Thanks to Joe and all the staff at Bella Luna. The front staff was polite. We were seated after 2 mins on a busy Saturday night. Our drinks were constantly filled by people (tall lady, moustache guy, et al), waiter Joe was friendly and even the manager person in the Halloween shirt checked on us! True team! The food was amazing. We had the Spicy arrabbiata pasta, fig and Gorgonzola pizza, bolognese pasta with 2 extra meatballs and garlicky focaccia bread. It's a lot of food. We had extra plates and ate family style. Thanks everyone at Bella Luna! read more

Haven't been here since the Reno. Ordered the loaded bloodY Mary. Looks pretty bitch is lackluster in taste Ordered the new shrimp scampi... stay far away. Boiled shrimp on top of bowl of soup noodles.. I had to use the bread (which we had to request although the table next tO us received without asking). No bueno. read more

Bella Luna - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

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Was out with the same beautiful young lady thank you Bella Luna for making it a wonderful evening. The owner and employee are the best thank you. read more

Bella Luna - Was out with the same beautiful young lady thank you Bella Luna for making it a wonderful evening. - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

Jose is a great waiter. Food was delicious with great atmosphere and the staff were very nice. Looking forward to going back to and enjoying another tasteful dish. read more

Super 5 stars for this place.. JJ made this an experience to remember! I come to town for work once in a while but this place is officially a staple for me! Surprisingly good Italian food (and I NEVER eat Italian food that's not my moms!), great fish, excellent house made cocktails, and superb service experience- what more could you ask for? See you all soon! read more

Bella Luna - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

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Great food and service. Billy, the bartender, always amazing adult beverages. Wyatt, our server, was great with spot-on recommendations. Delicious chicken Milanese and halibut. read more

We had reservations, but were shown to a small table. When we asked for a larger table, waitstaff and manager were condescending and sarcastic. We ended up leaving without being seated. Why do older people always get short shrift in restaurants? read more

Great food. The chicken picatta was great. The risotto needed salt. Ask for the bread. It's yummy. read more

Bella Luna - Chicken Picatta - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

Definitely had better. Next time they have a special on Rib eye i know not to get it. Service was great. Food is not worth the cost But great service. Menu is mis leading on what to expect as far as good food read more

Holy Moly I'm stuffed! This was my first time at Bella Luna Bistro and it definitely won't be the last. We started with the sweet potato fries which are suuuper fresh and came with a delicious homemade dipping sauce. I got the short rib special and the beignets for dessert. The short ribs fell right off the bone and came with extremely yummy mashed potatoes and veggies. Truly some of the best short ribs I've ever had! The beignets were so amazing! You can't find beignets everywhere so I'm so happy I found my new spot for these treats! Staff was super friendly and service was great! Can't wait to come back! read more

Bella Luna - Cowboy Cut Shortribs - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

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I'm from Fresno and every once in a while my fiancé and I drive to Merced to meet his family for dinner. Tonight we came across this restaurant and it was a great find! It's a cute Italian restaurant and the food is amazing! We ordered a couple of appetizers. First the fried calamari which was okay and the spinach & artichoke fonduta, which super delicious! They're also serve fresh bread and butter My entree was Tracy's "Pasta 'Amore" which was a truffle gnocchi. I loved it! If you like truffle is a great dish. Although, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be swimming in cream. It was still good. For dessert they're we're out of cannolis and their torch was broken for the crème brûlée so I got the cheesecake. For my personal taste it was way too sweet. The only downside other than the missing desserts was the temperature of the restaurant. It was so hot and stuffy. I found it very difficult to focus on my meal and the conversation at the table because I was so uncomfortable. The waiter was kind and said that the bar and their back room feels better but at that point it was already too late. Great place, I will go back next time I'm in town! read more

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I haven't been to BL since the place had a makeover. I am so looking forward to dinning there again! TONIGHT!!!! I feel like Dolly Levi returning to the Harmonica Gardens after a long absents....but not so popular or spectacular. The dining was FANTASIC at the time and after surfing through all the pics posted on Yelp, it looks to be the same....if not better. I'm confident my little trio will not be disappointed. I will be sure to post a review afterwards letting all know our dining experience. Chow for now.... COVID-19 has done a lot of negative damage to restaurants at large. Sadly the Bella Luna was no exception. The items omitted (from the present stripped down menu) that I enjoyed in the past was upsetting. The menu has been reduced to one side for entrées and the flipside for an abundance of alcoholic beverages. I suppose if I was a drinker I would be extremely happy. But on the whole the service was satisfactory and the food as well. Will I go back? Of course I will. I am not ready to say arrivederci yet. read more

