Bella Cucina of the Lake

Didn’t even get to try to food. I thought we would try a new place. Sat down with the family, the waitress came up to take our order and in the middle of taking our order she walked away to answer the phone. Rude and completely disrespectful to the customer. Not coming back if that’s how the service here is.

We had reservations for a group of 12 at 09:00 to have breakfast here this past Sunday (3 April 22) . This was the first time my wife and I have been here to eat and in a restaurant for sit down dining due to the pandemic. At this time on a Sunday it is not crowded (while we were there anyway) they already had the group of tables pushed together for us when we arrived. One waitress took our drink orders and she was quick to get our coffee and juice out to the tables. It took about 10 minutes for our meals so there was no real waiting. I have to say this was a very good breakfast since I had the "Sampler" which was two eggs over medium, BACON, ham, sausage and in-house fried potatoes. My wife had the steak, scrambled eggs and in-house fried potatoes. So in the future this will be another place for us to go not only for breakfast but for other meals. By the time we left (10:15) there were about 15-20 more people in the restaurant. Over all the restaurant is clean the staff (which were in masks) they were friendly and professional and my complements to the cook for a great breakfast! Reason for a 4 star rating... Always room for improvement for any business.

Tried the Italian food and it was good. Pitcher of beer prices are best anywhere around. Service was top notch. Very attentive and went above and beyond to make sure we had an enjoyable dinner. Margaritas with gummy sharks is a huge plus and don't forget the selfie spot by the front door. Went with 5 adults and 5 kids. No complaints.

Amazing food, LOVED shrimp and stake yummy

New breakfast spot! The restaurant is family owned, portions are great- and food is delicious! Everything is cleaned immaculately, food is great, friendly and attentive staff. Hidden gem, you gotta try it!

Great breakfast. Service was fast and friendly. Got the veggie burrito and an egg and cheese biscuit. Both were tasty. Make sure you get the biscuits. They are amazing.

Update: Unfortunately, I have ordered from here a few more times. Very inconsistent. Twice too salty and once the crust was too tough. I don’t order from here anymore. Tried to remove a star and wasn’t able to. Only three stars given. Finally! Someone outside of NY that knows how to make a crust! Update: called to order a pizza last night (11/2/2021). Was told delivery would take 1 1/2 hours. Really?😳🙄 Needless to say I canceled the order. Called to order delivery the next day (11/3/2021@3:40pm), no answer. Removed a star as a result.

Love eating here. The staff are wonderful. Prices are reasonable. Menu options are good and tasty.

Food has always been delicious, the problem I have is the placement of an added charge on your card if you don't pay cash, this practice now has us going elsewhere.

Food was awesome and it came out fast! The service was amazing and loved the background music

Good food, great service and environment. This is the first time ever here, didn't know it existed. Tucked away in a commercial building but recommend for an easy and simple breakfast meal. Name is a bit confusing based on door sign and menu: the door states Mexican food and the menu states Italian restaurant. However they had simple breakfast options with some Burrito option. Pricing is reasonable and the service was great. I was able to enjoy a meal with a group of 4 comfortably with enough space to accommodate more if needed. Will have to return and see their lunch and dinner menu next time.

Authentic and priced right. Just what you expect from a traditional Tex-Mex restaurant. Our party of four each had something different and everyone had positive reviews. It is what it is and does it well. Service was grr

Great breakfast quesadillas. Sausage and fried potatoes were tasty. Waitress was very competent and friendly.

Ordered for delivery. We mis-ordered first of all. That is on us. What we got would have been OK if it was actually seasoned. My fettuccine? So utterly bland and tasteless it was inedible. The chicken parmigiana sub? Tasted like a tomato on white bread. The house dressing? Soooooo much vinegar! We haven't ordered from here often, but that was the worst meal I ever had. Chef? Did you run out of salt? Did you forget to tell your sous chefs to use salt? And the Alfredo broken!!!! Unfortunately, you can't take a picture of flavorless.

