Ciao Bella

Absolute gem in Monticello. The food was outstanding! Starting on the appetizers which included calamari, spinach pear and goat cheese salad and arugula roasted beet salad. The lamb chops, seared tuna, branzino and chicken Marsala were all to die for. The tiramisu and Italian pistachio cheesecake were sumptuous. Wine was great. Service was courteous, attentive and prompt. Great outdoor seating.

Food was delicious & well made and the atmosphere was very nice. The portions were small and the service was very slow. It took over 10 minutes just to get menus and another 15 to get our order in.

We had a reservation on Valentine’s Day and it was pretty busy so the wait time for ordering drinks and food and getting our check took a long time. The food came out quick though and it was delicious! I recommend the house Riesling and their ravioli in pink sauce is so good.

This was a nice stop before heading over to resorts world casino, I was taken back how we were seated and not given menus or offered drinks until the other couple we were meeting with arrived. Our friends arrived 15 mins later. I had to ask for a menu and a drink during that time instead of just sitting there. Very awkward. Also my chicken balsamico was ok. The atmosphere was very nice though.

We were celebrating our 15th anniversary on a weekend when we found this gem for dinner and it was the best place we have dinner in years. The service was so warm and friendly. The ambiance was perfect and extremely clean. I have no words to describe how perfect the food was. I was just blown away and hope to be able to go back soon. Everything was impeccable. It was an excellent experience

Very welcoming and warm staff, we were seated immediately. We got the lobster ravioli and fettuccine Alfredo, and both were amazing. For Dessert, we got the tiramisu cake, which was also very delicious. Highly recommend to anyone visiting the town, This restaurant is gem!

Ciao Bella was the perfect find for our lake house weekend. For context, a group of 9 of us visited Monticello for the first time last week. We couldn’t find a good place to eat until taking a drive and finding Ciao Bella. Even without a reservation, we were seated almost immediately in their outdoor patio (which is fully heated and lit up beautifully). We were served by very kind waitstaff all night and we loved the atmosphere. The food was so delicious! We started with their meatball appetizer (not pictured because it was eaten so quickly) and we all got a very impressive entree. Everyone was very happy with their meals, which is great for a sometimes picky table of nine. The portions were great for the price, and it was great to find authentic Italian cuisine in Monticello. We will definitely be back next time we visit!

I found this gem amongst restaurants on google maps while we were driving through the area. We lucked out!! This beautiful, gourmet, family-run Italian restaurant exceeded any expectations I could've had. The menu is huge plus half dozen appealing specials. We had very attentive service from four family members and other staff. The food was delicious and very reasonably priced. For example, a sizable portion of Pollo marsala with starter salad $23, generous pour of Montepulciano $5. I'd definitely return given the opportunity. We dined Friday evening ~630pm. Restaurant was busy, we got the last table in the dining room but there were other tables available in the second room.

Review of Ciao Bella I've been to Ciao Bella before and usually played it safe with the filet mignon or something similar, but tonight I decided to be a little daring--I ordered the Chicken Martini. Let me tell you, I am extremely picky when it comes to food, and this dish absolutely blew me away. Hands down, it was the most flavorful chicken I have ever eaten in my life. You want to talk about flavor? This dish had flavor coming out of the chicken's chicken's kids! At my table, one friend ordered the Lobster Ravioli, and she couldn't stop raving about how amazing it was. Another went with the classic Filet Mignon, topped with Gorgonzola sauce--another absolute hit. The folks at Ciao Bella really know what they're doing. Between the delicious food, the inviting ambience, and the terrific staff, it's an all-around fantastic dining experience. Every dish we tried tonight was a winner. I can't recommend this place enough! gunny and Ricky and the rest of the staff are hands-down, amazing most professional people ever

3.5 If you're not in a rush, then eat at Ciao Bella. We came here on the first night of our mini-vacation. The decorations made this place very inviting, but the staff seemed to move at their own pace. When we were seated, they didn't give us menus. After about five minutes, the host came by and asked if we wanted to get anything to drink. We told him what we'd like, then asked for the menus. He politely told us the waiter would bring them over in a few minutes. After we received our drinks, another five minutes passed before the waiter arrived, told us the specials, and then let us read the menus. We ordered our food almost 20 minutes after we initially sat down. Then we had to wait another 10 minutes for our appetizers to arrive. As for the food, we ordered the clam oreganata, Caesar salad, linguini alle vongole (with red sauce), and rigatoni turi. The clams were pretty good, and the salad was nice--splitting it onto two plates for us was a thoughtful touch. The rigatoni was good, but the linguini was really salty. Overall, it wasn't bad. I just wasn't expecting to be there for 1.5 hours.

