Bella Luna

This location has closed for remodel. It will be a new concept when it reopens. Same owner runs The Hopping Pig just a few doors down.

Came for a lunch break. Huge lover of gnocchi and had to try the ones they offered here. It was amazingly bad. The salad I received was something I could have made myself if I was drunk. I think the server forgot the dressing… or maybe I’m supposed to just eat it plain. Either way, this place was fail. :(for such a busy area of downtown, they really need to make sure they are serving the best of the best.

Terrible service, we got our drinks at the end of the meal. The Gnocchi was uncooked, the salmon was tasteless and the chicken was rubbery
All in all a horrible meal.

I went here with a couple of my other friends for my birthday and it was the WORST IDEA ever! We had reservation for 7 at 7:30pm, we got there around 7:25pm and had to wait in the cold for our table to be ready (even though, there was barely anyone in the restaurant). We got seated and the waitress took our drink order. She went around and grabbed our dinner order and forgot one of my friends. We had to search the entire restaurant for her and she was nowhere to be found. We eventually found her (after having another waiter go and get her). She took my friends order and left again. We waited nearly 2 hours to get our order and on top of that, our meals were OVERLY SALTY! My friend ordered a romaine salad and her order was wrong, how can you mess up on a salad? really? the pasta noodle we ordered was HARD! the FRESH FISH. smelled like it was fresh, about a month ago! My friend ordered a ginger ale and it was mixed with flat soda! really? There customer service skills. just simply SUCK! And when we asked for the manager, the missing waitress decided that it was helpful to take 26 dollars off our almost 300 bill! WOW! REALLY?
This place was horrible! I do not suggest coming here!

My friend and I went to this restaurant because we were in a rush, and there were some table openings on a saturday night. Well, there is a reason for it!
First, we ordered shrimp and pesto pizza, but it came out with NO SHRIMP. We even told our waiter and he clearly said «No, its the right pizza, its in there» so we kept eating. NO SHRIMP.
My friend ordered cappuccino and took 10 minutes for him to tell us that they ran out (how can you ran out of cappuccino???). She ordered tea instead and he brought only one type of tea and a cut lemon DIRECTLY ON THE TRAY! That is disgusting!
Their coffee I had was horrible, and I had to put half of creamer just to make it decent. I normally drink coffee black. They took super long for the check, and ofcoure they had to revise after waiting because the cappuccino was on there.
When we are walking out, I realized that the table next to us had shrimp and pesto, and it looked COMPLETELY different from ours. It was so apparent that he delivered us the wrong type of pizza. So basically our waiter totally lied to us but even after questioning still kept going with his lies.
I work in a hospitality industry and I am amazed that this restaurant still exists. Never coming back here and NEVER recommending anyone to go.

Had a
coupon for this place so 2 friends of mine and I gave it a try.
We tried the more expensive of the Chiantis and were disappointed. It took almost the entire meal for the taste to settle and become enjoyable.
I had the Palmita salad that consisted of tasty hearts of palm and artichoke (although my avacado was heavily bruised) but the salad was completely overdressed. My friends split the Bella Luna salad and enjoyed it but weren’t wowed (props on the fair size of the split salad).
Where it went wrong for me was the pasta… rigatoni alla bolognese. Clearly this was not fresh pasta as several of the pasta were still crunchy. The meat sauce was fine but I think I can make a better bolognese. My friends split the Galleto al Forno (chicken with mushroom sauce on polenta) and enjoyed it (again, props on the portion size of the split plates).
I give it 3 stars as it was «A-​ok» … not going to challenge higher end pasta places on 5^th but not as over-​priced as many of the others are.

So, I don’t know what it is with the row of restaurants in this part of the Gaslamp but they seem to cater exclusively to the tourist who doesn’t know anything about food and to customers they don’t care to see come back. I’ve come here twice, the second time was just to see if my first experience was a fluke or not. It wasn’t.
Service is not very attentive and they can mix up your order, even if there were only 2 people at the table.
Gnocchi was bland and the pasta didn’t taste fresh. Didn’t bother with appetizers or dessert at this place. Save yourself a trip and just avoid this place at all costs!

