Food was fantastic and the staff was exceptional. Loved the outdoor seating and the recommendations by the waitress were amazing. We had a couple pasta dishes and two different desserts. All delicious. read more

Bella Verona - Panna cotta and cannoli - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

Main courses and cocktails (sangria in specific) were delicious. However, the salad and bread needs work due to the high price range ($16 for salad). The break was cold and stale. The lettuce was wilted. Our service was wonderful despite the disappointing pre dishes. read more

We haven't been back to Bella Verona since before the pandemic when we had a nice dinner, so we decided to have dinner there last night (Friday). Unfortunately, it wasn't as we remembered. We didn't have a reservation, but the friendly maitre'd accommodated us promptly. The restaurant itself was the same cute little place, tables close together, with lots of bric-a-brac, framed photos and other interesting objects on the walls and high dish shelf around the dining room. The room was almost at full occupancy with folks seemingly enjoying the "maybe post-pandemic" freedom of no mask wearing. The service was excellent. We had both servers and food runners settling us in immediately and kept up with us throughout the meal. Now for the food: it was not good. Everything from the bread to the dessert was in need of a good overhaul. The bread served was the most basic of white bread buns - tasteless and cold - served with an accompanying and even more tasteless black-olive tapenade. We were able to make some salvage of it by asking for condiments of olive oil, grated cheese and red pepper flakes, all promptly provided upon request. Our appetizer special, Shrimps in Cream Sauce, were not only bland, but the shrimp size was very small and certainly not enough of them. It was presented in a small crockery vessel still boiling hot that seemed like a cream soup instead of a shrimp dish. Once again, we doctored it with condiments and bread as best we could, but there really was no saving it. We ordered two overcooked chicken cutlet entrees, Supreme di Pollo "Caterina" and Piccata di Pollo Alla Lombardi, both delivering the same blandness that we previewed on our appetizer. The complimentary pasta was al' dente with a spoonful of rather bitter tomato sauce on top. We were hungry enough to mostly finish our entrees with the help of the bottle of Cabernet we ordered. We didn't want to venture any further into sampling more food, so we omitted dessert. However, the couple beside us ordered a frozen lemon sorbet that was so frozen when presented to them, it was in-penetrable with any utensil they tried. It literally sat there for at least 10 minutes without being able to be eaten. Glad we skipped the dessert. I really do hope they re-vamp the food or the chef. It's a very cute place and we'd love to have another good experience there. read more

PROS: There was a lot of food to choose from and the waitress, Tara, was very helpful. The food came out fast, seemed fresh, and the place was right next to our hotel in the middle of town. CONS: The place was absolutely cramped on the inside. The place was not clean at and could use some restoring. The wine list doesn't even show how old the wine is which makes it seem like they order the wine and turn it over rather than a real Italian Restaurant which allows it to sit for years in a wine cellar OVERALL: Not the best place to go too. I would much rather eat somewhere else since the place is filled with restaurants read more

These guys have been very good for a long time. They expanded into the next door location, and good for them. This is excellent quality Italian food, with proper portions, with some unique northern Italian dishes. Always made well, and the friendliest hostess/waitress around. Professional, attentive, and knowledgeable as my guest asked for some specifics on how one of the dishes were prepped and cooked. The waitress wasn't offended, and calmly explained. High quality Italian food and service. If you're in Salem, or in the area, looking for legit Italian food, come here, and you will return. read more

The ambiance was adorable, and the food was excellent! I got the puttanesca, and it was full of flavor. Paired it with the house red. The bread and olive tapenade were so good too! Our waitress was so nice too! read more

Bella Verona - Puttanesca - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

One of the best Italian restaurants on the North Shore. Consistently delicious! Great hosts and always attentive wait staff.

