September 11, 2025 - Fortuna, CA Walking distance from our RV park, we decided to give this restaurant a try. We came in early on a Thursday and were greeted with attentive, cheerful service. Seated in a comfortable booth, we were quickly brought menus and warm garlic bread. The restaurant itself has a welcoming, relaxed vibe. The drink special was a blueberry martini, and it turned out to be both beautiful and delicious. For dinner, we decided to split the lasagna and added an extra dinner salad, along with a bottle of Robert Mondavi Cabernet to share. Both the salad and lasagna were enjoyable, and the wine paired nicely with the meal. By the time we were finishing up, the restaurant was starting to fill, so we were glad we opted for an early dinner. read more

See all

Bella Italia, Fortuna, California - September 11, 2025 We came in on a Thursday evening right around 4:30 PM. They open at 4 PM and I think we might've been the first ones there. We were seated immediately by a very friendly server and given menus and some nice warm garlic bread. They had a blueberry martini special , which sounded pretty tasty, so my wife and I each got one. It's a very comfortable atmosphere with nice music playing in the background. They have a full bar as well as some limited bar seating. We decided to split the lasagna, which comes with a dinner salad. They have a five dollar split charge, which we are always happy to pay to have our meals come out on two separate plates. We also ordered a separate dinner salad. We also ordered a bottle of the Robert Mondavi black label Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon to go with the meal. Everything, including the martinis, dinner, salads, and lasagna we're very tasty. The Robert Mondavi wine was a good pairing for the lasagna. read more

See all

Convenience got us to try Bella Italia the first time. Staying at the Fortuna Best Western, this was literally a five minute walk from the hotel. It turns out the food was delicious, the service friendly and efficient, and we found ourselves returning on our last night. Over our two visits, we tried the Chicken Piccatta, Chicken Marsala and Petrale Sole. All were excellent. I had no trouble substituting extra vegetables for the mashed potatoes (which my wife, with no carb issues, said were excellent). The side bread was warm, freshly made. For dessert, my wife had the Double Fudge Chocolate Cake and Crème Brûlée - wonderful, and I couldn't resist a few samples. Atmosphere was good: booth seating, cloth covered tables. Definitely a solid choice if you're in the area or passing by Fortuna. read more

See all

This is a great find with ample parking. The food is good, the ambiance isn't bad, and service was friendly. Everything was cooked nicely, hefty servings, and flavorful. read more

See all

Service was great. I had the Eggplant Parmesan with Fettuccine Alfredo and steamed vegetables. Portions, as you can see are very generous and very good. The vegetables were al dente, not mushy. The eggplant was nice and meaty. Garlic breadsticks were comfort food after a long drive. My meal came with a very nice house salad of mixed greens and a rocking blue cheese dressing served to the side (without asking!). I left satiated and happy. Reasonable prices for this sumptuous meal. read more

Bella Italia - Eggplant Parmesan, Steamed Vegetables, Fettuccine Alfredo. - Italian Near Me - Fortuna, California

Excellent food and service. Cream brûlée is homemade, definitely try it, so good. This place is very clean. read more

Bella Italia - Italian Near Me - Fortuna, California

I was surprised by the booth-only setting of the restaurant when I walked in. It's a large banquet place for at lease 80+ customers. There is a reception area as you can imagine. The kitchen probably has a wood-burning oven for pizzas too. The Christmas decorations were also very classical. For an Italian restaurant that got mixed reviews, I always start with the basic pasta. All the pastas come with the house salads. But we added a separate Caesar salad to go with the Angel Hair and the Meat Lasagna. The Caesar salad was a little bit salty. But the Angel Hair Pasta and Meat Lasagna were not shabby at all. Especially the Angel Hair Pasta, which was rich in tomato and basil flavors and dried tomato textures. Only if the chef added a little bit more olive oil in the tomato sauce, it would really perfect the dish. We wrapped up the dinner with a double fudge chocolate cake. It's okay, but could be a little bit more moisture. read more

See all

I just moved into town and my stepmother recommended this restaurant. I went with her and really enjoyed the atmosphere, the service and the food. read more

Bella Italia - Chicken piccata - Italian Near Me - Fortuna, California

Second time visiting this restaurant. Excellent food wonderful Customer Service ! Thank you! BJ read more

