Genuinely really kind service that knows the dishes well and genuinely enjoys the food here. Pasta is homemade and was cooked perfectly. I've been to Italy (and the pasta there is amazing), but I've never had short rib on pasta (it's SO good here) and the sauce is reduced in house as well... the sauce on the ravioli with butternut squash and mascarpone was the best sauce on a pasta I've ever had. If you're going as a couple, these two dishes are honestly so different but so great together. I would've been sad to not have both, but if I could only pick one, I'd pick the butternut squash and mascarpone ravioli. read more

Nice restaurant! Excellent service and good drinks. The rice balls (Arancini) was excellent. This is a nice comfortable restaurant in the neighborhood to relax and have dinner. read more

Delivery review: My life would be a black hole of despair if Belli did not deliver. They are the light of my takeout dinner life. Our favorite dishes: - Fettuccine Al Funghi: creamy alfredo sauce topped with tangy cheese, mixed with soft fettuccine pasta and flavorful funghi - Rigatoni Bello: al dente rigatoni with tomato sauce and mozz, chyeah - Butternut Squash Ravioli: delicate ravioli in sage cream sauce - Brussel Sprouts salad: shaved brussel sprouts, almonds and parmigiano - Sauteed kale or sauteed spinach: garlicy, buttery, lemony amazing compliments to the pasta Thank you Belli, for keeping me happy on cold, windy NY winter nights, and days when I'm too tired to cook. read more

My sister and I decided to visit for dinner on Sunday night. The place was empty so service was prompt. The tables are small, so we barely had enough room for our drinks, food and bread basket. Pros: The bread and tomato dipping sauce are delicious. I recommend asking for romano cheese, which comes in big shredded pieces, for the bread. We ordered an Argentinian red wine which was divine. For you non-wine drinkers (I know there has to be a few), order the Malbec. It's a lot smoother than most wines. Cons: We ordered the cream of artichokes crostini and the Tagliata. The crostini just wasn't tasty at all, very bland spread. The Tagliata is flank steak in a chimichurri sauce and roasted potatoes. The steak was cooked medium as per my request. The whole dish was bland. The potatoes were dry and the steak had little flavor, but were cooked well. Overall, the meal was very underwhelming. Service was really nice though. read more

I stopped in here for a quick bite to eat before going out. My friends and I opted to eat at the bar. I was in too much of a rush to pay attention to decor. I ordered the gnocchi with lamb ragu. Very delicious. The contained wilted arugula in it and I can honestly slap arugula on anything. I also had their white pear sangria (I think that was the name). It was overly sweet but thankfully I had my entree to cut that. I will come in again one day to sit and dine, that night just wasn't it. read more

You may be able to get a mediocre bite to eat here, but the service and ambience is consistently bad. The music is always too loud and too dancey. At 11am brunch I don't want to feel like I'm in a club and be struggling to hear my companions. But the service is worst than this. The staff is so busy chatting with each other it will be difficult to catch their attention even in a sparsely filled room. They never filled our water. They will not check with you about your order after setting it down or check on whether you need something. My companion was served cold home fries and instead of bringing her fresh fries they scooped the fries from her plate and insisted on reheating them even though I asked them to just bring a fresh order. They never came to ask us whether we wanted another drink or dessert and we were literally there for hours (my friend and I hadn't seen each other in years and the restaurant only had a few tables occupied). Hours. With only on glass of water each. One cup of coffee. I really don't understand. I've tried this place several times because it's close by, the coffee is usually good, and you don't often need a reservation. But, there must be literally zero training for the staff. No matter when I go or who is serving all of the above complaints are standard to worse. My friend I was with today had never been and vowed never to return. read more

