We get their riggies and pastas togo from their fridge every time we pass through Utica! They honestly have the BEST Utica riggies!

By far the best Italian restaurant in central NY. Portions are huge, flavor is spot on! Best Utica greens in central NY. Can't say enough. Getting hungry just thinking about it! Thanks BR for always delivering a great meal! read more

2-3" threshold at entrance makes it impossible for wheelchair users to enter building. There is a small ramp from parking lot to sidewalk in front of door, but no ramp directly over threshold. Advertised as handicapped accessible, but as a lot of public places do, minimal effort was actually involved to be compliant with ADA law. read more

I finally went to Bella Regina tonight and think it was a great choice! We split some greens, which were good. I got the chicken alfredo and they do NOT skimp out on the sauce! It was flavorful and the portions are huge; I'll have enough leftovers for at least 3 lunches. My friend got the riggies, which I also sampled and liked. Service was very quick and the place has a lot of cool photos and decor on the walls. They played a lot of old school music like Buddy Holly which I loved. Next time, I want to save room for dessert; the dessert menu was vast and sounded delicious! read more

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My wife was craving linguini and clam sauce after working 13 hrs overnight as an rn. She got home and mentioned it so I went to Bella Regina. The lady who answered the phone was very short and seemed inconvenienced. When I arrived, my 2 dishes were already sitting on the counter getting cold. I tapped my card and paid almost 60 dollars for the worst linguini and clam sauce we have ever had. The linguini was fettuccine and the clams were not cleaned at all. I ate sand and almost broke my tooth on shell. The inside of 3/4 of our clams were mushy. I didn't even know this was a possible consistency for clams. Not satisfied at all and sixty bucks I can never get back. read more

Went to dinner here tonight. My friends dinner was very salty, she ate 3 bites ($23). She told waitress, she took food away and apologized. A little while later she came back and said I can't comp the food but I can take off your coffee. WTF. The meal was terrible and you can't give my money back. Ok thank you we won't be back. read more

I love Bella Regina... I think they have the best Riggies in Utica .... Honestly!!!! I've never had a bad meal ...

One of my favorite places to eat, the riggies are amazing and the workers are all very kind. A great place for a nice sit down meal.

Long time CNY resident but this was my first visit here. Service was absolutely top notch - our server was Tess - did a great job! She was very helpful. Food was really good - we tried their greens as an appetizer and they were tasty, but different than most Utica greens we've tried before. I think they use a different style of green. It was a good appetizer, but a little different. They give you a small piece of tomato pie and it was very tasty. For a meal we shared their veal parm and it was delightfully good. Good meal, great service, and a fun vibe. Well worth a try. read more

Bella Regina is quite the interesting place to say the least. I am not sure how we had never been here but heard they had a great lunch special of all you can eat Riggies, Greens, salad bar, and seafood chowder for $10. We arrived and liked the looks of the cute patio out front, but it was a little chilly so we opted to eat inside. Well, inside is quite the site to see. The decor is entertainment in itself. Very unique from Elvis, to Frank, to Marilyn. It is tastefully done and makes you feel like you have traveled somewhere other than Utica to eat.... until you smell the riggies. Chicken Riggies are apparently a Utica only thing... which is rigatoni, chicken, hot red peppers, and tomato cream sauce depending on what version you get. Accompany this by the "Utica Greens" which are escarole, prosciutto, romano, hot red peppers and bread crumbs (again depending on where you get them). We were greeted by our server, drinks served, then headed over to the buffet. It was set out as catering style dishes alongside a small salad bar. Bella's version of the iconic riggies has won awards and was quite good. It was for sure spicy, but not too much so. The greens were also spicy, but again just right. My complaint about both was that they were very very salty to me, and believe me I like salt. Funny enough the true star of the entire meal was the seafood chowder. I just couldnt get enough of it. We ended our meal with mini cannoli, which was just ok, but one of the party had this peanut butter chocolate pie which was phenomenal. Definitely save room for desert (not included in buffet)! All in all we had a good experience and the lunch buffet is a great deal, the food is good, but would not win my award of the city for best riggies and greens. Maybe best seafood chowder though?! read more