Two positives right of the back for this restaurant: lots of parking and lots of seating available. Given it's location in the Riverwalk area, parking is plentiful and always available. The restaurant inside also allows for a lot of seating in booths or tables available. The menu does have a variety of options to choose from ranging from salads, appetizers, and main dishes. The portions are okay but seemed over priced for the lack of flavor. We also noticed that the soda was way over priced for a typical restaurant. Our waitress was nice and attentive which is always a good thing in the friendly city. read more

What a nice change. Love the atmosphere., love the booths they're very comfortable. Great food and service

Went there for lunch last Wednesday for lunch. Had the chicken Alfredo and it was really good but the plate was cold so the food got cold kinda quick. Ordered meatballs as a side and they were just reheated in a microwave with no sauce you would think they would be served with a meat sauce. The service was great but didn't offer any Parmesan. Cheese my god it's a Italian restaurant. Being a retired cook of 51 years I notice these things. read more

This restaurant is off the US-101. Whether you are going North or South your exit will be Kenmar Rd or Riverwalk Dr. Same road two names. Google or Yelp! Italian Restaurant and this will be in the top restaurants in the Fortuna, CA. area. The restaurant building and the landscape overall will need a makeover once the Covid-19 crap is over. It's not in bad shape. It just doesn't quite show or behold "Italia". So for now. Get over the exterior and let's walk inside. There is walk-in area before you are Host Lobby. The Host will greet and take you to your table or booth. Yes. They have booths. A 4 person booth if you want to sit comfortably and still have elbow room. The ambiance of the interior of Modern Era Whitwash Wood panels in areas and the Red Velvet like booth seats with table cloth over the tables. The freestanding tables are also covered in table cloths. The menu is almost Italian. But with a twist. They serve burgers for those travelers wanting a bit more Americana. Also, a minor downside for travelers with children under 10. No kids menu. Unless your young child really eats like a hungry teenager. But they offer any dish at half portion. But at full price. In our case. Our girls agreed to the Four Cheese Penne. Got 2 plates of equal portion. But I was charged full price. Adult or regular order plates are on the large size. The portions are BIG! So this is a FYI Tip. Now I am picky about Italiana-Americana Eateries. Especially on the sauces and how the food is prepared. I am no Food Critic and neither are any of the Yelpers who focuses and strictly base their Yelps on Restaurants pics solely to get recognized or recognition. Using the Yelp 5 Star system. The "overall" taste, service, presentation is a 3 and half stars. To begin with. Service. We were greeted, seated and immediately asked for drinks. We were served a family size salad and you get to choose your dressing. My family chose the Ranch. I got out voted. Once we got our drinks and began to munch on the salads. The 4pc breadsticks arrived. The breadsticks however needs to be cooked a bit more. It was a tad bit doughy. A little more in the oven and with a hint of golden brown on top show some color and it'll start to look appetizing. Suggestion: Bread is always served first. Ask the patrons if they would want salad. My Chicken Parmigiano are two flatten chicken breasts served on top a of a bed Spaghetti. The breading was drowned with the sauce that maybe you didn't need breading. Now this Entree is served with Steamed Veggies and Mashed Potatoes. I opted not to have Mashed Potatoes cause really. Who has Mashed Potatoes with Chicken Parmigiano? Not I. The steamed veggies were, well steamed, but steamed before the main dish was cooked. Crisp, crunchy...but I will be honest. Not fresh. Presentation, portion ratio and overall plate taste. 3 stars. My kids Four Cheese Penne. Supposedly kids portion. Now my 3rd oldest daughter is now of age to know what is really good and what is terrible. My 4th and youngest daughter is a Mac N' Cheese aficionado lol. Overall they liked it alot. Their two complaints. There were a quote a bit of large chunk of cheese. They didn't mind since they like cheese. The 2nd complaint. They said it was so a bit "oily". I took a taste and the "oils" could have come from the melted cheese. Or the oil residue from when the pasta was boiling in the pot and drained. 4 stars. My wife's Clam Linguine. Now my wife is an expert in this taste field and this dish is one her favorite Italian dishes among two others that involves seafood. The Linguine Pasta was of good texture. Portion size is a just a tad bit more than usual. The sauce, per my wife was balanced. Though she wished they offered some grated parmasan cheese on top her Entree like many other Italia Restaurants. Her one disappoint. The amount of clams served and the size, per my wife. "Not big enough and not enough clams". Like I said she is an expert and she knows her dishes. 3 stars. Overall, if this Bella Italia is to survive and be the area's Italian Restaurant. They gotta start with some areas of improvement. My personal opinions. 1. Portion serving control. Cost saving and less waste. 2. Come up with a simplified Mids Menu. 3. Complimentary Family Size Salad. While the notion is a great idea. Follow the standard single bowl servings. Not everyone munches on salad. Also it creates a bit more eating area. 4. Bake the Breadstick till the top is Golden and serve hot. Enjoy read more

