Given the terrible state of Paducah's chain-saturated restaurant scene, I'm generally hesitant to leave negative reviews for local restaurants. In fact, I'm always glad to see local, family-owned businesses sprouting up and doing their best at breaking the area-wide Darden/fast-food stranglehold. However, after experiencing the disgusting food, terrible attitudes, and overall poor service at J Bella's Pizzeria twice, I can't allow other prospective customers to make the same mistakes I did. I'll do my best to keep my review brief, but I guarantee nothing.
The building itself, while not quite as terrible as Pizza by the Pound, has seen better days. There's a certain feeling of uncleanliness that I just can't seem to shake. The seating is limited, but I doubt you'll have any problems finding open seats. Remarkably, the pizza is even worse than the building. It tastes like saltine crackers doused in ketchup seared to a nuclear crisp. In fact, the crust on my pizza was so dark, I felt like I was gazing into an eldritch abyss waiting to steal my soul for daring to examine what had been so skillfully prepared for me. Another troubling aspect of the pizza was a plastic taste that seemed to grow lighter the closer I got to the center. I'm sure I could've picked a better pizza out from Walmart. That's not saying everything was terrible, though. The fried cheese ravioli was actually decent. Flavor wise, I'd place it somewhere comfortably around McDonald's food.
What inspired me to write this review was the horrendous service and attitudes my family experienced. The staff, who I'm assuming are all one happy family, acted like they hated the restaurant, each other, and life itself. I mean, I'd act similar if I were subjected to J Bella's pizza on a regular basis, but I digress. When my aunt went to pay for the "food" we were served on my second visit, no one would come to the register. All of the workers and the owner/"cook" were too preoccupied with pretending to watch a video on a cellphone. Are customers such a rare sight at J Bella's that they forgot how to interact with customers? Is the Kentucky educational system so bad that none of them know to approach the register when a customer is ready to present legal tender for services and products rendered? I'll never know. What I do know, however, is that while my aunt walked out after Captain J Bella graced her with his imposing presence, he began condescendingly singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" and stopped once she got outside. I hear his assault on her eardrums was as bad as the assault on our taste buds, but I can't confirm this. My aunt and another person who dined with us, both hoping to reach the owner before I finalized my review, tried to call and see what exactly led to this terrible turn of events. Instead, they were greeted with guttural grunts and excuses of "the restaurant being too busy" (quality humor, folks) keeping them from talking. I believe the funniest aspect of this clown fiesta was the presence of religious-themed artwork on the walls. They certainly didn't act like they were Christians, but maybe they briefly fell out of God's graces.
There's no way I'll be back. I was willing to let the horrendous food slide, but I simply cannot allow my family to be treated as bad as they were without warning other people. Go to Pizza Warehouse, Pizza by the Pound, Pizza Inn, or even Domino's if you want pizza. I wish J Bella's the best, but in their current form, they are quite possibly the worst pizza place in the history of Paducah, maybe ever. read more