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These are personally my favorite chicken riggies and risotto balls in all of Utica. Their portions are very large which justify the price points. The atmosphere is very friendly and I love the fun decor throughout the place. Currently they are planning on relocating so they are only doing take out orders. The only thing I'd say is if you are in a rush this is NOT a place I'd recommend, every time I've gone it's taken almost 2hrs. There is also limited parking, however, that may change at their new location. For those wondering they do not offer GF/Vegan pasta options. However, they do have an extensive menu. read more

Bella Regina - Chicken riggies and risotto balls - Italian Near Me - Utica, New York

Italian done right. Bella is amazing. The Utica area is known for great Italian food and Chicken Riggies. So that's what I was after. I walked in with a colleague traveling on business. He's never been to this area before so I had to take him for a local meal. First time here and was very impressed. Just inside the door was a life size poster of Dean Martin and just past that a life size Elvis. The music was also from that era. The service was awesome. The food spectacular. I had the trio Riggie's which is choice of 3 meats with rigatoni. The sauce was phenomenal. The meal came with salad bar too. If you finish the bowl of riggies, you get a shirt. As soon as the waitress brought the food I knew there was no way that was happening. I will definitely come back here when in town. read more

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I was disappointed when they shut down on Main Street and very glad to see they re-opened with a nice new layout and busy location. The food is great and the staff are friendly. I really like the grab n go chicken riggies. read more

This is a restaurant I try to get to every time I am visiting Utica. The food is outstanding, especially the riggies and the fra diavlo. The food takes a bit to prepare so it's a good place to sit down and have a conversation. The service is also great. read more

Bella Regina - FraDiavlo - Italian Near Me - Utica, New York

Honestly, probably some of the best Italian food in the area. Definitely a hidden gem. It's kind of tucked away where you'd drive right by it if you weren't looking for it but the food and service are really really good. Tried the Riggies and the Alfredo, both were some of the best I've had. Highly recommend read more

Quittisential Central New York Italian treasure! The food is amazing. The service is fantastic! I had Chicken Riggies and it was amazing. The portions are huge. The atmosphere is very warm and friendly and decorated like a true Italian restaurant should be. Amazing!! read more

I love this place the food is amazing! I try and make a point to eat here when I'm in town. read more

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As a Utica-native who now lives in Philly, these are my favorite hometown riggies. I don't know why anyone would give BR a bad review: the riggies are the best in the area, and I love the decorations and ambiance in the restaurant. Servings are huge, and you will definitely have enough food for another meal. read more

My husband and I met with some friends for dinner last night. As we are from opposite areas (Syracuse and Schenectady) we tried to pick a central location and hubby and friend checked for a place that seemed like we'd all be content with food. Bella Regina was chosen. So, we arrived to find there are at most 6 parking spaces in their lot and all were taken. We drove around the block twice trying to find a spot and finally parked in back of their building in a lot that I hoped wouldn't result in either a popped tire or being towed. Thankfully neither happened. Our friends had arrived first and had gotten us on the wait list. About 10 minutes later we were seated. Put in orders for water - can't get lemon for the water but for 25cents we could get packets of juice... Um, no thanks plain is fine. One server brought out a plate of tomato pie slices for us. They were so hard and dry I couldn't even bite into it. We ordered calamari and the sampler platter as apps. They came out pretty quick. It was all clearly stuff that is purchased in bulk frozen from Restaurant Depot, not homemade. The calamari were like rubber bands and had a strong fishy taste. Our waitress kept pushing the Riggies on us for our entrees (must have mentioned them at least 4 times). They didn't appeal to any of us. The hubbies each got the Fra Diablo, I got fettuccine Alfredo, and other friend for stuffed manicotti with Alfredo sauce. Both of the Fra Diablo had over half of the mussels unopened, which means they were DEAD before they were cooked, something that could taint an entire dish and make someone very sick. It took 3 tries to get anyone's attention to let them know. Our waitress looked annoyed by the complaint but took the mussels back and brought back replacements. The other two meals were drowning in sauce (at least 1 cup on mine) that definitely wasn't homemade. My guess is they buy it in bulk cans and just heat it. It was very salty and had a canned taste to it. The broccoli on mine was so overcooked the florets were mush. After all this disappointment we did consider dessert but in order to find out what they have we'd have to get up and look in the to-go case as our waitress didn't really want to "rattle the options off" to us. So we got our check and asked to have it split between two cards. Apparently though they will charge each card 3.5% to split the check. I didn't see it posted anywhere that they even charge a fee for credit card sales, which is the law, it must be posted predominantly... Usually posted on the menu and as you come in, none of us saw it at all. After all this, none of us feel that we would go back. We had been told that everything is homemade and made to order. That wasn't the case in the least. Mediocre food made from canned and frozen items and dead shellfish that could have made someone very ill are definitely reasons to avoid the place. read more