See all

Small town interpretation of Italian food, yet nothing Italian about it. I've had some friends tell me this is great or even acceptable. But off first impressions it's a never again as well as WTF were my friends thinking. Look at your food, taste your food, have the cooks prepare for you weekly at a minimum. Taste what you are presenting now, and try and tell me im wrong. I don't know what it is about this place, is it the drugs, is it the people? It seems sometimes that this could be the epicenter of Zero Star Cuisine. The good: everything I ordered came out. The iced tea was good. The Bad: My order came out backwards, crab cake app and my steak came first. Crab cakes were frozen, and just tossed in the deep fryer. Soaked on oil, yet hot, in a bed of limp spinach. Un appetizing at its very best. Steak was seasoned and cooked well but it was served with no knife. I ate over half of it with a butter knife before I could get a steak knife. Was a complete bummer. The caprese salad I ordered came out 10 min after my entre. None of the greens were fresh, most wilted. The mozzarella was split by tomato but it was completely dry no olive oil, no vinaigrette. Just old wilted basil on the top. I had thought "well you can't mess up a caprese" I could not even eat it. $74.00 later and I had wasted both time and money to give this a try. One star because the food came out. One star because the staff were polite. Overall, epic fail. Sorry guys but that's just not good enough. That's not Italian. It's just Dennys with spaghetti. And frankly Dennys is way better. They even charged me $.50 for the vinegrette... which did not exist. Oh and my gf's meatball sandwich to go? Nope. Oil soaked fries limp with saturation, small Costco style meatballs with sauce that had flavor, but no presentation and all so soggy it looked like yesterday's leftovers. Let's be honest it can be really difficult to find decent food in this corner of humboldt. And I don't know what got the 5 star reviews because I'd be hard pressed to rate any restaurant in humboldt a 5 star. I'm being real generous here at a 1. Absolutely everything was ugly, poorly plated, without any concern for the customer or the restaurants longevity. Fool me once.. never again. I'd rather not eat... read more

See all

We really enjoyed our dinner and look forward to actually seeing the restaurant as we did DoorDash. We don't usually have super high hopes when we DD as it is often cold or the order is wrong but we were pleasantly surprised by this experience. Food was warm, quality and correct! Very yummy. read more

I have been past this restaurant a thousand times, and thought it was closed. I was so happy to see the open sign in the front window. Excellent service from the waitress named Sawyer, she set the bar high! (Give the woman a raise, she is holding it down) The food was excellent, the dining room was incredibly clean. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to a friend! read more

Someone in the comments said this was Italian Denny's and boy are they right! I don't even know where to start with this place. Decor, 1 star, certainly didn't feel Italian. The food was bland. My son asked for more spaghetti sauce, cause he "couldn't find any". He wasn't wrong. For a $24 plate for lunch, we got no bread, had to order bread sticks at $1 each, after we realized the meal didn't come with any. No salt or pepper on the table. No offer of parmesan cheese. No one else was in there, now we know why. Bland food, and nothing more. read more

Bella Italia - Italian Near Me - Fortuna, California

way too expensive for the wait and my bf ordered a steak and they......marinated it in soy sauce. SOY SAUCE ON A STEAK?!!

