Review Bella Bistro - Kingston

Have visited several times now and generally the food is impressive but there does tend to be some inconsistency here. I’ve had some really great meals and I’ve had some not so great meals. This visit I tried the ribs and they were fantastic, flavourful and fall off the bone. The pizza was just ok.

This place was one of those lovely surprises! Looking for a restaurant in the area and we saw the rating on Bella. Standing outside, however, it looks a bit more like a truck stop or 80's diner and we almost went elsewhere. So glad we didn't. They have a great menu, great staff and a great range of drinks. The chef is top-notch, producing food that belongs in a 5* hotel. Our steaks and fish were perfect. Bella definitely deserves its rating and I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Bella Bistro has a surprisingly extensive menu and the quality of the offerings is quite good. Service was attentive and friendly. The decor is somewhat 70's Roadhouse but you're here for the food. Definitely worth a try.

staff was very nice and friendly. Food was fantastic. I wish there was a bit more variety in the drink and food menu but I think it's a little expected with limited staff. I would return.

Took my Family here for dinner. Food was fresh and perfectly cooked. Being Family friendly made it even more special as we have two children. Highly recommend Bello Bistro for a Fantastic Dining Experience!

Our favorite restaunt in Kingston. Always great, always happy to come back again and again. Never had a meal here that was a disappointment. Keep up the great work!

Good service, nice people. Reservations are recommended. Pizza was decent, shrimp pasta could use a little help but still decent.

I had an excellent meal, the chickpea burger which was delicious and the Maltese salad was yummy too. The waitresses were great.

A wonderful dinner. I went last night (Friday) as a party of 5 which including two kids (one in a high chair). I had reserved and then an extra adult was added (a big no no in my mind). The young man who seated us didn't even flinch at this, didn't try to make me feel badly or anything, just fit another chair in. The place was packed and the service did not waiver from excellence. We ordered quickly, the food was definitely 5 star quality and I loved the non-pretentious atmosphere. I found the prices to be very fair for the very large portions. Their beet salad and calamari are two of the best I've had. I had the mussels, my sister had the steak and my daughter had a burger with a fantastic caesar salad. No one at my table had any complaints at all. I have no doubt I'll be going back.

Wow!!!!. This is a family favourite for a great meal with good portions and fair prices. The pizzas are on the level of something you would expect of woodenheads or atomica but with more reasonable prices and less pretentious atmosphere.

We went for lunch and overall while the food was good, it was overpriced. The place has potential and character but at the end of the day they are a glorified diner charging 5 star prices. Probably one of the most expensive lunches we had and it didn't deserve to be. The portions are too small and the ingredients didn't warrant that high of pricing. We'll spend our money elsewhere - where we get what we pay for and also get the 4-5 star environment.

We went as a party of three in a Sunday night! We were one of the few tables not ordering the prime rib! Calamari and crab dips apps were great. Prosciutto pizza and Thai Coconut Curry Chicken were excellent! Nice friendly service in an out of the way place!

Swamp Bay Bistro. I remember when this place first opened, the food was good and the service was friendly. I'd often suggest it to friends and family.After some time I'd start to here that the food was cold, the service disrespectful and the food over price. Although I do believe that the food is a little over price (come on you're on bath road, near the legion and right across from a gas station and timmies). It wasn't until new year did I understand were my friends were coming from. I had called four days earlier asking if I would need reservations around 6 o'clock for new years eve night, the women said that I would be fine and that reservations were not needed. Then on news year eve night I went in with my boyfriend, we waited for five minutes until someone greeted us with the utter most dis-respective tone ``Do you have reservations` She did even say hello or how are you, just went to the question. I then went on to tell her what I had been told and asked if there was a spot for us ( the restaurant was barely pact). She told us that there was one spot but we would only have 45 mintues to sit. When I asked her politely if there would be a better time for us to come back she responded no in the same tone you would get from a 11 year old girl when asked to get off the phone. We then left and went to another restaurant and never went back again. My advise to the owners and servers: Look around at were you are situated, you`re not downtown so don`t act like it. Lower the price of your food. Also learn how to respect your customers and maybe you`ll get better reviews.

What a disappointment. For months we admired the sparkly lights, packed house and appetizing online menu. After three tries we finally got in for dinner. I think we sat at the same table as @Lin Wise, because it was by the bar and absolutely freezing! I politely mentioned it to our server on one of the few times she sashayed up to our table and she replied, "Oh yeah. The delivery guy always does that." We waited FOREVER to place our order and waited another geological age to get our meals. The kindest thing I could say is "indifferent". My dog makes a better presentation of her morning evacuation. The meals were cold, my burger looked (and tasted) like a hockey puck and I think we got about 6 french fries between three of us. The really odd thing was that there appeared to be 6 server-like units working at the time yet the main activity was hunkering up around the bar or serving island to chat. When I finally caught our server's eye she squealed, "Oh! I forgot all about you guys!". The place is the size of backyard swimming pool - how could she miss us? I found the price exorbitant given what we received. Too bad - it's close, not a chain gang and while the serving staff seemed pretty flighty, they were clearly shiny happy people. We prefer to support local, independent eateries but won't be going back.

We have frequented Bellas often over the past ten years and have been satisfied. It's cozy and comfortable until last night. We were seated at a table by the bar and had cold air blowing on us the whole time. It was very busy so had to wait 45 minutes for our food. The calamari is always good. I ordered Authentic Jerk Chicken expecting chicken that was spicey and juicey. What I got was neither Jerk nor authentic. The chicken breast was seasoned with too much cayenne and had no other flavors. It was sitting on a pile of black beans right out of the can and some weird Uncle Ben like rice. The pineapple salsa was too sweet with no acid to balance it. All in all I'd give it a 1 out of 5. i don't know if we'll go back again.

Bella Bistro has never failed me on any dish i've order. The relax retro/diner feel allows you to feel at home with flip flops n shorts, but don't be fooled, this is no greasy diner! This place creates the most delicious meals I've ever had. The quality of local foods, attention to detail on each dish, the bright colors on the plates and the amazing flavors actually bring me to tears when it's all gone. I've ordered their salads, their specials (turkey burger straight from heaven!), their Thai dish, their pizzas...I think I've ordered almost everything! Their carrot cake required complete silence at the table, as I needed to savour each moist morsel. My only disappointment with Bella Bistro is that they're not open for breakfast on the weekends. Having sampled almost their entire menu with no complaints from my belly....i can only imagine what their breakfast menu could be!!

Food was very underwhelming, and came with a side of lipstick on my water glass. GROSS!!

The salad was delicious (with real bacon). Unfortunately, the hamburger was very disappointing. My burger was overcooked and charred on one side, and my bun was stale.