Katherine MacAlister takes the kids for a bite to eat in town and discovers she had been right all along

News that Bella Italia had collected a Mumsnet award in recognition of the work it has done to enhance its family-friendly service reversed a lifetime’s mental block in my mind.

Passing the George Street restaurant too many times to mention, I had always wondered what the great attraction was and why people didn’t try somewhere a bit more adventurous, instead of opting for the safest, most uninspired option. I had never been tempted to venture in, even though when peering in the window of the bustling bistro-type restaurant I did wonder if they knew something I didn’t.

But if it was good enough for Mumsnet, the modern day equivalent of the WI, it was obviously good enough for me.

In terms of prime location, Bella Italia has got it made. Bang in the middle of Oxford, right next to the New Theatre, it has a captive audience and a restaurant space paved with gold. Pre-theatre-goers know they can get there early and eat before the curtain goes up.

Arriving at 5.30pm for a pre-Shrek meal, the place was heaving, with a queue out of the door. Luckily we had booked and were seated in a nice family-sized banquette, and the kids were issued with a colouring and puzzle kit to keep them occupied. So far, so kid friendly.

The three-course kids menu was a bobby bargain at £5.25 with a drink, and included a fun sounding antipastini starter of crudites with a tomato dip, but was tinned tomatoes with cucumber and carrot sticks. “I don’t like that”, my daughter said. I didn’t blame her. They might be young but they aren’t stupid.

I had the special – mozzarella in carrozza, the cheese usually breaded and deep-fried, thick, chewy and creamy inside, with a crunchy coating to dip in a pungent tomato sauce. What arrived resembled a fish cake, and when I opened it up there was nothing inside. The mozzarella had obviously taken fright and bolted. Perhaps it was cowering under the fridge hoping for a more dignified debut, but the oily, zesty, piquant delicacy never appeared. Gutted.

The rest of them ate their cheesy garlic bread happily enough, so I smiled and hoped the mains would be better. The kids loved the spaghetti bolognese, my oldest daughter slightly forlorn that her pizza wasn’t bigger. Having chosen their own kind of pasta and sauce, as well as pizza toppings, it catered for the fussy little eaters out there.

My pepperoni piccante pizza (spicy Italian pepperoni and hot green chillies, £8.95) was so-so, but didn’t set the world on fire.

Perhaps it wasn’t meant to, perhaps it was supposed to be as safe as its restaurant and location. But like Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot, my taste buds just didn’t warm up and I left half of it on my plate.

Nearing curtain call at 7pm I looked around and realised the restaurant was almost entirely empty, proving its clientele were all theatre-goers as suspected.

As the children gulped down ice cream cone cups with caramel sauce and chocolate crunchies, I accepted that for a cheap, easy, efficient production line of a meal, it works. It’s just I’ve never been that kind of girl.

Bella Italia
6 George Street, Oxford 
01865 791032 bellaitalia.co.uk

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