Amazing customer service is outstanding The people are very friendly. Your service was great and the food was awesome.

Excellent food and service.Located on Route 3 in Locust Grove VA. Take order taste as good as in side dining.

Have been coming here with family for a long time. Kindly asked a nearby table to be a little quieter, they were clearly having a family gathering but were encroaching on other customers. Owner/manager yelled at us rather than helping the situation. Won't be back.

Always a great time. Good food. Good service. Excellent place for large groups. Not exactly "fine dining," but rather "family friendly."

Pizza ordered when I was driving home from hour commute exhausted from long day .. just wanted extra cheese in Pizza it was on ticket .. pizza served looked like hardly and cheese and little sauce .. took back only to wait for pizza again 15 .. not impressed and have not been back here since last visit two years ago .. I'm good won't be back I'd rather pick up pizza and wings in Woodbridge and drive the hour home with it to re heat it I'm sure it would be better .. waited extra 20 mins had to ask for pizza no one here

We've been here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Never disappointed. Steak and eggs are great with fresh, tasty home fries. Lots of great Italian options for dinner.

Good food. Never crowded. Good service. Italian and Mexican. Both are tasty. We go there often with friends.

Salad and dinner didn't have a freshly made look or taste. Lack good seasoning. Friendly customer service.

The food was very good. The staff very attentive and friendly. Family atmosphere completed the trifecta!

For Mexican side of the restaurant - food is excellent, all of it. Every dish. Even dessert. As a native Texan, I think it's hard to find a good Mexican restaurant in Virginia. So many of them are mediocre (not this one). Wish they would slightly change the name to distinguish the Italian food restaurant from the Mexican restaurant. It's in an office building so may be hard to miss, but it's still off the main road. I hope they stay in business!

Sangria served with no fruit, lukewarm, the restaurant is side by side with a Mexican restaurant of the same name and it seemingly appears they share a kitchen so the Italian side is overwhelmed by the smells of Mexican food and is off putting when you have the expectation of Italian aromas, all of our parties dishes were bland, no garnish was employed to liven the plates dishes, the bread was slightly burned and hard, the only redeeming factor was good salad dressing. Overall bland and boring and not somewhere we would venture to try again and we wanted very much to love it as there is a dire lack of places to dine out in Locust Grove

Great service! They now have a Mexican restaurant open right beside. The cashier always remembers you and you can never pass her with out a hello! They have no problem with my special diet.. Food is always cooked fresh and hot!

Amazing staff and incredible food! great any time of the day! They even have breakfast! Add a Sunday brunch and it would be perfect

The best Italian food! The staff is wonderful and the food even better! The pizza is very good. Breakfast is an added treat! All dinner have been on point!

great breakfast, great service, consistent quality. Try the pancakes with sausage or the 3 egg omelet. Great food, reasonable price.

A family favorite for sure. Great food, wonderful staff, and a relaxed family atmosphere.

We went for breakfast, which was great. They have a pleasant atmosphere, and the waitress was really nice, she had a great attitude, friendly and relaxed, and made it a pleasant morning! I had pancakes and my cousin from out of town had biscuits, gravy and sausage, my sister had eggs and sausage and we were all happy with our meals! I'll be back often!

We just moved to the area and we brought some friends with kids to dinner. Awesome choices on the menu, lots of beer choices, and a great kids menu!

My family decided to try this office building restaurant out. The waitress was soooo sweet and attentive. Unfortunately that was the best the "Italian" had to offer for us. Our kids chocolate milk wasn't much chocolate in it. We started with the buffalo shrimp, consisted of slightly grilled chicken laying in buffalo sauce that looked like a soup. Next was the garlic cheese bread, which was a toasted and buttered hoagie roll slice with melted sliced cheese. My son's cheese pizza didn't look bad. The veal Marsala is not a Marsala sauce, it came out very light colored and broth consistency. It tasted more of sugar water. The veal didn't have a good flavoring, not sure what the breading was either. Also more sliced cheese on top. The pasta was good great but again the sauce made it very hard to eat. For $20, the taste and portions could have been better. My husband had the veal parm, much better sauce but again not a good meal. The starter salads were basically our meals. I would maybe try if desperate but try out the sandwiches, never get dinners again. Very quick service, since no one was there. I give the 1 star for the waitress being amazing.