Wow. If I could give this place a zero rating, I would.
Well, I guess they can have one star just for putting the FUN in dysfunctional.
A special note to the male bartender who was working last night — GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE! You’re the only person there with a kind demeanor and you seem like you don’t belong there. I feel like I should have intervened and then walked out when I heard that waitress barking at you when you were clearly busting your ass, but I was with eight other people. I’ve never seen someone get treated like that in front of customers. She’s one of those rare cases where the C-​word is totally justified!
Sometimes I will forgive a place for having crappy service if the food is good. But I’m pretty sure that was margarine and not butter with our bread, there wasn’t any fresh pepper, and my dish was not even close to how it was described on the menu.
What a shit show. Now we know why this was the only «Italian» place that would take a last-​minute reservation for nine people.

Their tuna was supposed to be fresh, caught that morning… For that price, it should have still been alive. I ordered seared tuna with a salad and it was fine except for the freshness of the tuna. My friend got the hand stuffed lamb, which was good, but small portioned. We got free tiramisu and it was pretty good. Overall, not terrible, but not somewhere I want to go back to.

(8 visits). It used to be one of our favorite Italian spots in the Gaslamp, but it seems to be going downhill. In our party of three, we had one good dish, one so-​so, and one overcooked. Appetizers were good, and dessert was decent. The bar selection is OK. Cost-​cutting is evident — our server was also the bartender (on a Saturday night!), there were no tablecloths, etc.
Some reviewers knock them on prices, which I won’t do. Hey, rent is quite a bit higher on 5^th avenue in the Gaslamp, and restaurants are going to have to charge you a few extra bucks a plate to cover it. Go there for the energy and atmosphere; if you want to economize stick to the ‘burbs.
The food’s not terrible or anything, but with a seemingly endless selection of Italian restaurants it just doesn’t stand out. Keep walking.

The service is really slow, they are nice enough, just unbelievably slow. Also, the veal was tough and chewy. I thought they abused those baby cows keeping them penned up so that they would be tender, you know?
Bottom line– I won’t go back here and I wouldn’t recommend this place to a friend.

The golden rule is always if the restaurant is crowded it must mean good food, therefore if it is not… well. Bella Luna had a sizable crowd outside but when we got there the restaurant was virtually empty inside and didn’t get much busier throughout our meal.
While the food wasn’t terrible, and I was able to order pasta as I wanted it, with changes to what was on their menu, it wasn’t the best Italian food I had ever tasted either. Their service was good and attentive though that could have been due to the fact that we were one of only two tables eating inside.
They had a large wine selection and a full bar which I’m always a fan of, though I didn’t drink that night so I couldn’t tell you if their wines or drinks are any good or well made. The dinner was pretty pricey given that it was basically standard pasta, fish and meat that you could get at an Olive garden.
Ok, so my review of this place isn’t all stars and stripes and it wasn’t that it was bad by any means but it didn’t blow my socks off either and for those prices I should see at least one firework. The interior of the restaurant was neat, with very interesting, bizarre pictures from floor to ceiling along one wall and a nice brick wall on the other. The ceiling was covered in painted clouds giving it a nice lighting scheme. But if that’s all that merits this place take a walk down the street and you’ll probably find something better and cheaper.

I agree: «over-​priced tourist trap» is all you need to know. Do not, DO NOT be fooled by the melodious name: Bella Luna Cucina Italiana or the faux swank appearance. Awful food! Super loud inside, rickety furniture.
We got chumped into eating here because the hostess offered us a card for a free dessert (yes, I’m ashamed to admit it, and I hardly ever eat dessert!). The waitress was dishonest, forgetful and a sleazy liar (think used car salesman). Eggplant/​pasta dish dry and completely disappointing, partner’s chicken totally tasteless and boring. Liar/​waitress told us afterward «Um, I *think* the dessert card is only good for tiramisu tonight» (don’t you hate it when dumb people are bad liars?) But. we don’t eat tiramisu. can we please please have the chocolate mousse? Ugh, biggest mistake: cold, gloppy inside, dry outside, fake chocolate taste. Enough — I want to forget this place and the wad we lost there. Seriously — shoulda Unilocal’d it first!