The food is delicious, I recommend trying some red wine as well. The inside is decorated beautifully I loved the atmosphere it feels so cozy, the waitstaff is amazing! read more

Hands down my favorite Italian restaurant in the USA. Very authentic. Charming inside. Great service. I've been to Italy many times, and Bella Verona is the closest I can get. The owner is from Northern Italy. The Bolognese is my favorite. read more

Bella Verona - Bolognese with in house pappardelle - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

We had an absolutely delicious dinner last evening! Service was superb. Love Belle Verona

I don't know where to begin about this place that alot of people seem to talk so highly about...After 25 years of coming to Salem for our anniversary trip, my husband and I decided to give it a try after reading it as a "comfortable, romantic atmosphere "...and Trip Advisor calls "the best of the Northshore "...what a joke n TERRIBLE error on my part...after walking in by our beautiful hostess, I thought I would walk into a comfortable, romantic room...inside I was seated in a VERY small table that I had to change my husband's chair, not once, not twice BUT THREE TIMES because they were rickety and broken...From there after waiting almost 15 minutes, we finally got a waitress for our drink orders..i didnt feel a romantic vibe in there especially where are tables very close to each other.and the decor was very cheesy with too many pictures...less is more in my opinion and the music wasnt really soft and gentle as it should be but alas we finally get some bread and to me it was just ok, but nothing spectacular, to me a nice few pieces of rustic bread with a small mixture of green and black olives would've been nice not a tapenade which is something that's served at home, not a restaurant....Now, I regret to say that our meals were NOT WORTH the money we spent. My husband had ordered the Tortellini Mantecanti...by the looks of it from the outside it seemed ok but once I saw the base of the Parmesan cheese sauce it was VERY weak n thin..to me, if it's gonna be baked in the oven it has to come out somewhat firm and a little sauce oozing out..this looked like a soup...horrible... Mine was BEYOND DISAPPOINTING!! I have been craving veal cutlets for quite a while and I was happy to read it on the menu...to my surprise two medium sized pieces of veal...to me it seemed like a cutlet cut in half...and a side salad? I ordered a side of vegetables which were ok but wished they were again baked a bit longer...THESE ARE NOT DISHES OF $31 AND $20.95 respectively....the Cutlets should've been at least 2 and about 6 to 7 inches EACH not medallions...terrible... I had owned a southern Italian restaurant for 30 years and never I have done this ...my family come from southern Naples, Italy so we know and understand how food should be....sadly, this place is not..I will never step foot in it again nor will I recommend..they need to really step up to the plate and more... read more

We made reservations at Bella Verona for Halloween night, and I am so glad we did! Every single restaurant was so busy, so it was nice to walk into this warm, quaint Italian restaurant after a long day of sight-seeing. The servers were very nice, and the food was absolutely delicious. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone in Salem! read more

Bella Verona - Spaghetti delle checca (top) and spaghetti bolognese (bottom) - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

Returned last night and this small, intimate, authentic Italian restaurant did not disappoint. Special salad with arugula , tomatoes and Mozzarella was outstanding. The homemade pasta was perfect (al dente). The chicken with ham and spinach in a white wine sauce was perfect as was the grilled seafood special. A carafe of Cabernet complemented the meal. The only drawback to this intimate setting is if there is a large crowd- it can get noisy but otherwise, it's equivalent of dining in the North End without the hassle. Definitely a place to try if you love Italian fare. In my humble opinion, this restaurant remains the best Italian establishment on the North Shore. Still 4 stars for food and 5 stars for service. Everything written above still holds true. Cannot go wrong with specials. Beer and wine only FYI. read more

We called same day and made a reservation for the evening. We were greeted immediately at the door. It is a beautiful, quaint restaurant. There were only 2 of us, but it is a smaller place so I'm not sure I would go with larger parties. I ordered the sangria and it was SOOO good! My husband got a glass of wine. We received bread as the waiter explained the specials and the menu. I ordered the chicken piccata and my husband did the ziti with the sirloin, level 7 spice. Food was out quickly and it was AMAZING- both the dishes! Truly so flavorful and generous portions. Definitely recommend this restaurant and if I visit Salem again, will be visiting here again! read more

I was not impressed with this place. We had to wait 10 minutes before the waitress came back so we could ask her for olive oil for our bread. I ordered my daughter the spaghetti with meatballs. We both didn't care for the meatballs. Also, the sauce wasn't thick. I ordered the tortellini with chicken, which was pretty good, but not enough chicken. The waitress didn't split up me & my friend's tab. She said, "You'll need to do that yourself then just tell me what to put on the card. We write the bills out ourselves." Well I couldn't read her handwriting. It was just lazy on her part. She would have had to do the tax all over again too for each of ours. All in all I wouldn't return here. I think Olive Garden is better, which doesn't say much. Even the service here was poor. read more

