn't overly hot, which wasn't a problem for the children but I'd have preferred it warmer. I was disappointed with my pot of tea which was small anyway and only half full and also not that hot!

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
The kids menu was small but appropriate - for my two dds (4 and 2) we chose one breakfast (sausage, scrambled egg, beans and toast) and one pancake with strawberries, bananas and chocolate shavings to share afterwards. These were the only two kids meals, but they were both great options. I had a gigante breakfast blush thinking I could supplement the smaller kids' one with some of my own if necessary, which I did in the end.

What was the best part about your experience?
The breadsticks and crayons for the kids as soon as we sat down were very much appreciated and enjoyed.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The children were definitely welcomed and the staff were friendly to them. However, the service was a low point of the visit - we had a range of servers who were all pleasant enough but the drinks took a long time to come (not that busy) and they forgot our cutlery at first. Also when our pancakes came they were without the strawberries, bananas and chocolate as on the menu - just a plain pancake in the middle of a plate with a side of syrup. Considering it seemed to be the manager who served us, it seemed weird not to have noticed it was the wrong dish. When I queried it, she brought the correct version. The disabled toilet/baby change was out of use so we had to go downstairs through several doors and corridors to reach the toilets, which were a bit smelly (no windows as underground). This was tricky with kids but would have been a bit unpleasant for anyone.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this? No I didn't.

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes, i think I would give it another chance as the food was very good and the range on the menu was great. I think I'll probably try a different branch though.

Thank you for choosing us to take part. We went to The Bella italia in Leeds city centre at ten o'clock on Saturday morning.

Generally how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
Nice atmosphere, quiet music and friendly staff.

How would you rate the food quality?
Really good. The food was well cooked and not at all greasy.

How would you rate the selection of food - grown ups and kids- what did you and your DC choose?
The selection of food for adults was good, however the childrens menu was limited. My eldest daughter chose from the adult menu - the breakfast pizza, she said it was lovely and would probably have it again. My youngest daughter is quite fussy and chose the children's breakfast with bacon - without beans or eggs. The waiter checked that we knew that it would be just bacon and ciabatta and offered to add an alternative. DD said her breakfast was lovely and she'd definitely go back.
Both adults had the gigante breakfast - it was a generous size, hot and tasty. The scrambled eggs were the nicest i have had away from home. The ciabatta was a nice change and we'll definitely have it at home again.

What was the best part about your experience?
The quality of the food and the family friendly surroundings.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The staff were friendly and welcoming, even before they knew that we were writing a review.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this?
No.

And lastly, would you again?
Yes definitely. We often go for lunch, so it would be nice to call for a late breakfast instead sometimes.

Generally - how did you find Bella as a place to visit with the family for breakfast?
quite pleasant. nice atmosphere with background music, kids activity packs and a balloon each were much appreciated although we did not get childrens cutlery. plenty of room to store the pram next to the table.

How would you rate the food quality?
very tasty and good quality

How would you rate the selection of food – grown ups and kids - what did you and your DC choose?
great selection on the adult menu but we felt the childrens was quite limited with only 2 choices. dh had the veggie breakfast (sausages would have been nice although he really enjoyed the rosemary potatoes, I had the gigante so i could share my sausages with dd, both dd's had the cooked bella breakfast despite the lure of pancakes, as dd can eat at least 3, I didn't think it would be filling enough. portion size was good although dd1 aged 7 would have liked to be able to have both sausage and bacon not a choice of 1 only. shame there was not a veggie option on the childrens menu as well. Coffee was really nice but we were not offered refills on tea and coffee and the waitress forgot to bring my orange juice but I ended up drinking the kids ones anyway as they didn''t like the bits!

What was the best part about your experience?
food when it eventually arrived

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

yes although it took a long time to be served (15mins) despite there being only one other family in the restaurant and the food took nearly 30mins to arrive which shows it was freshly cooked but it was difficult to keep the dc entertained for this long.

Did you know Bella did breakfast prior to this? No

And lastly, would you go again?
Sadly no as it took just too long for the food to arrive and although it was good quality food, there are other establishments that are cheaper and easier to get to for us. Thank you for opportunity though.

We had visited the Henrietta St branch in Covent Garden and had almost an identical experience as Sarahbanshee (I reviewed much further up thread) although hopefully they accepted her letter straight away and didn't try and charge for the meal. I thought them not having pancakes might have been a one off but obviously not. Just don't understand why they can't grab some eggs and milk from the local supermarket on the next street! Head office should probably send some children's packs too. Other branches seem to be offering a much superior experience .