I’m defying my husband on this rating but that’s nothing new. He says if we’d been paying (we had a gift card) then he would’ve felt ripped off. I say the prices are higher because the rents on 5^th in the Gaslamp are probably super expensive, seeing as how they’re in a prime location. So, if you’re looking for $ 12 pasta plates, go somewhere other than the Gaslamp. Now, moving on…
We went to Bella Luna last night to use a restaurant gift card I got from my work (and because I got my hair done and wanted to show it off). I’d been dreaming about trying the Ravioli di Pere, but because I was trying not to go over the balance of the card too much, settled on the Gnocchi Sorrentina instead. THIS is what gnocchi should be like — light, delicate pillows of goodness that don’t leave you feeling weighed down halfway through your meal. The sauce was delicious, they grated as much parmesan over top of my pasta as I wanted, and I finished every last bite.
My husband had the Farfalle al Salmone which he declared to be delicious. We both enjoyed the bread and their olive oil was very flavorful. It reminded me that I need to eat bread dipped in olive oil on a more regular basis.
Our waitress was very good. There were 2 specials she forgot to tell us about, which I only learned from hearing the other server announcing them loudly to another table. That’s ok, I wouldn’t have wanted any of the specials anyway. The wine was a little on the expensive side, but we were at Chow on Friday night and wines were almost as much for less-​interesting varieties. The tiramisu was excellent, as were the cappuccinos. My only quibble is with the wine list. Why list all the non-​Italian wines first if you’re an Italian restaurant? I know people think merlot and cab are the best generic reds, but really chianti is so much better for the same price.
Also: I was taken here for my bachelorette party way back in August (September?) 2007. Everyone had a great time, the service was fantastic, the food and wine delicious, and the waiter even brought over a BJ shot for me for dessert (credit to my sneaky best friend).

Buh.
overpriced, tourist trap. much like everything else downtown.
Food was mediocre at best.
Service was great-​note= only two parties in the whole place.

This review is a bit long, but I think it needs to be said.
I booked my reservation about 2 weeks in advance for restaurant week. The menu looked great, the location was great, and I had family in from out of town, so I was really excited for Bella Luna.
Upon arrival for our 7:30pm reservation, we were informed our table was not yet ready. We weren’t sat for another 20 minutes. Not that big of a deal, but a slight inconvenience.
Once we were seated, we were given water, and we told the waiter we would like to order a bottle of wine. He takes the order, but doesn’t ask anyone else what they’d like to drink, and doesn’t ask, even when he brings out the wine and is told by the two non-​wine drinkers that they won’t be needing a wine glass. The bread is brought, but only after it is asked for, and no olive oil or vinegar is brought until we ask for it twice. Let’s move on to the prix fixe menu…
The waiter says we must order our appetizer, entrée, and dessert from the prix fixe menu all at the same time. Okay. We order, and three of us want the lamb on the menu. The waiter leaves and comes back (mid-​order) to inform us that they are out of lamb, the only red meat dish on the menu. It is beyond me how you run out of something at 8pm on a Friday night when you know it’s restaurant week and that’s the only red meat dish you’re serving, but whatever. We order the rest of our choices, and dig into the bread…
After watching our waiter run all over the restaurant and inquiring a couple of times about our food, 45 minutes later we FINALLY get our appetizers. They are just okay. Nothing special, especially after being in the restaurant for over and hour and hardly making any progress. If it was any other place, we would have walked out, but I had had these reservations for so long, and at 8:30pm on a Friday night, every other place in Downtown San Diego would have been packed.
30 minutes later we receive our entrees. My chicken is nothing I couldn’t make in my own kitchen, my mother’s pasta is more than «al dente,» it needed another 4 minutes at least, and my friend’s eggplant was completely inedible. It was very disappointing.
We were very unsatisfied, but continued on to dessert because it was part of the menu and we already ordered it…
We called over the waiter to refresh his memory of our dessert order, only to have him inform us that 2 of the 3 desserts are sold out. How can they be sold out? We ordered them more than an hour ago. What was the point of ordering them in advance if they’re just going to be sold out? Would they have been sold out if we had gotten our appetizers and entrees in a reasonable amount of time?
At this point, we obviously are all pretty upset with the whole experience and calmly ask to speak to a manager. This is also after witnessing the table across from us speaking to the manager about their poor service and observing another table with their baby who had been there longer than we had. AND watching three women from another table walk up to the bar with their bill and explain that their waiter had never come back to take it from them.
Anyway, after explaining everything to the manager about our experience, he agrees to take off our $ 50 bottle of wine and substitute any other dessert from the menu for the prix fixe dessert they ran out of… but the meal was still about $ 130, without tip.
Overall, a very disappointing experience and I would never go back again or recommend it to anyone.