Bella Verona - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

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A friend recommended this restaurant and we are glad that she did. A small, intimate and friendly overcrowded place ! We had a fine meal. We shared an appetizer of Carciofini - artichoke hearts with prosciutto and mozzarella- absolutely delicious! Followed by scalloping Vitello bolognese and seafood linguine - large helpings which we couldn't finish even tho they were excellent. For desert we could not resist one of the best panacotta that we have ever eaten. The only item that was not as good as the rest was the bread. The wines were also good. Our waitress was cheerful and attentive. Well worth the bill of $ 65 per person. When we are next in Salem we will return to this restaurant. A few small details/ decor could be improved such as not having the servers station so prominently visible, otherwise deserves five stars for the food and general ambiance. One of the best Italian eateries in the northeast. read more

We've been coming to Bella Verona for years now as an intimate setting for dining and always appreciated its intimate space, Even if seated close together. Tonight we considered takeout given the circumstances. Couldn't be more pleased. In fact my eyes rolled eating the Tortellin de manecatta, myself with the added procuitto, and my wife The same with added chicken. OMG. Licked out the container with the bread. The prosciutto added a little bit of saltiness to it, where is the chicken emphasize more of the sweetness of the peas. The bottle of wine that they had offered for not a great up charge at a table inside the door complemented the meal. I'll consider this Our routine Friday meal from now on read more

We lucked out and managed to get a table right when they opened. The inside is pretty small, with about 15 ish tables only. They serve you bread with some very delicious olive spread. The experience was decent with friendly wait staff. We first started with a bruschetta which was absolutely delicious. Fresh mozz and perfect bread. From there, my wife had the spaghetti and I had the seafood risotto. The dishes were tasty and my seafood was perfectly cooked in it. However, my dish barely had any seafood in it. Literally 2 shrimp, and only a few pieces of calamari and it was nearly $30. Our bill, after tip, was over $100. Even considering it was october in Salem, way overpriced for what you get. Probably a "special menu" that takes advantage of tourist season. I wouldn't come back. More bang for your buck elsewhere. read more

Bella Verona - Seafood risotto - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

I had dinner here for my birthday celebration and fell in love with a salad. No joke. The food here was so delicious and the service by the staff was wonderful. It's a small, quaint and beautiful Italian restaurant. Don't miss a fantastic dinner at Bella Verona. read more

Our servers were very professional and pleasant, informative on the specials and menu overall. I had the Calamari Alla Livornese, which is squid in spicy tomato sauce, with capers and black olives over linguine. I could be wrong, but the linguine didn't taste homemade, just the standard boxed pasta. The sauce was more like a broth, and was unimpressive. They did had a lot of calamari in the dish, which was nice. Food overall was ok, portions were large, but not overly impressed with the taste, the service was the exception because our waitress was genuinely nice and helpful. We also got the Caprese Salad for $16, which was basically a half a tomato with some pretty good mozzarella which was nothing special. Prices are on the upper end of the spectrum for Italian for slightly better than average food., read more

What a great little gem. In downtown Salem, near the Hawthorne hotel. Small inside. Service was absolutely amazing. Food delicious and well priced in today's economy. Definitely a place to search out. read more

Amazing little Italian spot, went here on our honeymoon. Going to be a must now every time we visit Salem!

Went there for the first time two weeks ago. The food is amazing! I had carbonara. Not heavy at all and was delicious! The service was excellent as well. I strongly recommend this place. read more

Bella Verona - Carbonara - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

Very authentic Italian flavor great champagne selection And wine, desserts are out of control

Came here with a friend. SUCH YUMMY DELICIOUS HEAVENLY FOOD!!! I got the tortellini without the mushrooms cause mushrooms are yucky. But honesty so damn good. Waitresses are very attentive to their customers. Great service. Amazing food. Definitely wanna come back read more

Bella Verona - Tortellini no mushrooms, chicken added - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

The owner, Carlos, was condescending and treated us without regard. Otherwise the service was good. 2/5 of the meals we ordered were worth reordering. Appetizers were good. Wine was fine. We're locals, and I'd like to recommend the restaurant to others but I'd much rather recommend other equally good places where the owners treat you with respect and act like they want your business. 4/5 is a generous score considering the sour taste left in our mouth, but the servers were very good and we appreciated them. read more

