Calabria Bella

A True Calabrian Gem in the Heart of Cosenza I stumbled upon Calabria Bella while visiting the Duomo in Cosenza, and what a find it was. I arrived a bit early, and despite the doors not officially being open yet, the entire family greeted me at the entrance with warmth and hospitality, that alone set the tone. Once seated, I was served a spectacular platter of Calabrian specialties: cured meats, aged cheeses, grilled vegetables, olives, and perfectly crisped fritti. Each bite told a story, one of tradition, pride, and quality. For my main, I went with the Tagliata over a bed of arugula and shaved Parmigiano. After a few days of pasta overload, it was exactly what I needed, tender, flavorful, and beautifully plated. The ice-cold beer was the perfect pairing, but the best surprise came after the meal, generous after-lunch shots and a great chat with the owner, who clearly treats every guest like extended family. The wall of celebrity photos confirms it, this place has history, character, and a reputation well earned. If you’re in Cosenza, don’t miss it. Grazie mille, Calabria Bella. I’ll be back.

Disappointed with food: lamb dish was just chewy pieces of meat without sauce thrown on a plate, pasta with chickpeas was OK but plain, beef was more or less tasty. Great rose wine

We’ve been travelling Italy for 6 weeks - was passing through Cosenza to travel back north and we stopped here for lunch. Hands down the best pasta we had on our two month trip so far. Hospitality was exceptional. Felt honest, authentic, very decent serving sized. Oh - and for the women - they have a clean toilet with a toilet seat! Haha! Thanks for having us. We hope you continue to do well in your restaurant.

Just had a delicious and traditional meal at Calabria Bella. The food was fresh, tasty and very generous, portion wise. It was also very affordable. Service was excellent. Highly recommend!

It was open on a Sunday at around 15:30, so we went to this place. We were not disappointed. We were even pleasantly surprised. They didn't understand English, but we still managed to communicate. Nice staff.

If you are passing through Cosenza, well worth trying! Service was super friendly and delicious food (mushroom pasta especially). 40 euro ish for 2 people: wine, water, two pasta dishes, side of cooked veg, two desserts.

Great restaurant, in a lovely setting next to the church The staff where very attentive and the food was very local of the area I had the roast lamb with potatoes and side vegetables My wife had the pasta with mushrooms and pesto which was a very large plateful , she could not finish it all We would recommend this restaurant if you are in the area

This is my favorite meal I have ever had. Been here twice and it didn't disappoint. Highly recommend the sausage pasta and the local wine. The setting of the restaurant in this quiet little square is perfect and the service is incredible. Will continue to come here anytime I am in Italy.

We enjoyed our meal here very much. The antipasti sampler was great and plenty of food for two. We also got the fileja with 'nduja which was nice and spicy and the stewed boar with roasted potatoes. The stew was a very hearty dish and literally kept us full all day. We also had some wine, 2/3 of a bottle to be exact, since they bring you the bottle (not house wine) to your table and only charge you for what you consumed.

This place is located in the ancient part of Cosenza. We walked from our Airbnb and enjoyed seeing the alleyways with Street art and the Duomo. The restaurant was easy to find with maps, and we were quickly seated outside (at about 9pm on a Sunday night). The view of the cobblestone plaza and apartments with terraces was so beautiful and charming. The staff at Calabria Bella didn't speak very much English at all, which made us happy. The place seemed to be full of locals enjoying a relaxing, beautiful, summer evening. We ordered a bottle of wine at the waiters recommendation and ended up with something crisp and white, not sweet, which is exactly what we'd hoped for. There were so many options, but some of the things we tried were the roast chicken, the gnocchi and the veal. The one hiccup was that we thought we were ordering scallops and ended up with veal, but that was totally the fault of us and our translating app, so we made do and all tried it- it was amazing even though we're not even fans of veal! We were definitely tourists since we spent a shorter amount of time seated than any of the locals, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and hope we didn't look too foolish to all the locals!

Do yourself a favor and go where the locals go. Visiting family in Calabria and decided to spend a few days in Cosenza. Im pretty sure I stopped by Calabria Bella every day. This place is SPOT on. When I wandered in at lunch it was full of locals, business men and groups of friends. I love when you walk into a place and it has its own vibe completely different from whats going on outside. Thats what Calabria Bella feels like to me. Its just relaxed and lovely. Something I just adored about this place is that apart from the normal Italian cuisine (done VERY well) you can get some truly lovely 'special' things. Wild boar tagliatelle? YES, please. Spicy tomato-based baby eel spread? Yup. All sorts of local fish options? Got it. Along with the incredible wine selection and completely lovely and knowledgeable staff this place cannot be missed.

Spent several days in Cosenza visiting relatives. This restaurant was recommended and we found it to be a wonderful surprise. Tucked away by the cattedrale in the centro storico it's worth the search. Hint...if you drive in, there is plenty of free parking nearby in the small piazza where Via Martirano and Via Cornelio Tommasso cross. Then it's a short walk up to the restaurant. Otherwise it's nearly impossible by the cattedrale. Went there twice in 2 days. Walk in past the German tourists...fear not...it's also packed with well-heeled locals. The Calabrese items like lagane e ceci are fantastic. Be sure to make liberal use of the Calabrian chili oil. Full of flavor of chili, theirs is particularly memorable. Great salads and secondi piatti. Superb wine list of many local wines broken down by district and regions around Cosenza, all fairly priced. Here's a place to skip the vino della casa and treat yourself to a bottle. And lots of verdure and fruit (dessert) options so you can eat very healthily here!

Our hotelier recommended several places to eat dinner in Cosenza, but suggested this was a "sure bet." He wasn't wrong. We had one of our best meals in Italy here. There are lots of traditional Calabrese touches with the meal: you'll be presented with a dish of 'dnuja and chili peppers in oil to use as liberally with your food as you like, and when your pasta comes you'll be served a dish of whole raw chilies to bite as you go. The bread basket includes signature taralli (hard little breadsticks shaped like tiny donuts) and the antipasto platter (recommended!) includes an array of delicious Calabrese salami as well as Calabrian-style fritters. After the antipasti, I had the boar tagliatelle (home-made, of course). I highly, highly recommend it--but be forewarned! The portion is ENORMOUS! I actually wasn't able to finish and was really saddened to watch them take away the plate. There is a user-friendly wine list that helps even non-conversant tourists like me identify region and price easily. We ended up with a nice and very reasonably priced regional bottle at the waiter's recommendation. If you pick Calabria Bella, you'll be surrounded by locals during your meal--it was very nice to feel like the only tourists around, because you feel like you hit on something true as well as something that has passed the sternest muster. Cosenza is a delightful city, and Calabria Bella is literally at its heart, right next door to the Duomo in the historical center. Have dinner overlooking the piazza and take in the mix of sixteenth and century architecture and nighttime electric lights along the old town evening passeggiata.