I wanted to try Piccoli Trattoria for my birthday with 15 guests, but of course, it couldn't accommodate so Belli Osteria came to the rescue! Easy location to drive to with lots of parking. The restaurant itself is cozy but still has space. I enjoyed the food. I got the short rib ragu which was extremely flavorful. The calamari was tasty too. Sangria was light but delicious. Portions WERE a bit small, so some of the guys in the party were a bit shocked and hungry after... but overall, taste-wise it was good. Definitely don't come here expecting family style dishes! Staff is extremely nice! They'll cut your cake for free (a lot of places charge cutting fee. Ridiculous) and the waiter seemed happy that we offered the rest of it to them. Great service. read more

I had a mixed time while enjoying the brunch at belli osteria. The good and the bad: The ambience/decor was quiet and charming. The omelette with spinach and mushrooms was delicious. The fries were tasty but didn't have the healthiest portion of truffle applied. The champagne cocktail with aperol was very tart; too bitter for me to drink The hostess/waitress was delightful. Friendly and welcoming. I wouldn't mind going back and giving this place another try, now that I have a better sense of what to order and what to stay away from. read more

There are a lot of Italian restaurants in Clinton Hill / Fort Greene, but don't sleep on Belli. They offer homemade pasta that is absolutely delicious at a remarkable price. read more

Excellent meal! Great salad, pasta and dessert! Our waiter Elvis was a doll and knew every item on the menu. We basically licked our plates clean. My husband rarely makes plans to go back to a spot right away but, i am pretty sure we will be going back next week. The risotto, pappardelle, carrot cake and olive oil cake were all superb! I will definitely try another entree next time but i will also order the risotto ;) read more

Belli Osteria - Dessert! - Italian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

The food is awesome. I'm not impressed by the drinks. If you're looking for great mixed drinks. This is not the place. The black spaghetti is all the way awesome. You won't be disappointed. The second best dish is the seafood risotto. The place is small but quaint. The best dessert in my opinion is the affogato and the tiramisu. read more

LOVE this place. Attentive (but not overly so, you can have a peaceful meal) staff, pleasing interior, more than reasonable prices. Not huge portions, but filing. The bread they give you is to die for and the tapenade is fantastic as well. I always order the rigatoni alla norma because I am a sucker for eggplant and I am never disappointed. Consistently wonderful. (Which can not be said for its more expensive competitor Aita..and re:Rachel M's review, the tables for two at Belli are absolutely not too small for plates, drinks and bread basket -they are pretty small at Aita though, if memory serves me correctly) Drinks and desserts are delicious as well. I will return here every chance I get! My favorite Italian restaurant. read more

This is our new favorite neighborhood spot. The customer service was spot on and all of the recommendations from the staff were delicious. This place keeps it simple and doesn't try too hard. Overall great experience; we will be coming back again. read more

Belli Osteria - Butternut squash ravioli - Italian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Went here for dinner last week, after saying we've wanted to go for two months. I will say it did take a lot for me to go, because I have a hard time giving business to places that don't take cards. I asked the waiter what he would recommend and he pointed out the two most expensive dishes. I told him I was feeling pasta, honestly. Now, I have no problem for paying for a pricey dish, but when the waiter then told me he recommended those dishes because they were the most expensive, it made me laugh out loud. I admire his honesty, but it really turned me off to the place. Had a decent meal with my boyfriend but neither of us were blown away by it. Standard Italian meal, sangria was very strong and delicious. Started with the calamari and it was delicious, definitely something to start with. The bread was awesome. I had the rigatoni and it was okay, again, standard. My boyfriend had the salmon and he enjoyed it. Overall, good Italian place but for the price, come on, take cards. It's 2013. I would go again and stay away from the "standard" pasta dishes. read more