Dinner at Bella Verona this week was wonderful. I'm new to Salem and this was my first dinner out. The ambiance inside is wonderful. It's a small, cozy restaurant with a welcoming staff. I wanted everything on the menu but I stumbled in during restaurant week and had an excellent meal of caprese salad, chicken parm and tiramisu. I thoroughly enjoyed each item and ended up bringing half of the chicken parm home. I can't wait to go back! I'd happily order these same items again (and probably will because I love chicken parm and it was that good), but also want to try other items as well. read more

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Although the restaurant itself is very small, the addition of the outdoor seating for the summer months is a huge plus! I love it But lets get to the good part, the food! This is THE spot in Salem for Italian food. Its fresh, its delicious, and its done right! The menu can appear pricey but you pay for what you get. The calamari and polenta app is delicious, their specials are always WELL worth it and don't forget about the wine. Besides their house wines (which are actually pretty good) they have a nice selection of glasses/bottles to pair well with dinner. 10/10 would recommend read more

Service was patient, kind and respectful. Ambiance was romantic. Had late night dessert and coffee, creamy and delicious!

I came here with my mother after driving up for a few hours. We were tired and wanted something good and relatively fast, and it was right across from the Hawthorne. I ordered the Lobster Ravioli which was fantastic though the portion size was a little small. My mother had the Shrimp Diavolo which she absolutely loved. My only complaint about the service was that our waitress forgot our drinks for a while and we had to wait to get them until after dinner was served, though she was young and otherwise was very nice. The seating was intimate and we chatted with another party of two we were very closely seated to, if that kind of thing makes you uncomfortable though they have outdoor seating. The dessert was fantastic, though the presentation of the tiramisu in a bowl was a little strange, it was really delicious so I can't complain. This is a great place to stop in a cute location with nice food. read more

Wow. If you're from out of town and like to have dinner at 6, then be warned: you might get treated very unpleasantly at the door by the lady proprietress. Drove to Salem from Boston for an hour, got to Bella Verona at 6:10PM. Opened door, found tiny entrance hall with other waiting guests. Aw, how cute! A lady walked over asked: "Hi, can I help you?" Me: "Yes, two please?" Lady: "We don't have any more tables." Pursed her lips, clasped her hands together, and stared at me. Me: "Ohhh. *intimidated*...okay." Felt overwhelming desire to apologize. Lady: "Sorry." and God knows why, kept staring at me. Like I was a vagrant of some sort. Me: "Do you know how long the wait time is for a table..-" Never got to finish my sentence because she just scowled and walked away with a side glare. Yep. Said a very small thank you and walked out. read more

Hate hate hate leaving bad reviews like this, ESPECIALLY since covid is slamming businesses but this could not go un noticed. Strike one happened when we asked for a table inside. The young man said one second closed the door came back again and said just one more second. Hesitantly he came to us and sat us. The place was empty with the exception of 3 other tables including the one that was behind us. We were stuffed into a cramped corner which was fine until I realized what was actually happening. They stuffed us in a corner secluded from everyone else view because we were in hoodies and jeans and didnt fit the dress code. (Ill get back to this later.) The waitress appeared to take care and be overly friendly with everyone else around us... except us. It seemed to be a real issue for her to explain things to us like we were a bother. Caught a couple of glares and some points in our direction more than once. Food came, was small portions, way over priced. The server didnt really check on us or offer me one refill on water or coke. When the check was dropped she jacked the prices up on the check. $6 for a small coke?! 1.00 more on my husbands meal. Not to mention they charged him an extra 6$ for chicken that wasnt even a whole chicken breast but some small chopped pieces of chicken. She REFUSED to come back to the table once the check was set. I got up myself and grabbed a menu to check the prices. $6 dollars for a coke in the menu listed for $3. My husbands meal should of been $24.95. She wrote 25.95. Soo being a waitress and working with many scumbags thieving servers like her I knew what was happening. Trying to scam us to get a bigger tip. Bravo. You judged a book by its cover and played yourself. Another server came along and "fixed" the check and played it off like it was an accident. You saw how we were dressed comfy and when my husband asked about dress code we were told the dress code was "business casual" and followed quickly with a "but we would never turn anyone away". Youre right, you just shove people in a corner and ignore them and try to over charge them to up your tip. Pathetic. read more

Bella Verona - Corrected check vs Original check - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

