Bella Napoli a Taste of Home

There’s something comforting and familiar about eating dinner at a restaurant that makes you feel like you’ve been there before and can’t wait to return to enjoy the experience all over again.

That certainly was our experience when we recently visited Bloomfield’s Bella Napoli Restaurant at 1640 Broad St.

We started with some appetizers and salads. Little did we know these dishes could easily have served as our main courses.

First up was the fried calamari Gino ($12), a dish served up hot and, as our waitress explained by special order only, with a sesame sauce. The rings were nicely prepared, crispy and tasty and the sesame sauce added a unique flavor unlike anything we’d tried before. This portion was so huge, it needed to be set aside and brought home.

Another appetizer was the tomato and mozzarella salad ($8) featuring the aforementioned items in an olive oil dressing, but with a little twist. The dish also contained bits of onions and lots of celery, giving it a crispy crunch for each bite. The mozzarella was thick and tasty, with the flavor aided by the dressing. This large portioned dish also needed to be brought home.

For another appetizer, we ordered the small order bella bruschetta ($10), a delicious mixture of onions, mozzarella, tomatoes and celery on toasted bread. Although the taste was similar to the tomato and mozzarella salad, the bread brought out the flavors even more and made the dish a table favorite.

For our final appetizer, we chose the Caesar’s salad ($9), featuring green leafy lettuce and crispy croutons. The dressing was creamy and tasty and the salad was crunchy from the croutons. It was a refreshing treat shared by everyone at the table.

For entrées, we ordered comfort foods we crave and eat at home.
The spaghetti and meatballs ($14) dinner featured four cue-ball-sized meatballs with spaghetti in tomato sauce. The meatballs tasted as if they were custom made for each order, featuring lots of beef and were juicy and soft. The accompanying spaghetti was plentiful and surrounded by homemade sauce.

For another entrée, we ordered the chicken parmigiania ($15). It featured a huge chicken breast that took up almost the entire platter covered in homemade tomato sauce and parmigiania cheese that was both abundant and tasty. While most restaurants make this dish with a small breast and lots of sauce and cheese to cover it up, Bella Napoli does not. Although the portion was huge, the sauce and cheese were not overwhelming and was a hit. The dish came accompanied with angel hair pasta.

One guest preferred a vegetarian dish that night, and Bella Napoli didn’t disappoint. The eggplant parmigiana entrée satisfied that craving.

The dish arrived with pieces of eggplant piled high on the platter and surrounded with homemade sauce and pasta. We were delighted with the preparation and presentation of the dish, and one guest even remarked how this was the type of food her mother would make as a comfort food for the family.

The final entrée was the chicken scarpariello with breast meat ($17), a meaty dish featuring chicken breast, ample amounts of sausage, three types of peppers (green, red and yellow) and mushrooms in a white wine sauce with a touch of garlic. The chicken was tender and juicy while the sausage provided a distinct taste to the dish. The white wine sauce gave the dish just what it needed to push it over the top.

With the main dishes completed, we decided on two simple desserts to complete our meals – a cannoli and tiramisu (both $5.95). The cannoli was creamy and sweet, the perfect aperitif to a delicious meal. The shell was crunchy and was filled with just the proper amount of filling.

The tiramisu was a wonderful sweet treat. It featured creamy filling and soft, spongy cake. It was definitely a table favorite.

Some things to note about Bella Napoli:

• Diners have the choice of angel hair, ziti or spaghetti with most entrées. The menu also lists potato croquettes, but the waitress said that option is no longer offered.
•  The bathrooms are handicapped accessible and are clean and roomy.
• The restaurant offers valet parking. However, there is plenty of on- and off-street parking available.
• Indoor and outdoor seating are available, weather permitting.
• The restaurant has a liquor license.

Bella Napoli
1640 Broad St.
Bloomfield
(973) 338-8500
Hours: Mon-Wed: Noon – 10 p.m.
              Thu: Noon – 1 a.m.
              Fri:   Noon – 11 p.m.
              Sat:   Noon – midnight
              Sun: Noon – 10 p.m.

MasterCard/Visa accepted
Reservations accepted