The food was yummy, great salad, the servers were attentive and pleasant. Would recommend four cheese penne. Went back the next day and got dessert the tiramisu was delicious! read more

BAD food everything was bland and not tasteful service was great--- got bill found out they charge you for using a debit card will not be comming back mike read more

No chicken in the pesto pasta even though paid extra for it. Chicken Parmesan and spaghetti had very little marina on it. Was one of the worst meals I've had in a long time. Especially after paying over $80. read more

Great food. We had the calamari, meatballs and cheese pizza. My 4 year old and 2 year old also really liked it.

Bella Italia has been our go-to for excellent italian food since it was operating out of a small building on West Washington Street. The food has always been the best; top quality ingredients, perfect sauces and great seasoning. Our service on this occasion was perfect: attentive but not intrusive, and anticipating our needs more often than not. My wife had her favorite dish, the salmon dinner, and said it was delightful. I had my own favorite, the eggplant parmigiana, and it was even better than I hoped. We will be back read more

Bella Italia - Salmon Filet - Italian Near Me - Fortuna, California

See all

Nicest people. Its late and we are hungry. They have dine in but we ordered to go with pick up. The fish are not wild caught. Ordered clam linguini $24 with tax which comes with garlic bread stick which was soft. I counted 14 small clams with their shell that had melted cheese on them. I scarfed them, garlicky and juicy. Stawberry salad with spinach. The chocolate mousse cake." Wasn't so bad". They have lots of desserts (lava cake, ice crram, tres leche, chocolate mousse, etc). Very nice sit down comfortable setting. Plenty of parking. read more

Bella Italia - Clam (cheese) linguini, garlic bread stick - Italian Near Me - Fortuna, California

See all

Passing through town, staying nearby for just one night. We asked that our pizza be cooked slightly charred and with extra pepperoni - and made a point to mention we were willing to pay extra for an extra portion of the meat. She read our order back to us, correctly (including the extra pepperoni, no charge). The pizza was ready in 20 minutes as promised and *perfectly* cooked. But it was made with just a random toss of pepperoni, I would even say it was lightly proportioned. I wish they'd just charged me an extra five bucks and prepared the pizza as requested, or simply explained there would be no additions/substitutions so I could order something I wanted to eat. It's just a suggestion, I recommend others not be deterred by my experience especially if you're not making any special requests. read more

If you haven't been to Bella Italia yet, give it a try. Who knew you could get great Italian food right here in Fortuna. Not only was the food delicious, but the portions were large and we love leftovers. The price reasonable also. Wait staff was friendly and attentive. We will definitely be eating here more often. read more

Great little Italian restaurant in Fortuna! Our meal was delicious, food was served hot, and the prices were reasonable. Service was great. What more could you want?! read more

We stopped by for lunch on Saturday. It's Cajun Penn Pasta was wonderful. Service and ambiance was very good.

I'm trying this spot for the first time. The parking lot is very large and has plenty of space for larger vehicles. Upon walking in you can see that the inside has been redone and the outside given a new name. I waited to be seated and was finally sat down. I waited again for my drink order to be taken 10 minutes, I ordered my food at the same time as my drinks. The waitress did not write down my order . I could see the writing on the wall on how the service was going to be like.I waited another 10 minutes for my drink to come and at that time she asked what I had ordered again. I ordered clams for an appetizer, house salad, shrimp scampi. I waited another 15 minutes and my salad came ? What? Then my bread sticks came and my clam appetizer came. Oh boy, it was not busy . While I was eating my salad and appetizer my main course came and it had mashed potatoes instead of fries. I had taken my last night and a plate of fries showed up. The food had great flavor, the clams were tasty and the portion size was good , 2 bread sticks, the salad was fresh with crispy cucumber, the shrimp scampi was very tasty and the mashed potatoes were good. The vegetables were soft like they were previously frozen then steamed. The two stars I gave were for the kitchen, the waitress received a negative 2 stars. I could hear her talking bad about customers saying they were assholes. I would fire that waitress right away. She was also bitchy with the cook staff. The flavor of the food is good here , the waitress are the only downer. read more

See all

Not your typical Italian restaurant that you might expect. This is Several cuts above in their quality. The food is actually exceptional .... the vibe is White table cloth , plush booths and jazz music playing in the background. Right now we are listening to Satchmo while I'm enjoying a glass of Cabernet and my husband is enjoying one of the many craft beers on tap. Why in the world would anyone pass this up and go to the Eel River brewery right around the corner . This place is great. read more