My family, who's local, has heard of this place for years, but we never had enough of an occasion to try it. Nothing beats a beautiful humid free summer night and a hungry belly as the excuse that finally brought us out. In short, I wanted to enjoy this long awaited visit, but the service is a major blemish that the mostly tasty - but definitely expensive - food cannot make up for. We were seated outdoors quickly on a busy weekday evening since outdoor tables are all they seem to have left without a reservation. Then, we got some warning early that the restaurant was short-staffed that evening, but little did I understand to what extent. Essentially, it took almost 10 minutes to even get food menus. There was no drinks menu to peruse in the meantime, but an assumption when the manager helping on the floor as server came by that we'd know what to order. To me, a well-curated wine list should be a main feature of a fancy Italian restaurant and not just a rapid fire list of varieties they carry with no reference to their place of origins or vineyards. Where's the cab from? And the merlot? Wouldn't know from the info we were provided. After ordering two menu dishes and a dish from the verbal list of specials, we waited probably another 10-15 minutes for bread. Again, pretty long wait time, especially when you're hungry. And when the bread arrived, it was a stale unimpressive rye like slice that seemed like it could have come from a grocery store bag. In no way was the bread from that day and there was nothing the cute oil and vinegar dispenser on the table could do to save it. At least another 10 minutes later, we received a salad appetizer: one tomato slice, two onion slices, and maybe 8 leaves of mixed greens with some dressing on top. Call me unimpressed again with this near wilted dish. A full hour plus since originally placing our entrees order did the dishes arrive and no offerings in between of fresh bread or another drink to help pass the time. The dishes were average sized and well-plated, except for the seafood pasta special dish. The shape of the plate meant the creamy sauce was buried under the pasta and hardly reached the clams, mussels, shrimp, etc. surrounding it. Let's just say there were a number of dry shellfish bites too many. The 3 star rating is due to the fact that the main food dishes were mostly tasty, but otherwise, this experience is well in the 2 star realm. The long wait times, lack of communication, and lack of attempt to alleviate the situation at the managerial level (an assessment affirmed by one dining mate who works as a general manager in the industry) makes me very unlikely to repeat a visit in the future despite the place having all the makings of a nice, fancy dining out experience when in the area.

Owner seemed very nice we sat down at our table and waited and waited just to have someone come over and bring us our menus. I was contemplating leaving at that point. My husband ordered the Ametriciana pasta dish which has pancetta in it. He took one bite and literally had to spit it out. You can smell it as well. I also tried it and also did the same. The meat had to be old or rancid. My dish was mediocre and you can see they were instant potatoes. The waiter never came around the entire time after we received our food. Waited and waited for someone to come over to us. The bus boy understood zero English we tried to tell him thaf the dish was bad and to leave it so we can tell the waiter. However he didn't understand and took the dish and came back with it in a to go container. This was just an awful and disappointing experience all the way around.

WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE IN MY LIFE. Made a reservation 5 days in advance and was told they had no table inside which was what booked. Was told they had no table for us and nothing they could do. Was not apologetic at all. It is currently 51 degrees with a feel like 42 degree. Was completely aggressive and out of line.

I wish I could have taken a picture of all the food. But my phone did not eat first. We had two amazing salmon dishes for our main courses. One was a special that had a honey Dijon dressing, mashed potatoes, and green beans. While the Cavateli de Salmone was a pasta with pink sauce and had perfectly bite sized salmon in the pasta. Our dessert was tiramisu and a crème brulee NY style cheesecake (which my boyfriend said was the best he has ever had, mind you he is a big cheesecake lover). Service was great and the owner himself did his part on checking in on us. We wish the restaurant was closer to our home to stop by more frequently but this is a must try if you are here for the weekend.

Service was awful. We waited and waited and I finally got up to retrieve the menus. We waited another 10 minutes or so and then walked out. We did get bread and it was stale. Never going back!

