I booked for Saturday evening dinner with a couple of visiting friends, having not been to Bella Vista before, but read good reviews. We weren't disappointed. The restaurant was very busy - perhaps fully booked - but we were seated swiftly by a friendly waitress....Although it was busy, it wasn't oppressively noisy, thanks to lots of soft furnishings and plants. Service was well-timed throughout despite it being so busy. The food was lovely, we had three courses with a bottle of wine, which came to around £45 each, which we considered great value for the food and service. I'll definitely be booking here again; I'm just sorry that I didn't discover it sooner!More

Great food but service was in parts poor. 30 mins for bread starter. When questioned blamed computer. Sorry but table nearby ordered same time and got their food without problem. Basic problem was waiter needed to press send and forgot. Should have admitted and bought...drinks on the house. We were on coffee and water so no great cost. Can't fault food it was good but service let it downMore

We had booked Bella Vista as we work nearby and I had booked this online, we had heard lovely reviews so thought it would be nice to book this before our night out by the river on a summer's evening. My friend arrived before myself...and asked as it was so hot if there were any seating on the side veranda overlooking the river, she was answered by the waitress, "no there were no tables outside, oh imagine me I am hot running round" which was a little off, they were then seated on a table that had three bucket seat chairs around it and seated next to each other the table was not suitable or big enough for 2 chairs either side to sit next to each other, it felt like they had put the table in the middle of the restaurant to get the bookings in last minute and we were very near to the fake palm tree which was overhanging our table! When I arrived I sat sort of on the end of the table thinking how are we going to fit all our plates on here, but we ordered, the same girl came to take our order and we ordered 3 pizzas of the same off the menu, we then realised we didn't know if we had ordered the medium or large, I called the waitress back and asked if we had medium or large pizza's ordered, she said she could go and ask but she put down medium and sort of waved her hands up in the air and said "you should tell me what you want not me ask you" !! I looked at her as I would never be rude or make a customer feel like it was their fault - maybe some training would be handy on busy evenings. It's a shame as the food was nice but I would not go to a restaurant that had that type of service just for the food like I should be grateful to be in there as I had booked in a few days before Friday. Good job I was not a Mystery Shopper!More

An excellent traditional Italian restaurant in a delightful location. There’s a lively terrace overlooking the Floating Harbour. The food was exceptional and the service was attentive but never intrusive. Really glad we found this place.

Stopped off here after a day sightseeing in Bristol. Great service and food. Husband had sea bass special and he said it was lovely. I had the spinach and ricotta cannelloni was also good. The only thing i would say is the restaurant was extremely...hot...i know we had a mini heatwave but the restaurant gets direct sun and the air conditioning was not on as people were sat inside and out. Uncomfortably hotMore

This was a last minute booking so glad they managed to fit me in. The staff were friendly, a great atmosphere and the food was just amazing!!

Is there a 10 stars option on here? 20 of us. Yes, 20. Booked a week or so in advance. Vegans, vegetarians, meat eaters, and kids amongst our gathering. The staff were exemplary. The food delicious, hot, served together and plentiful. Suffice to say we'll...be back and gave a hefty and well deserved tip. Thank you Bella VistaMore

It was a lovely night to sit on the deck overlooking the Church and Castle Park -- and a bonus with hot air balloons drifting by - and the food was exceptional. There were fish specials so we started with mussels to share; unfortunately, they...only provided one piece of bread to soak up the wonderful broth and when we asked for another, the "kitchen" refused unless we ordered an entire basket - not very classy! My sauteed brancino filets were excellent as was my husband's veal with beautiful vegetables and presentation. Don't think we'd want to sit inside because very popular and noisy, but we had a great experience with lovely service.More

Early dinner with friends before a show at the Hippodrome. Sat outside overlooking the water. Menu selection was great, service excellent. Had the ravioli selection for main course, delicious. Probably the best I’ve had. Highly recommended

Faultless. Absolutely wonderful... beautiful food, very well priced and felt authentically Italian. We sat outside and it was beautiful. Highly recommend.

This restaurant is in a fab place by the river, boats passing, just like being abroad ! The food was superb, great wine , excellent staff. Our 1st visit- we will be back!!!

Went for a visit in Bristol and this restaurant was the first amazing thing we saw in the center . The food was amazing such a little Italy in the middle of Bristol. The service was very classy . Will definitely recommend.