My mom had my baby shower at Bella Luna and wanted me to make a review because they did such a good job! Amanda and Mike were super flexible and amazing to work with during the process. Everything looked amazing and the food was incredible! Would definitely have more events here in the future. read more

Bella Luna - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

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First time eating at Bella Luna this weekend. Was pleasantly surprised. The place is quaint and cozy, with a clean and polished looking interior. Waitress was a true professional, efficient and attentive, without being pushy. Being very particular about food, we all thought that the food and the quality was excellent! We had fried calamari, watermelon/burrata, arugula beet salad, chicken cappelini, and a pizza for about $100!! Nowadays that is very reasonable. We are in the area often and will be back! read more

Really disappointed in our recent visit. Party of 10 celebrating 3 birthdays. Food was mediocre and entrees took forever to come. They ran out of most of the specials by 7pm on a Saturday night so what's the point?? Probably needed two waiters to handle the back group room we were in since the 1 waiter was obviously overwhelmed with 3 tables of 8, 10 & 12 people. My salmon dinner was inedible. The calamari is usually great there but this time it was soggy. Other family members were happy with their entrees. Main complaint I have is when you get your bill and they charge 20% for a large table plus a kitchen tip???? You should not AUTOMATICALLY have a 20% tip highlighted. This can be very confusing. I used their QR code payment process encouraged by the grandkids. Also, it was very noisy throughout the meal. Maybe installing wall & ceiling buffer panels to absorb the sound and turn down the music would improve the dining experience read more

The service was awful, the food was mediocre, and the prices not good for what they had to offer

Service was slow for our group of 14. We brought our own wine and had to ask three times for an ice bucket. The corkage fee was $15 for a screw top bottle and the waiter never opened the bottle or poured the wine. It seemed over priced. The $15 salads were generous and very tasty. The meal was not so good. Most likely won't go back We refilled our own water. Poor service . read more

I came to Bella Luna for the first time last week and we loved it!!!! The ambiance was perfect to clear rate a birthday and the food was amazing. We got a chance to meet the GM, Naomi and she was so warm and welcoming. We also got the opportunity to meet the owners who are husband and wife. They came over to our table, introduced themselves and chatted with us for a few minutes. It truly felt like we had been long tim family friends. The pasta was so delicious and the cocktails were great too. We can't wait to come back. read more

Great dinner but exceptional whiskey tasting! Would recommend the show and tell of whiskeys with the essence of orange and coffee beans!

Not impressed. Waitstaff a little too cranky, if the food was better it might have made up for the crappy service. Food was..meh!

great place , great server and ambiance. We had ordered fried calamari and hitMan pizza. Yummy yummy .. everything was good. Our server Josh and John Carlo were nice and polite . Service is very good .. checked in every now and then to make sure if we needed anything. I would definitely come here again.. thank you for the wonderful experience . read more

I officially LOVE BELLA LUNA'S SHORT RIB! For the first time in many years I cleaned my plate! Because "I" wanted to eat EVERYTHING ON MY PLATE YES I did that! read more

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I ordered the shrimp scampi through door dash and was so disappointed when it arrived. There were six shrimp on top of a bed of vermicelli. It was dry no sauce no flavor and one grilled lemon sitting on top. Nothing like the menu explained. It said it was on a bed of fettuccine with butter garlic and lemon, it sounded so good. Well to my surprise it wasn't any of those! Never again! read more

Bella Luna - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

Ok Nice environment with they had more choices on food and chip and salsa. Staff are great too. read more

Nice aura and great food but 2 of my coworkers got food poisoning from the calamari:(

Went for Valentine Day and the Food was spectacular!! Had coconut shrimp as our entree with a salad wedge. Cooked to perfection!! Service was better than ever. read more

