I had the opportunity to eat at Bella Ciao the roof top Italian restaurant on Nungambakkam road. I have been meaning to visit the place for long but never got around to it, predominantly because of the harsh summer Chennai has been experiencing. Short of getting baked like one of their lovely pizzas there seemed no other option than to visit the place in a more pleasant weather.
Two weeks ago my friend S and I were off shopping in Nungambakkam and suddenly hit upon the idea of having dinner at Bella Ciao. We had not booked earlier and were worried that we’d probably encounter a Sunday-Italian-loving-crowd there. But we needn’t have had to bother for; the place was pleasantly filled with an odd couple here and a subdued group of people there. The ambience of the place filled my eyes as soon as I stepped on to the terrace. It had a non fussy décor with non fussy arrangements. The décor was in blue and whites with gauzy maroon curtains. What I really liked about the place was the privacy the diners had despite the open arrangements. Each table had a gauzy curtain separating it from the others. The long rectangular tables were made of cement, topped with blue and white coloured tiles. There was drop light that cast an intimate halo on it. Other than that the only other sources of lights were those from the city below and the ones at the entrance.
We seated ourselves at the far end of the restaurant near the parapet walls and enjoyed the lovely cool breeze laden with rain drops. The waiters in black tee and black jeans depicted the place in general with their casual yet caring attitude. Forever through the meal I found them putting their head in and asking if everything was alright. They however smartly stayed away when we tucked into the simple meal of lamb lasagna and vegetable pizza (broccoli, cauliflower and onions). The base of the pizza is the home cooked way with a thin crust. By the time I worked my way through the tasty cheesy lasagna I didn’t have place for dessert. A look at the menu revealed nothing unusual except for the cooked cream tart.
Bella Ciao is certainly a place for a romantic tete a tete with a girl/guy you’d like to impress especially on those first dates. The prices are bit steep though considering that quite a few foreigners come dining and the prices are obviously tailored for them. There were some good mocktails and juice on the menu but no liquor is served.
All together it was a “over the top” experience!
Two weeks ago my friend S and I were off shopping in Nungambakkam and suddenly hit upon the idea of having dinner at Bella Ciao. We had not booked earlier and were worried that we’d probably encounter a Sunday-Italian-loving-crowd there. But we needn’t have had to bother for; the place was pleasantly filled with an odd couple here and a subdued group of people there. The ambience of the place filled my eyes as soon as I stepped on to the terrace. It had a non fussy décor with non fussy arrangements. The décor was in blue and whites with gauzy maroon curtains. What I really liked about the place was the privacy the diners had despite the open arrangements. Each table had a gauzy curtain separating it from the others. The long rectangular tables were made of cement, topped with blue and white coloured tiles. There was drop light that cast an intimate halo on it. Other than that the only other sources of lights were those from the city below and the ones at the entrance.
We seated ourselves at the far end of the restaurant near the parapet walls and enjoyed the lovely cool breeze laden with rain drops. The waiters in black tee and black jeans depicted the place in general with their casual yet caring attitude. Forever through the meal I found them putting their head in and asking if everything was alright. They however smartly stayed away when we tucked into the simple meal of lamb lasagna and vegetable pizza (broccoli, cauliflower and onions). The base of the pizza is the home cooked way with a thin crust. By the time I worked my way through the tasty cheesy lasagna I didn’t have place for dessert. A look at the menu revealed nothing unusual except for the cooked cream tart.
Bella Ciao is certainly a place for a romantic tete a tete with a girl/guy you’d like to impress especially on those first dates. The prices are bit steep though considering that quite a few foreigners come dining and the prices are obviously tailored for them. There were some good mocktails and juice on the menu but no liquor is served.
All together it was a “over the top” experience!
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