Five of us ended up here because the pizza place across the street (Emily) had a ridiculous wait time even though it was 6pm. I'm happy to report, that despite the unexpected food detour, our stomachs were satisfied at Belli Osteria. It was rather empty when we arrived, but it became maybe 60% full as the dinner rolled on. To share we got: - flatbread arugula pizza: great balance between the bitterness of the arugula and the saltiness of the cheese - flatbread four cheese pizza: definitely preferred arugula pizza to this one, this one was a little bit one-toned with the cheese but that's not to say the crust wasn't still delicious - Fettuccine Al Funghi: this was the main dish I got and it was a delight. I usually find cream sauces too heavy and feel weighed down after eating cream sauce pasta dishes, but this was not the case with this dish. The pasta tasted so fresh and light, which complimented the heavier sauce. The mushrooms also brought great weight and substance to the pasta dish. Overall great experience! I rather come here than experience such a crazy wait time across the street! read more

Multo bene!! Delicious Rich al dente! Amazing seafood rissoto, large portion! Rigatoni bolognese was better than nonnas! Seafood black spaghetti-spicy but couldn't put the fork down. Appetizer feud calamAri was best I've ever had...didn't need the sauce, but it too was delicious! Will be back for sure! Costumer service was perfect too! read more

See all

I am very surprised by all the five star reviews here. I wonder if we went on an off night, or if these reviews are by friends of the owner? Service was excellent, and its a nice space, but the food was mediocre at best. The duck special was poorly prepared and the gnocchi with duck ragu was remarkably flavorless. I will say the resturant comped us the duck for which they deserve kudos. The chicken liver crostini was decent, but really, who can screw up chicken liver? I really wanted to like this place, but alas, I don't think we'll be back. read more

Came to Belli Osteria on Friday night for birthday party of 14 people. This restaurant is amazing. What a find in Brooklyn! A perfect place for large group dinner party. The decor is romantic and quiet. I love that we had a wonderful meal and talked without raising our voices. We ordered bunch of things. Everyone enjoyed the food without any complaints. The service is excellent. The following are delicious and yummy: Salads: roasted beets with goat cheese; arugula and celery root Appetizers: fried calamari; grilled calamari; mozzarella with butternut squash/mushroom Entrees: homemade gnocchi with duck ragu; black spaghetti; marinated steak Belli Osteria allowed us to bring a birthday cake without any additional fees. Their cappuccino is soooo good with our cake. The bill is unbelievable. Food+Alcohol+Tax+Tip came out to be 40+ per person!!! I have called many restaurants in the city that ask for 50+ dollars a person for just food alone!! Definitely 5 stars. :) read more

Wow. Delicious food and A+ services. I'm scared to leave such a great review because I want to keep the secret to myself. The service was A+. Our server (and, I believe, a manager) took time to chat with us and made us feel very welcome. At the end of the evening he informed us that they were short staffed and had been scrambling all night. They were so professional that we had absolutely no idea. So many times at restaurants I find myself trying to flag down a server and they are chatting with their co-workers or just not paying attention. These guys were on their A-game despite being short-staffed. The ambiance was great. We went on a Friday night and the restaurant had enough people to feel warm but not so many as to feel busy or crowded. The food was absolutely delicious. I had a squid ink spaghetti with crab and my girlfriend had mushroom linguini. Both were great. For dessert I had the special: an olive oil cake with olive oil gelato. The cake was a bit disappointing but the gelato was fantastic. The rest of the menu looked amazing and I will be back to try to eat my way through the entire thing. read more

Visited Brooklyn from Des Moines, IA. We were looking for food Italian food, and Belli Osteria did not disappoint! I had the butternut squash ravioli, and everything was clearly homemade. The atmosphere is very chill and the dim lighting was just right. No kids menu that I saw, but our 8 year old was more than happy with fettuccine. The service was top notch. Super friendly, quick, and helpful with the menu. Highly recommend! read more

Came for a Saturday brunch and had an amazing time. We were seated immediately around 11:30, got quite a few refills on our mimosas and super delicious food. The Eggs Norwegian was particularly good. Tip was included on the bill, but the whole thing was only around $30 each. Hiiiiighly recommend. Also ambiance was 100%. read more

Belli Osteria - Eggs benny - Italian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