Always a phenomenal experience!! Great Food & Nice setting, however if y'all opened at Lunch time that would be Great so I can refer all my daytime customers to you! Lol thank you! read more

If you're going to create an app for your restaurant, know how to use it! We paid for an order through their app and an hour later, still received no notice the order was ready. We called and they had no record of the order! After a fuss with management, they told us it would be ready in another hour! So basically they told us we'd paid nearly $100 to wait 2 hours for dinner. (!?) When we arrived for pick up 2 hours later, the food STILL wasn't ready. The hostess actually hid from us when we complained. The manager was not working that night of course so the cook came to talk to us. His excuse: "Well, these are kids; they don't know what they're doing." Outrageous. They did not refund the order despite such a major inconvenience. (2&1/2 hours to get a meal) The cook went to the register and handed us $50 cash (even though we'd paid credit he made no attempt to refund the card) and not half the amount of the order. The food was so-so. At such prices, you'd expect decent Italian food. The chicken of the chicken Parma was dry. The ravioli were overcooked. The only decent thing they served was the charcuterie board; of course you could buy a comparable one for 1/2 the price at Raley's. Mediocre food, high prices and appalling service! Such a shame this place is so poorly managed now. read more

The food is good but service is always spotty. Not a very welcoming atmosphere by the staff. Pretty openly judgy. I've been there a handful of times thinking it was just me but everyone I've gone with agrees. read more

We came to Bella Luna to celebrate Mother's Day early on a Friday night. We had a reservation for 5 adults, an infant and a toddler. From the time we placed our orders, we felt rushed. The staff removed our bread plates before our food came. Once our food was served, they quickly took away plates actually before we were finished without asking if we were finished. I had only taken my first piece of pizza when we were asked if we wanted boxes. As I began to eat my first piece of pizza and had my plate taken away from as I was taking bites of a piece of pizza. They clearly wanted us to leave. The children were not loud or misbehaving at all, even according to other diners nearby. One of the people in my party ordered the Chicken Marsala but the chicken was just like warm. We suggested she send it back but said she could eat it as it was. Also the pizza crust was over cooked, not typically a problem a few months ago. Did they change management? If so, it wasn't a good move. The last thing that made the evening unpleasant was the added gratuity of 20%. We only had 5 adults, certainly an infant shouldn't be counted nor the toddler since she required no service from anyone nor did they bring an extra plate. I didn't see their automatic gratuity policy stated anywhere and when I asked the hostess as we left, she wasn't quite sure what the policy was. The highlight of the service was a nice thing, our water was constantly filled and we did really appreciate that. The restaurant was not full when we were seated. Did they overbook themselves? Sorry Bella Luna. I won't be back again for a while if ever. We always have enjoyed the food and atmosphere at Bella Lina until now. read more

What a fine establishment. Wonderful place, great people. I enjoyed my opportunity working here and the food is exceptional.

We came in for the first time. We were greeted rudely by the hostess who then sat us at a table in the bar next to the front door. It wasn't a dining table and we found out that the bartender was our server. We sat for over 15 minutes waiting for a greeting. When we ordered two appetizers, two drinks and a pizza, we sat another 30 minutes waiting for our drink. We got the meatballs which were good. Then the smoked salmon bruschetta came, it was gross and had the grey fatty part on it. The pizza came and said fig, prosciutto and cheese. It was fig jelly and was so sweet and disgusting. I would not recommend anything besides meatballs, maybe. The manager (?) stood around not helping us either and we were very disappointed with the place overall. Service, food, and table locations. Please address these issues if you want repeat clients. read more

The food and experience was really good! The ambiance is great for dinner and our servers were very friendly and accommodating. Overall I would definitely recommend! read more

Bella Luna - Big Tony - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

Service was mediocre at best, servers were rude and passive aggressive. Waited over 30 minutes after ordering to be let known that they "ran out" of my order, not to mention having waited an additional 20 minutes to be seated. Will not be returning. read more