Now I understand why the parking lot is packed every time I drive by! We had dinner before a show at the playhouse on a Tuesday evening in June. What a delight! Frank Sinatra and company felt very cozy playing over the speakers. Nicely dressed servers all waited on us over the course of our meal. We never felt forgotten. Our evening started with generous glasses of wine from their lengthy wine list. No rush! We were given space to enjoy ourselves! Then we were treated to a tasty mozzarella condiment plate as we were told the daily specials and perused the menu. We chose a combination of specials and menu items. Fantastic! Delicious and cooked to perfection. And we took home dessert to enjoy later because we were too stuffed to eat it now. We felt like we were in Little Italy in NYC. Excellent service, warm ambiance & delicious food right here in Sullivan county! What an absolute delight! We will be back soon! Truly Caio Bella!

Let's start by congratulating this beautiful family owned restaurant. By far the most pretty, beautiful and up to date restaurant in Monticello. The Gashi Family has created an empire from the amazing service by Albanit, to the food.. Thank you all for the service.

I give it 3.5. The food was absolutely delicious but we had to wait a long time to get our food. We had children with us and they were starting to get a little bit hungry, tired and jumpy (not sitting still). We were there for 2 1/2 hours. I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you're in the area.

Ordered Veal Carciofi. It had sautéed artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, in a brandy sauce. They were so on top of filling water too which I love! Had the crème brûlée cheese cake. Not too flavorful. The toasted almond dessert was delicious and popping with flavor!

A pleasant Italian restaurant out in the country, reasonably priced (prices would probably be 50% higher close to the city), with very good food, gracious and efficient service. Dinner starts with bread and a generous antipasto that is generous and fresh. We ordered a glass of wine and it is a generous pour, in a large glass. We had the fried calamari, served with the traditional marinara which tasted very fresh. Veal Carciofi was tender slices of veal, well prepared with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes. It came with mashed potatoes which I thought were a bit thin, but buttery. Lobster ravioli was nice and flavorful; but instead of the traditional pink cream sauce, had tomato sauce, and not enough, really. Should have listed to the reviewer who said the crème brûlée cheese cake was not very flavorful but the waiter loves it and talked about a crunchy crust. I thought it was an average cheesecake, with a caramel-y flavor and an well prepared, but not extraordinary, graham cracker crust. Certainly not bad but next time, it will be the toasted almond cake. Great ambience, friendly wait staff, and very attentive. Will go again.

Having been there several times before. This place is hit or miss on quality and service. The place is always busy so you think you're going to get great food. Great service ambience in a classy restaurant. What you get is confusing table service, lack of attention, weird plating, who uses slates from Home Depot to serve food with sauce on it? The only thing I can say is the food was not the greatest this visit! The portion size was OK but side dishes instant mashed potatoes and frozen string beans?? The Caesar salad was way overdressed and didn't taste very fresh. This should be a full service high class restaurant instead, it is hit or miss expensive and sometimes very disappointing.

Dinner with Kay and Kel after our original viet place next door was closed. Food was tasty but small portions and pricy. Restaurant decor was fancy and intimate which was nice. They had high chairs for my daughter which was great. Overall, okay. Service was okay.

Amazing costumer service. Scrumptious food. I ordered the oysters, clam linguini and the carrot cake was delicious!

Love this restaurant!! Service, food and ambience... AMAZING... The Salmon entree special was delicious

10+/10! Great service, great atmosphere. They use the freshest ingredients and make sure each dish is done the right way -- you do not want to miss out...especially on the scallop special! The staff were respectful, attentive, and knowledgeable. If you're in the area, this restaurant is a MUST!

My husband and I stopped in Monticello for the night. We decided to try this restaurant. We are so glad we did. We had oysters on the half shell . They were so fresh. I ate them with lemon. He then had the Bronzino special which he said was truly delicious. I had the bucatini with this lovely prosciutto in marinara sauce. It was heavenly. If you are in the area this is a must try!

I came here with nine other girls for a bachelorette party and couldn't have had a better experience. Not only were the waiters and manager so unbelievably friendly and kind, the food was fantastic. You can tell the quality is high and the ingredients are fresh. This is authentic Italian food. The dressing on the Caesar salad was homemade and amazing. One of the best Caesar dressings I've ever had. The vodka sauce was creamy and delicious. At the end of our meal, the manager ended up comping our drinks to help us celebrate our friend's bachelorette. The service and food were so wonderful and we would recommend this place to anyone looking for an incredible time!

This restaurant is our go to we frequent this establishment often food is great. Service is amazing very clean. Plenty of parking desserts are amazing. We recommend this to anyone.