I went there with my cousin today and we got the chicken Parmesan and lasagna and we told the waitress that we were gonna split it so she asked if we wanted two plates each and we said that'd be great. the food came and the lasagna was great but the chicken was disgusting and the noodles had such watered down sauce it wasn't good at all. we were planning on splitting the bill down the middle and we were guessing that it'd be around 80 but it came out to close to 100!! there was a 20$ fee for splitting the food !!! it was 10$ on each bill. absolutely insane that the waitress didn't even mention that there'd be a 20 dollar charge for them to just put the same amount of food on two plates. i'd get if it were 10 but 20$ is crazy. so if you're coming here and planning on splitting your food just ask for extra plates or be prepared to just waste 20$. I know the charge isn't the waitress' fault but she definitely should let customers know about that charge. read more

First visit earlier tonight. Nice portions and tasty food. Really nice to go out and have a great dinning experience. Get the steamed clams. We were too full to consider desert, maybe next time. This place may turn in to something very special. read more

Bella Italia - Veal scaloppini. Very good!! - Italian Near Me - Fortuna, California

My wife and I are currently driving up the coast for vacation and stumbled upon this place. At first, we were skeptical due to the 3.5 stars but decided to go after looking at google. The outside does not do the interior any justice. Inside is peaceful and quiet (at least for lunch) and is more elegant than what I expected. The service was decent nothing crazy special or horrible. The server was nice and greeted us quickly. As far as the food, it was beyond any expectations I had. My wife and I ordered the toasted chicken ravioli (excellent), house salad (as expected) and the chicken parm (tastes like grandma used to make). We split everything but when they brought the chicken parm, we thought it was two different orders based on the amount we had gotten. The portions were good and everything was hot/fresh. Overall, we finished everything leaving the plates empty. We will be coming back! read more

i ordered their Chicken Alfredo with extra sauce on the side. The quantity was good, not much flavor, got about 1 oz. of extra sauce. This was a door dash order. The next day I get a email from DoorDash that there was an additional charge that came through in the amount of $4.34 for the extra sauce. How cheap can this place be? Had I been on site I would have refused to pay the extra charge . read more

It was my husbands birthday and wanted to take him to a nice restraunt for dinner. Boy was Bella Italia a mistake! I had a 5:30 reservation and when we arrived a group came in after us and they were seated first and waited 15 minutes to be seated even though a family came in after us and was seated before us. Then we waited for about 5 minutes before a waitress came to give us our water (didn't ask if we wanted anything to drink) took our order and left. We sat there for an hour and a half before I was able to call someone over and tell them we wanted our dinner to go (they were just making it then). I paid but believe me I did not leave a tip! This has been the worse experience at any restaurant I have been to and believe me when I say, "I will never go to Bella Italia again!" Once we were home and started eating, my broccoli was not cooked all the way and the food was mediocre at best for the both of us! read more

Decided to finally try here since I live in fortuna. Food was very average and easy overpriced. Charged a fee to use a card to pay. Charged another extravagant fee to split a plate. Will not return. read more

The server we had was so nice, she even took the time to tell us some local spots we should stop by. The chicken penne was just okay, but the pizza was great. Good ambiance, and very convenient. read more

Great food (and plenty of it). It's an old Denny's. But feels quite upscale, for Fortuna. Lol

I was very disappointed when I saw the first location in Eureka close. Turns out it was just a relocation closer to me off 36 in fortuna. Better bigger restaurant for sure. Chicken Alfredo is legendary here along with all pastas . At the first restaurant you were able to witness him cooking your food and you can see the amount of energy he puts in to every dish while serving it to you meanwhile striking up friendly conversation. I feel like he came up in a bronx kitchen or somewhere classy in new york. The recipes here are great! Ordering togo i felt like A cheat code for how big the portions were. read more

Bella to quote my father is, "The best food you will find anywhere!" The owner and chef Daniel is so friendly and always remembers and puts forth the effort to come and talk to regulars even if it has been awhile. The wait staff is friendly and the ambiance is beautiful. I can't recommend Bella Italia enough! read more