This is a long review, so here is a summary: my food was good, service was atrocious. Read more for details.
The night started out great. We had reservations (12 for New Year’s Eve) but were late. Will they give away our reservations? Phew! Nope, they held the table for us, even as most of us were 30 minutes or more late. Wow! That was so nice. If we were to just skip forward to me eating my dinner and then leaving, there would be more than a star. But it’s all in the details, the very very large details like service.
We sat, and were asked if we wanted any drinks. Well of course! It’s New Year’s Eve! But we didn’t have time to look at the menu yet, so we deferred until the next time our server asked, which was never. At a table, with 12 people, half of us were never offered drinks, so we kept getting up, going to the bar, and getting ourselves drinks (which was also a bit slow for an empty bar and servers not offering drinks to the patrons).
I like bread. I like bread at Italian restaurants with oil and vinegar. I like to have the people bring it to my table if they are not going to place large bottles of it at the tables (a la Macaroni Grill). Apparently this is a problem at Bella Luna. They served us the oil and vinegar late and once. It got to the point at which we went and got the oil and vinegar ourselves from the little station, and poured it ourselves. Too bad the water wasn’t more readily available, so I could have served myself water to ensure that I was never thirsty.
I don’t think that Bella Luna is marketed as a do-​it-​yourself restaurant, but that’s what it felt like. For NYE prices, I hate feeling like a worthless table because the tip is already guaranteed. I also hate having to ask for things twice, such as a spoon and red pepper flakes.
The food: mine was good, needed to be spicier (hence the red pepper flakes). My friend’s was undercooked and we sent it back. This was not al dente, this was not fully cooked, because, as we were told, the pasta is thick and takes longer to cook. Well then cook it longer! This is Bella Luna’s homemade pasta, shouldn’t they know how long it needs to cook? Also, another friend got a clam pasta dish without the clams, and the price was the same. I think this is stupid and bad service to charge people for things they did not eat.
There’s more to the annoyances of our night, like the hostess and our server hanging out by the bar talking and not doing anything while we discussed our bad service, but this review is long enough.
Service was terrible, and that’s pretty much why people go out, for good food and service. Maybe on non-​holidays things are better, but I’ll never find out.

I was craving pasta and me and my girl were walking around Gaslamp quarter. I’ve never been there before, and was on a mini vacation to San Diego. We were going to meet with our friends, and just decided to eat at Bella Luna first.
Waitress was very nice, and service was great. It wasn’t too busy nearing the later hours when we were there. Good wines as well.

One of the quieter, cozier places located in the club-​packed Gaslamp– so it was a nice place to have dinner and a conversation… but it was very overpriced (Entrees from $ 18 to $ 40) given that the food wasn’t out of this world, and it is in the Gaslamp and there are several other Italian restaurants next door. When I asked how big the pasta dishes were (in terms of sharing since our table wasn’t famished) our waiter lied and said they weren’t sizable enough to share. When the pasta dishes came out– they were large-​our table could’ve ordered half the amount of food.
The bread was very good (but should have been warm) — lots of oregano baked inside.
One strange note– I asked for some crushed red pepper, so the waiter brought it out in a little cup. I kept it next to my plate and would sprinkle pepper every so often on my food. Out of the blue, a random man (who I assume was another waiter) came up to my table and silently reached for the pepper and then went and put it on someone else’s table… wtf? Who does that? What if I had put my fingers in there? Are they too cheap to spare the expense of giving individual small cups of pepper? Now, if this was some pizza place, I would’ve thought it was acceptable– but this was a pricey establishment. Our table kept laughing because it was so odd. I wanted to say to the waiter, excuse me, someone took my spittoon and put it on the other table :)
I’m sure there are better Italian options in the Gaslamp.

Unfortunately this restaurant is a tourist trap. You are paying for the location. But this restaurant has the location going for them though. It’s basically smack dab in the middle of the Gaslamp Quarter.
As an appetizer, I ordered the «calamari umido» which was just pieces of squid (I suspect cuttlefish) in a tomato broth. It was didn’t grab my attention; just some squid in a pool of tomato sauce. For dinner, I got the special, a frutti de mare type of thing which is basically a chunky tomato base with clams, mussels, and shrimp. Unfortunately, the tomato base they used was exactly the same as the one used for my appetizer.
I should have felt offended, for the chef (and staff) thinking that I would be fooled, trying to make me believe they were two seperate food items.
The Caesar salad was very mediocre. Dry (but not yet wilted) romaine leaves with some croutons thrown on top.
In the end, I wasn’t disappointed. After all, you are not paying for quality but for the location.