This was our first time here. Went on the recommendation of a friend. We were not disappointed! The food, service and atmosphere were all on point. We are looking forward to our next visit.

We had nine for dinner last night before theater. The food was very good but the service was rude and slow. We asked if we could get served in time to make theater and the answer was not yes or no but something very sarcastic. We barely made theater due to the slow service. We also did not get a salad that was suppose to come with the main course. We didn't inquire because after waiting 1 1/2 hours for our food we just decided to forget about it. This restaurant needs a better attitude and another waiter .

I was staying at Resorts World and wanted to try a local spot for dinner, so we decided to give Ciao Bella a go. I ordered meatballs to start and they were solid, although a very small portion for the price. I'm a big fan of Chicken Milanese so I ordered that for my entree and I think it was probably the best I've ever had. I was surprised to say the least and will definitely come back when visiting the area.

Wonderful staff/owners. Always delicious, filling dishes. Wonderful cocktails. Great atmosphere. My family loves going here

This place has really, really good food. Always very well prepared. Service can be a little lackluster but the food offsets the service. One caution I would give is be careful with the "specials" not at all suggesting that it may be 2nd rate, just be sure to have your wallet filled well because it won't be when you leave.

Absolutely amazing food ! Beautiful interior amazing wait staff, I had the bronzino and my dad had linguine and clam sauce fresh clams . The owner so sweet and the chef kudos to you I can't recommend this place enough . I wish this business well they deserve it !

Go have dinner here and thank me later. So it started off on the wrong foot as our food took a little time to come out. But to make up for this the managers/owners comped all our drinks and dessert, The food was all amazing - from the salad, clams, to all the entrees. And the desserts! Are you kidding me? Chocolate cake, almond cake, tiramisu, cheesecake, all ridiculous. We got a glass of red cab - also delicious!

We came across this restaurant during our annual weekend family trip. Since our father loves Italian food, we decided to celebrate his birthday here. The food & drinks were delicious (great calamari, baked clams, mushroom ravioli, halibut), the service was terrific, and the entire staff was so kind. They even brought out a tiramisu (which was amazing), with a candle for our father, on the house! And the entire place sang Happy Birthday to him. If we lived closer, we would definitely be frequenting Ciao Bella! Thank you for a terrific experience!

I'm giving it a 3 the food was excellent our server was extremely rude. when we asked a question he made like he do hear it When we were on our way out we told the mana He asked the server and the server said and I quote Yes I did ignore them I will never be back no matter how good the food is Service also means a lot

when you walk into a restaurant and there are white linen tablecloths and the waiters are wearing ties, then you know you are in for a quality evening. there is a nice roomy yet comfy atmosphere to go with amazing service. the food however is the star. Everything we had was prepared with attention to detail from the chicken ciao bella to the branzino that my uncle had (very fresh). he also had the oysters which he enjoyed very much. my wife had the beet salad which was a meal in itself. can't wait to come back here. what a nice find.

Food was amazing. And the owner is friendly and funny. Will absolutely be back to try the chicken martini

A+ We're ALWAYS treated so well...if we were Italian, I think this would be EXACTLY how it feels to do Sunday dinners! It's very comfortable to bring the WHOLE family... including our LITTLE ONE. My personal favorite dish, is the scallop appetizer. Now, with al fresco dining...it doesn't get any better. Thank you so much.

Go. There is no other way to say it. The service is excellent with everyone who visits your table knowing anything you could possibly want to know about the food. We started with the scallops and meatballs to share. Both, excellent in taste, flavor and presentation. I had the penne al a vodka with chicken. That sauce is gold!!! We had the lamb special and the butterfly chicken. For dessert we had the almond cake and tiramisu. All of it is drool worthy. The ambiance was lovely too - good bar, great drinks. Run to Caio Bella.... You'll be so happy you did.

Overpriced restaurant. A portabella mushroom costs as much as a meal at Yanni's or Albellas! Way full of themselves. Leave hungry and broke.

Service at Ciao Bella is amazing. The calamari is very fresh and lightly breaded. Order the cosmo for a great cocktail!! And the staff is very friendly!!

We took our daughter here tonight to celebrate her 3rd birthday. There were seven of us and we are from out of town visiting from Long Island. Long Island has lots of great Italian restaurants and guess what? I rank Ciao Bella's food right up there with my local Strong Island restaurants. The food and service were excellent If I lived closer I would come here more often. Bravo!