Let me just start off by saying that I've only been to this place once! The service was pretty good but the food just tasted kind of bland. Almost as if the sauce for the pasta was from a jar or something. I am willing to come back and try again and maybe it will change my review.

Always great Italian food. Great pizzas and pasta dishes. I have used Bella Cucina for over 15 years. Never disappointed. Very friendly staff and excellent service.

I love Bella! Foods great and so is service! I love Brenda, she is amazing! I love the pizza and I'm not a pizza person! The cheesecake is great'

Food is decent, staff is friendly. A very local place to dine and keep money in the area. The god would be much better if they would splurge for fresh spinach. It taste like they use either frozen or canned spinach on pizzas and the pasta dishes. Other than that everything is good

Service is always good and their pizza is great. One of the few places in our area that have thinner pizza similar to NY style. The couple pasta dishes I've tried were also great! My daughter loves the clam pasta dish.

We really missed Bella J's. My family is really happy you have reopened. My husband and I ate there last night. We were wondering if the food would be as delicious as it was before. We were not disappointed. The food was delicious and the staff was amazing.

Very disappointed with Bella Cucina. I ordered for pick up the fettuccini Alfredo which cost me $14 and I did not get my money's worth. The amount of pasta they put in the container barely covered the bottom of the container. For that amount of money, the container should have been full and I should have has some left over pasta. A box of pasta is 1 lb and costs $1.29 in the supermarket and is enough to feed 4 to 5 adults. What they provided was a child size portion. I called the restaurant and they agreed the pasta is not expensive and would only tell me that they put the usual amount of pasta in the container they normally do. Given that, they could not justify to me the $14 cost other than that is their normal portion. They made no effort to rectify the problem. Because of the poor customer service I received, I will not go back nor will I ever recommend them to anyone. In fact I would discourage everyone from going there.

So, we tried calling and no answer today at 9:00 pm,(4/27 saturday) we thought that was weird, but it has happened b4 so we drove up there - and there were a bunch of guys painting etc, and they said Bella Cucina closed, and now its going to be KIKIs cafe :( :( I am very sad, I had no idea they were closing, and I am very sad, they were my favorite Pizza Place....now what??anyone have any suggestions? I do like Castiglias, at both locations, Breezewood, and downtown, neither one delivers to my house,in Ashleigh Park, but I guess if i find a delivery service that does...or if I decide to not be lazy...I'll give them a go again.

Manicotti Florentine is amazing. I'm hooked on that sauce. Im picky about pizza and gave up on theirs a while ago. The ingredients are obviously good, but the crust was often under cooked or soggy in the middle. I tried the thick crust and didn't like it at all. Mama's is my pizza of choice in this area. I keep coming back for the calamari and the Italian dinners, which are excellent. I feel pretty confident ordering the more complicated dishes the menu. that seems to be a strong point. Staff is always nice and professional, although i usually get take out our delivery.

Always great food. Best pizza in the area, take out or dine in. New owners have raised the prices some but still good lunch specials.

We love Bella Cucina! Every time we visit Lake of the Woods we order delivery. I highly recommend the baked ziti. Delicious!

Back with original owner as prior Bella J. Cucina. Always enjoyed the food and staff friendliness, and with reopening are just as wonderful as ever and pizza seams even better. Soon to be getting liquor license, pending normal regulations and paperwork. Glad they are back as other dining options in the area are limited, especially food quality, quantity and friendly staff.

Quality Italian Restaurant! Love Their Fresh Caesar Salad & Pizza! Thin Flaky Crust, A True Italian Pizza!! And They Deliver Too!