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Good, not great. The place is super small, but not quaint: more cafeteria-like. The house chianti is just ok. Service was below par-waitress came over to us once to take our order, then we never saw her again as a different person dropped the food and bill off. Food: Apps were good. We got the baked calamari that were super fresh, if a little bland. We also got a special shrimp eggplant app that was delicious. Pasta was FANTASTIC! We got a spaghetti with spicy bacon that was the best I've ever tasted. Main courses were just ok. I got the veal scallopini. It was a bit rubbery and tasteless. My wife got pork in white wine sauce and onions and it was bland as well. Dessert: we had the tiramisu and I thought it was pretty awful. Soggy and too sweet. This place gets terrific reviews, but I just don't get it. It wasn't terrible, but I won't be rushing to go back, either. I much prefer the new Pride's Osteria in Beverly for quaint Italian. Check it out! read more

I wish I hadn't waited so long to try this place! A friend had been recommending it for years and my boyfriend and I finally made it for takeout right before Valentine's Day. They had a special menu and everything we had was wonderful! My boyfriend had the veal stew and I had chicken parmigiana. We will definitely back. The woman who took our order and handed us our order was very friendly as well! read more

Unfortunately we didn't have a great meal. The service was good, but beer and wine only is a knock for me. The food was sub par. $25-26 dollar bland entrees. My wife got a Ravioli special and got 8 small ravioli. 8! I had veal over tagliatelle and it was completely unseasoned. Tasted like nothing. We ordered dessert because we were still hungry and got the chocolate mousse cream puffs. They were ok, but I was surprised they didn't offer gelato or any ice cream. Anyway, based on other reviews, it seems hit or miss. read more

We found this restaurant by accident but what a find. Small but great food and terrific service. My wife (Italian) owned a restaurant, and her grandparents owned an Italian restaurant was impressed......incredible! read more

We came here on Recommendation from several locals. We came on a Sunday night and had no wait time to be seated. The restaurant is very small so this was surprising but pleasant as we expected a wait. It is very intimate and cute on the inside. Our table even had a candle on it which I feel like is not as common as it used to be. This would be a great date spot. Onto the important stuff, the food. Bella Verona serves warm bread with their olive tapenade. My friends had never had it and loved it very much. Our waitress was even kind enough to bring more out with their meals. We ordered the bruschetta della casa as an appetizer. It was very good and everything tasted very fresh. I would come back just for the tomatoes on this dish. For entrees, I ordered the penne al formaggi misti, which was listed as a ziti in an assorted cheese cream sauce. The portion was large and honestly could have been shared between two people. The sauce was rich and creamy - super filling. I couldn't finish my meal as it was a lot of food. My friends ordered the equivalent to shrimp Alfredo and chicken fettuccine Alfredo. Both came with generous portions of their selected protein. They both enjoyed their meals and said they were very good. I wish we saved room for dessert because their menu had some really delicious options. Their wait staff was very nice and accommodating. I wish I could remember our waitress's name because she was phenomenal. Pros: -Cozy -Generous portions of food -Price reasonable for the amount of food you get -Fresh ingredients -Great location, close to Hawthorne Hotel Cons: -Not too many vegetarian or vegan options but I'm not deducting points because this is fairly standard for traditional Italian dishes. read more

The locals told us how great the Italian food is at Bella Verona. I love it! Only about seven tables but the best place I've been in a while. Make a reservation:) read more

Came here for an early dinner with the boyfriend on Sunday. He loves little mom & pop places while I always went for big name restaurants but I am in love with this place already. It's a small gem of a restaurant but the authenticity is wonderful. He had the chicken parm (the chicken was so tender and cooked perfectly I can't stop thinking about it still to this day). I had the penne pasta con carne (I don't remember the exact name but it had steak strips and the sauce was very good with a spicy kick). Both of our dishes where excellently cooked! For dessert I ordered the cannoli & devoured the whole thing by myself...I fed my boyfriend one bite, he was already so full from his meal, but he said the cannoli was delicious. We are definitely going to come back to try out more dishes and definitely more desserts! read more

Bella Verona - Dinner! - Italian Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

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The proprietors of Morning Glory B&B recommended this place and I am so glad they did! Classic East Coast Italian! Great food, great service and nice and cozy. We didn't have reservations, so there was a bit of a wait, but they brought us glasses of wine. I ordered one of the specials, pumpkin ravioli with broccoli raabe. Unbelievable! My husband liked another one of the specials, but is allergic to shrimp, so they made it with scallops. This place is awesome, worth the wait to get in. (Wine helped, of course.) read more