Excellent restaurant with consistently great food and very nice specials. Came here last night again and had another great meal. The staff is amazing and are very personal and welcoming. We ordered the fried mozzarella which was fire. Fried calamari were very good. Mozz and tomato basil with pickled pepper on top was great and super fresh. Penne a la vodka was delicious and the sauce was very tasty. Potato crusted halibut was amazing. Finished it off with some espresso and tortufo for yet another awesome meal in the Catskills. Highly recommend!!!

It was great our waiter Richie was VERY NICE. The food was great we also had the mousse chocolate cake! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND! We also had the mussels in garlic wasn't a fan but it wasn't entirely bad. I would come here again. THANKS RICHIE!

We were looking for a good Italian restaurant and found this little gem, it is reasonably priced with great service and nice ambience. Penne à la vodka with shrimp were delicious as were the meat dishes.

Food was amazing. Service was on point. Owner was very welcoming and accommodating. Would go back again.

My favorite place to eat in Monticello. The food is delicious the ambience is amazing. I always feel at home when I come here.

My first impression when walking in was that we were entering a NYC dance club as they were blasting club music over the speakers, definitely not what we expected to hear for a place that claims to offer fine Italian dining. The owner, a tall bald man in his mid 50's whom greeted us, was less than pleasant, almost rude even. The cold vibe with all the staff was highly uncomfortable... perhaps because they are overworked and short staffed, as there was only one waiter and two bus boys on the floor working. They all seemed absolutely miserable, including the bartender...none of them smiled even once while we were there. Each and every one of them had an angry look on their faces. Service was very slow, when the food eventually came out it was average, at best. No wine recommendations whatsoever from the clueless staff...the hugest disappointment as my wife and I are wine enthusiasts. The interior of the restaurant is pretty and the bathrooms were clean. I'd give this place another shot but after speaking to other locals, apparently the service here has went down hill drastically in the last year.

Best Italian food and wonderful service!! These guys do it right, old school. I'm from Boston and whenever I go here I feel I've stepped back into the North End. Truly - I don't even look at a menu anymore when I go. I just let Gunny (who manages/runs Ciao Bella) tell me what's good and I can always get something tweaked to suit my preferences. I appreciate the quality of the food, but it's the personalized service that keeps me going back. Make this restaurant is a "must" on your Catskills to-do list: you won't be sorry!

We had the best dinner last night. The manager Gunny made us feel right at home. He made us laugh and we left feeli fantastic. Highly recommended!!!

Excellent food in a living room-like environment. Service is a bit slow, but ambiance is entertaining, a little loud but lots to nibble on. Lovely night out for dinner.

A hidden gem Meatballs starter...well beyond solid Don't drive bye it 100 clicks from NYC

We went there when it first opened years ago it and was not good. We decided a second chance after pandemic and again possibly the worst restaurant we have been. We were three couples. The service was terrible , we had to grab our own menus. How can an Italian restaurant have bad bread. It was not warm and tasted two day old. The woman wanted white wine, they had none, but offered a Prosecco. Undrinkable, tasted like sugared soda. The others order a Makers Mark bourbon neet, but came with a full glass of ice. Took almost a hour to get our appetizers, baked mozzarella, and fried calamari. Tasted like they used frozen calamari. The women had a chicken dish, all were rubbery and should have returned it but that entrees took one hour and forty five minutes. I ordered salmon medium rare pink on the inside. Came over cook, that I returned. They replaced the dish and it came back totally raw and was way to salted. The head waiter and owner could care less. Never said we are sorry, A horrible experience, expensive for they offered. Go to a pizza restaurant and have a slice. Would be a way better experience.

Ciao Bella is our favorite Italian restaurant. My husband and I have dinner there at least once a week. We are treated like family and the food is spectacular. The portobello mushroom ravioli is outstanding and the baked clams are the best anywhere. The staff make any accommodations you ask for. Even the bread is fantastic. Don't leave without having the toasted almond cake. It's like a Good Humor Bar on a plate! Wish there were 6 stars !

absolutely excellent! Service is impeccable. Food is fresh, cooked perfectly, seasonal and just generally delightful. They clearly care about their customers and your dining experience. Delicious antipasta and warm bread served at the table. Cocktails generous and well crafted. Do not hesitate to stop in here, Ciao Bella is an excellent choice!