My wife and I have been here a few times and at the beginning everything was great. About 2 months ago my wife and I wanted some drinks and appetizers and wanted a high table by the entrance, the tables were empty and we were told to give the hostess 10 minutes..... for what??? She couldn't answer. About 2 weeks ago we went for a drink and some food and we were surprised by the waiter asking us to order everything we wanted to order at once. In other words I was trying to order an appetizer and then we would decide on an entrée but he said (waiter) they make him put in the the entire order at once. I've been to many restaurants and have never heard you had to order your entire meal all at once.... Today we ordered pizza and a butternut tortellini. See the pictures for yourself.... Does that look appetizing, like a full order, and worth $21??? I THINK NOT!!! No flavor what so ever, no sauce, just tons of oil! It was like they threw everything on a pan and heated it up and threw it in a container. We've given this place a bit to many opportunities. Take your money elsewhere!! read more

Bella Luna - Full order of Butternut Tortelloni...... - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

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The food is good, not great. The service is always disappointing. Nice staff, but they are either understaffed or not managed well. Lunch will be long. So don't plan on being in and out under an hour. Appetizer will be quick, food will be an hour to show up. This has happened twice to me. Even the take out service is bad. Show up 15 min after the time they tell you to be there and then your wait may only be 5 min. I've given this place many Chances. The crazy thing is that of all those times not once has the place been packed. It's usually only 50-70% full. read more

We love this place, awesome food, service and drinks. My brother in law is a chef, who is hard to please, and he enjoyed everything here. Best Italian food in Merced CA. The only negative is that it's expensive for Merced, but for us it's worth it. read more

We were staying at a hotel a block away, the Hyatt, and wanted Italian food. There was something for everyone here. Pizza for the child, pappardelle pasta for my husband, sea bass for my dad and chicken Marsala for me. A nice glass of wine, fantastic meal, and ample seating. It was busy but not packed. Our waitress was nice. This was one of the best restaurants I've ever dined at in Merced. I ate all my vegetables. The risotto accompanied my dish and my dad's fish, and it was delicious. Will be back! read more

Go anytime i can get in. Not from area but love the food and cappuccino martini. Highly recommend the lamb.

This place is usually closed on Sundays, but because there was a graduation at UC Merced, they thought that it would be good business to be open and they were right. Let me just start off by saying this place is in the middle of nowhere. All you see is a vast open space of greenery and cows then there's Main Street. It's literally the "downtown" of the area. And this is where Bella Luna is located. There is plenty of ample FREE public parking lots EVERYWHERE. If you don't pay attention, you could actually miss the entrance to this place. Once you get inside though, it's beautiful with tall ceilings. It's very light, bright, and open. It looks like you're dining al fresco, but you're not. We were greeted immediately by our waiter who was supremely nice throughout our whole dining experience there. I checked in on Yelp for the free check-in offer of a cookie, but at the end of the meal, we got more than expected, but I'll tell you more about that later. I ordered the mango iced tea... wow... so good. Probably the best mango iced tea I've ever had and I've had plenty. This iced tea actually had real chunks of mango in it. I was here two weeks ago and I already forgot what food I ordered... I've lost my mind. I know for sure my bf and I ordered the specials. One was an au jus sandwich, which was what I had and the other was .... was the other special my bf had. My sandwich was a little dry so I dipped it in the au jus, but the au jus was too salty. I think it's because they actually used the juice from the cooked tri tip. I wish I had remembered what kind of sandwich my bf had because I actually liked that one better than mine. The piece de resistance though was what came after our meal... dessert! Remember that free cookie I was talking about earlier? Well, we didn't get a free cookie... we got a plate full of delicious dessert! 2 identical plates of dessert for the table to be exact. There was cheesecake, tiramisu, bread pudding, and a decadent chocolate cake. Let me give you some math right now... bread pudding + chocolate cake = orgasmic! The tiramisu was light, airy, and not too sweet and the cheesecake was rich, but not in a really sweet way, but out of all the desserts, I just loved the crispiness of the top of the bread pudding and the smooth, dark chocolatey goodness of the chocolate cake together. It's literally making my mouth water right now just thinking about it. I think this place would do well in Los Angeles where I live because not only would I frequent it, but it has a really nice vibe and the service was really spectacular. If I'm ever in town again for some reason (maybe to tip cows or something... not really.. I'm an animal lover and I wouldn't do that...), I would definitely come here again just for the mango iced tea, the bread pudding & chocolate cake combo alone. read more

Bella Luna - Mango iced tea with real bits of mango! - Italian Near Me - Merced, California

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