My fiancé and I order in or go to Bella's just about every week it probably doesn't help my waistline because I am addicted to just about everything they do with veal, but, the piccata is probably the best you can find in Virginia. Great fettuccine, tomato bisque and white pizza as well... I recommend everything! PS. Skip the other places near the lake for greasy sandwiches and burgers you will get better ingredients and healthier lunches at Bella's for lunch and be in a cleaner more inviting environment.

Where do I start, the owner of the restaurant is one of the funniest men I've ever met, and he has the intelligence and kindest to match this. The waiters here are phenomenal, and they always provide amazing service while creating an uplifting dynamic throughout the restaurant. This accurately reflects the food server here as well, because it's the best in the county of Orange. If you are trying to eat Italian food, Bella Cucina is the only valid option. The calzones, Stromboli's, pizzas, sandwhichs, every menu item is simply superb. The price here is extremely reasonable too, and the serving sizes are easily the best in the County of Orange (which can be rather rare.) The location can be a bit deceiving, but I truly believe this has the potential to be the most popular restaurant in Orange if it had more awareness.

Came here around 2 in the afternoon and it was empty, to be expected considering the odd time. The server was really attentive but i suppose that makes sense because we were the only guests. I ordered the chicken piccata and my mother ordered the manicotti florentine. I really enjoyed my piccata. It was a good serving size and nicely seasoned. My mother really liked her dish too. We were happy and will be visiting again.

After subsisting off Subway & Dominos for a week at Lake of the Woods, we were dying for another takeout dinner location. We'd been disappointed by the other local pizza place, and we remembered this joint down the road. We called in a take out order of Pepperoni pizza for the kids, and the adults split Chicken Piccata and Eggplant Parmesan. The order was ready in about 25 minutes, not bad for Saturday Night. Upon entering, the front desk is to the right, and there is a large dining area to the left. It seemed to have a wide mix of patrons, from young couples to families with young children to seniors. Note - there are 2-3 stairs to go down at the entry, a consideration for low-mobility or wheelchair-bound guests. The entrees both came with side salads, although small they had a nice mix of fresh veggies. The pizza was respectable with good crust, and although the entrees weren't exceptional, we both enjoyed them and put down good portions. All in all, a great place to get italian with friends and family, especially given the lack of competition from neighboring places. They also have some interesting middle eastern options on the menu, for those feeling adventurous.

New name, same underwhelming experience. Stopped in for dinner and ended up very disappointed. Food was poorly made, lacking flavor and unimaginative. My carbonara dish had so much watery sauce, I had no desire finish the overpriced dish or bring it home. The wait staff was friendly but the food took over 45 minutes to bring out - 45 minutes! I am sure the kitchen is backed up (Friday night to go & delivery orders) but that long is unacceptable. There was really nothing redeeming about this visit. We have no plans to return. Save your time (and your money) and try somewhere else.

Great place for breakfast. Pancakes, omelet, steak and eggs. I get omelet with sausage, cheese, veggies. Very good. Have been her 20+ times

I absolutely love the pizza here, probably my favorite in the area. I've tried several menu items and always go back to the pizza. They have a nice delivery special (you have to ask for it) of buy one large pizza get one half off. Pretty quick for delivery and everything always tastes great.

I would love to tell you how good the food is but I tried for 15 minutes to place and order and kept getting a busy signal. This was around 7:30pm on a Tuesday night. This isn't the only time this has happened. I tried last Friday around the same time. Same problem. Sorry guys but if you don't answer the phone, I can't place an order.

Our go to restaurant for EVERYTHING! Great dine in and take out... Plus, they deliver. Great pizza, subs and pasta! The staff is warm and welcoming. It's very obvious that they care. Nice place for families... We also enjoy it as a quiet place for a couples date night.

We get our take out pizza here. We have to order it well done or it is a little soggy in the middle. Great simple Italian food place. Consistent fresh and good pizza. Happy to have somewhere near us with good pizza

It was ok passing through this town visiting family on my way back to TX. They liked it that's what is important