It will smell like they just put out a fire in their deep fryers when you walk in the door. You will notice layers of residential doormats greet you as you walk in the door. A rude unhelpful waitress brings you to your seat. She will try to talk you out of ordering of the menu and suggest the buffet. You will see un vacuumed and stained carpet on the way to the restroom. You will be joined by hundreds of dusty pieces of "memorabilia" that have not been cleaned or moved in years. And you will be punished for ordering of the menu by an eye roll and snort. The worst punishment? The food. Luke warm, microwaved and inedible. Absolutely disgusting! read more

My husband and I were so excited to get some riggies and Utica greens after a long drive from DMV. Bella Regina had decent reviews for their riggies and was in close proximity from our hotel. There were plenty of street parking available and the restaurant was pretty easy to find. We ordered Utica greens and trio riggies with shrimp, meatballs and chicken. Utica greens - what a huge disappointment! Yes, the portion was huge but flavor? It was mediocre. Greens were extremely greasy, lacking flavors and didn't have enough cherry peppers, which make the dishes so delicious in my opinion. Riggies- okay protein with WAY over cooked rigatoni and DELICIOUS sauce. Regardless of how good the sauce was, over cooked noodles totally ruined it. But I will give so many kudos to their delicious sauce! Service - there's nothing to say about service at this place since it was mediocre. Servers seemed pretty disorganized and our waitress never refilled our drinks, unless asked twice and pretty much didn't care about how we were doing. In addition, we found her smoking outside when walking out. Perhaps that's the reason she was never found in the restaurant? Overall, I would NOT comeback to this place regardless of how delicious their riggies' sauce was. There are so many options for riggies in the area- Bella Regina must step their game up! read more

The chicken riggies are to die for! One thing I didn't understand is that their wifi isn't for customer use- that makes no sense to me. Who is using the wifi if the customers can't use it? The waitress brought our food out and 10 minutes later another customer was arriving so she asked if we want our food wrapped up...um no. Thanks though! The customer service is pretty shotty- I'll do "to go" orders in the future, they have way too much clutter and not enough seating. Floor and tables sticky. read more

Every time I eat here it just seems to get better. Enjoyed a birthday dinner tonight for my daughter, meal was delicious as usual, great atmosphere, wonderful music and I don't think there is a better server anywhere then Jen. She made the evening so much nicer with her wonderful service and beautiful smile. Thanks Jen!! The greens are easily the best around and the riggies....out of this world!!! There was no sharing since we all ordered riggies, it's so hard not to order them. Portions are huge!!! Looking forward to leftover lunch tomorrow! But looking more forward to the next visit!! read more

I've never been more disgusted with customer service. My boyfriend had placed an order for a half a tray of chicken riggies at Bella Reginas, 11 minutes later he called to find out the price. When they told him it was going to be $70 for HALF a tray he said he wanted to cancel it and the lady told him "you can't go back on your word. " About two hours go by and the restaurant and a worker call him two times each until he gets a text threatening to report his number to the UPD. I called this afternoon to speak to management as to me that is ridiculous, the owner proceeded to tell me that I was lying and they would never tell someone they can't cancel an order and he never called back a second time even though i have the records to prove it. The owner gave me nothing but attitude about the situation and told me "don't bother ordering from here again. " Wish I could give zero stars read more

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By far the worst Italian food in Utica. Cute inside. Service extremely slow. No parking I would give this a .5 for atmosphere. Utica greens are supposed to be made with escarole. I don't have a clue what they used. Really bitter. Sauce very sweet. read more

Don't know where that 1 star ate because it definitely wasn't Bella's! Best riggies in Utica hands down and the ambience is straight out of the 50s. Could not recommend it enough, what an experience. read more

I haven't had good neighborhood home cooked Italian food since the North End in Boston. This is a family restaurant and the food is authentic and unpretentious. Regina is the cook and takes the time to come over and check on each table to see if you were satisfied with your meal. We had linguini with clam sauce. Delicious and loaded with little necks. Topped with a few more in the shell. Also, had the signature rigatoni with a creamy marinara (don't check the calories). It was served with mushrooms, sweet peppers and Regina's home made meatballs. I told her these were the best I have ever had, aside from mine of course. Serving are more than ample and as we are traveling through, we had to pass on the takeout. Regina comped us with a couple of her home made cannolis. How could you go wrong? You can't. We were first here on our way to Westfield on September 29th. We are back now on October 5th. We had angel hair with clams and Limoncello cake. Save room for the cake. It is out of this world. read more

Went there for lunch. Had to leave soon so we decided on the buffet. Selection wise, typical Italian restaurant buffet with salad bar, a soup, and a couple of entree options. Here they have their "famous" riggie and Greens. Salad bar has a good selection but many of them do not look that fresh. Seafood chowder was good. Thick and a bit salty. Greens tasted good, one of the better greens but a bit greasy. Unfortunately they do not renew or restock the limited entree very well. I had been waiting for about half an hour for them to refill the container. The Reggie does taste good - the sauce has nice flavors. However the chicken and riggie were not cooked well. Chicken breast was over cooked and dry while the Reggie were undercooked to point that it was a bit doughy. Decoration of the restaurant is funky, has to bite this. I smell like grease after this short lunch. Don't think I would try it again, at least not in the near future. read more

Stopped by for lunch and opted for the buffet. Salad bar was somewhat disappointing, lettuce pieces were brown, olives were mushy, fake bacon pieces... The greens however were the best I've had in the area. I'm not originally from this area so I'm having a hard time reconciling how a plate of greens can contain more bread crumbs than anything else. At least here, there are greens in the greens and they were tasty. The riggies were a little spicy for me but were very good. Some fresh bread would have been nice either on the table or the buffet. We took an order of the rice balls and a piece of creme brûlée cheesecake home. Both were delicious! Will definitely return to taste some dinner choices. read more

Bella Regina is one of the best restaurants in the area! Since moving to Central New York almost four years ago and eating out frequently, this was one of the best dining experiences I've had. We were in Utica for an event and were looking for a good place to eat. The other Yelp reviews were overwhelmingly positive, so we quickly decided to give it a try. The environment is a little kitschy, but very warm and inviting. Like others have said, it's like walking into an Italian family's home and being welcomed with open arms. The server was very kind, answered all of our questions, and made great recommendations. She seemed to love working there, which made us love being there. We started with the arancini, which were huge! Very cheesy-stretchy and even better dipped in marinara. For my entree, I had the chicken riggies. I say this without an ounce of hyperbole: some of the very best food I've ever tasted! I still dream of those riggies. They are the gold standard for all riggies. The noodles, chicken, and peppers come floating in a moat of rich, creamy, rosy sauce. The tangy punch of the cream cheese really comes through, which is amazing. My wife had the chicken anna bella, which comes covered with ham and mozzarella over a bed of rice and broccoli. I had a taste, and it was very good, too. As others have commented, the portions are ridiculous. I have an appetite, and I got two very filling meals and a few snacks out of what I ordered. We drive from Syracuse just for Bella Regina. If you're anywhere within a 100-mile radius, please, do yourself a favor and try Bella Regina! read more

Bella Regina - Complimentary cheese dip - Italian Near Me - Utica, New York

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They don't answer their phones, called over 10 times. When I drove down to Bella Regina, they then told me they weren't accepting takeout orders anymore for the night. Mind you, it was 6:30 and they close at 9. Should probably put that up somewhere so people stop wasting their time. read more

I've been here before during the week with 1 friend and was VERY pleased with the quality of Riggies...that's the end of that experience. This time around I made reservations with 6 other people. We were seated on time however that's about where the timely service stopped. The table service was horribly slow. First, 2 people ordered Long Hots and they were out. I ordered the chicken riggies and they were fantastic. Other orders at the table: veal parm, chicken parm, chicken Marsala, Delmonico steak. No one else was impressed with any of their food. The Delmonico steak looked gross and soggy. Chicken parm was simply not good, veal parm was nothing spectacular. French fries, not good. The front windows were not frosted, they were just THAT covered with condensation. Waitress was extremely slow and absent minded in getting our orders or making it seem like we were a priority. We arrived at 6:30 and finally got our dinners around 7:45. "Ain't nobody got time for that." I loved this place the first time I was here (apparently because I got riggies) and I am extremely disappointed this time around because I recommended it and my party was very disappointed in their meals. read more

Both Seafood Chicken Riggies and Chicken Franchise were out of this world. Service was fabulous!! Definately a return visit.

It was absolutely some of the best food I've have had in a long time . I ordered long hots as an appetizer and my husband looked at me like I was crazy but looking around before we ordered I just knew it was going to be good ! We will definitely be going back!! read more

Came here for my sister's graduation dinner, she has RAVED about this place since she has attended Utica college and got all 13 of us to come for dinner tonight! WOW, the food, the decor, and the staff was incredible! Not only did the owner come out and talk to us personally but all of our waiters were so accommodating and on top of their game. They made our graduation celebration so special. read more

Bella Regina - Italian Near Me - Utica, New York

People should be waiting in line to get in, we enjoyed every aspect of this place, The atmosphere, the service, the food,...we are fairly particular, we are from the area but live in South fla...I thought I had the winning dish, Haddock Oreganata, till I tried my husband's chicken franchise.. def. Worth a visit! read more

Bella Regina - Italian Near Me - Utica, New York

I was excited to try their famous riggies but when I called to see if they would do take out the phone went to a busy tone so I decided to drive there and order in person and wait the lady at the podium rudely told me they were too busy so they shut off the phone and I said that is fine I didn't know you shut off the phone when you're too busy, is it okay if I order take out now and she told me i don't know it would take up to an hour and I said okay I'll come another time. I tried calling today during lunch time and they just had the call go to voicemail. Not the greatest service and didn't even get the chance to eat there and probably will never try again. read more

Food is beyond bland. Slow and unfriendly service. I would give zero stars if I could

We were dumb. We let the handful of reviews talking about slow or surly service scare is off the dining room. We were on our way to Toronto and had been told we had to try Riggies in utica on the way. We were told Bella Regina was the best. We felt there were a concerning number of reviews about the slow service and we were in a big rush to get to the border, So we ordered takeout to bring to a park instead of risking a bad experience eating in. But they seemed lovely when we picked up. We regretted not spending a meal there as sit down patrons. That said the food was awesome. We got the spinach and artichoke rice balls. They were amazing. (Disclaimer we grew up eating in Boston's north end regularly (and still do) - we have had our share of arancini. These matched the best I've ever had. HUGE portion- FOUR GIANT balls - perfect blend of flavors, cheese, texture, breading, and the key was a surprisingly sweet marinara for dipping. It balanced the flavors perfectly. Now for the Riggies. So much hype. We went in thinking we were trying Riggies ironically. Regional quirky name for what sounds upon description like a very basic dish, rigatoni with a creamy pink sauce, protein, mushrooms and peppers. But damn, there is some alchemy there. The blend of the sweet and hot peppers, the rich pink sauce, the very al dente pasta, the huge chunks of mushroom, shrimp (in our case) and peppers. It was magical. I went in thinking I was trying something I'd chuckle about later. I came out knowing I'll dream of Riggies in the same way I dream of new haven apizza, real New Orleans etoufee, or Venetian seafood stew... a gold dragon. A dish you can try to recreate for a lifetime but never get right. Never mind how long you wait or if the waiter is a snot. If you are a person who would react emotionally to a pasta and cream dish that is more hug than meal, get your ass to Bella Regina and get one of their 12(?!) varieties of Riggies! read more

My husband grew up in Utica. I have come to appreciate the great Italian food Utica has to offer. We were in town visiting family and went to this restaurant for dinner on a Saturday evening. The place was full. I ordered the sausage reggies which is a local specialty. The portion size was large. The dish is a great mix of pasta, peppers, mushrooms and sausage in a creamy tomato sauce. I had half for lunch the next day. read more

Bella Regina - Italian Near Me - Utica, New York