We had our daughter's Christening Reception here, around 38 people including the kids, one Saturday. It was great and we're very pleased and happy. The guests love the food, everything is so good! We also appreciate the sincere attention all the staff has given, including the owner, Andres. We met him once while dining and we knew right then we were in good hands. Can't wait to go back! read more

See all

Vanessa: We tried going to Emily's namesake across the street, but were turned off by the loud music and long wait time, so ended up here. I ordered black noodles with crab meat and was pleased that the dish was spicy and drowned in oil (in a good way). I used my second piece of delicious bread to absorb the leftover oil, in order to ensure that I'd be bloated and on the couch for the rest of the night. Emily: As Vanessa mentioned, we were aiming to go to Emily across the street, but it was packed and super loud. Not really the ambiance we were looking for this particular night. Belli Osteria beckoned from across the road and we went for it. I'm glad we did. I ordered rigatoni with grilled eggplant, fresh mozzarella, and basil. Perfect amount of each item to make a great, filling dish. The fresh, warm bread was wonderfully crispy on the outside, soft and delicious on the inside. A good place. We'll be back! Service was really friendly and attentive, too. read more

Who are these people giving this place all these stars? First I ordered the risotto which was more like overcooked white rice, bland chicken and kale or spinach. It was the worst "risotto" ever It kind of looked like Chinese food. I asked to order something else because I'm not paying $15 for overcooked Uncle Ben's rice. So then I order the shrimp with chorizo and sun dried tomato pasta Equally disappointing. The spaghetti was overcooked or left in the water too long. The "chorizo" was pepperoni and the sundried tomatoes were chewy like craisins. The ONLY reason this place gets two stars is for their service and drinks. You want GOOD pasta etc. ? Go to Emily's across the street. read more

Pretty great reasonably priced Italian fare. The calamari is above average, the squid ink pasta is very good, as is the rigatoni and the papardelle. Don't think you could go wrong with any of those choices. I came once while abstaining from pasta so I've also had the breaded chicken sandwich which was pretty good but not the best. It came with fries though which everyone else at my table appreciated. read more

Service was great, my boyfriend ordered a Jameson & ginger ale which was week although I feel like the bartender was in training. My burger & fries were great on the other hand my friend ordered a skirt steak & for some reason it was cut up and over seared said the burner was on too high, so that didn't make him to happy. Over all service was great. read more

Understaffed to a ridiculous extent. The lasagne was awful; you can get a better-microwaved version. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable. I would not suggest going here. read more

First time visiting for brunch with friends and I will probably never return. The hostess and waitress clearly needed training on how to greet and assist customers. Opted for the brunch with unlimited mimosas which the drinks were good, however once the resturant started to fill up our waitress stop coming to our table. She did not visit for about 45 mins. Perhaps she was overwhelmed but that's not my problem. Overall my food was not good, had the the huevos rancheros which came out cold and flavorless. I would not revisit, as it's not worth it. There are tons of other restaurants in the Clinton Hill area to choose from. With bad service and mediocre food, there's no reason to suffer thru a visit here. This particular location seems to never be successful; a revolving door of average restaurants is what it is. read more

what an amazing find. In town for the NYC Half Marathon, my wife picked this place out by chance and it was awesome. eclectic decor and such rich flavor in their dishes. I had the rigatoni bolognese and my wife had the risotto with mushrooms, chicken and spinach the fried zucchini sticks were also great. definitely a great find. read more

As a neighborhood resident I'm so ambivalent about letting people know how underrated this place is. Beautiful Italian comfort food, great homey/nice space, wonderful service. I've enjoyed the butternut/sage/cream ravioli, the gorgonzola burger with parmesan truffle fries, the brussels and bacon flatbread, the mushroom and truffle oil flatbread. Bar cocktails are also lovely and the happy hour is a great deal. I'm already regretting telling people this. read more

Home made Italian food. Rigatoni Bolognese is like heaven. Great pizza on a wooden plate. Get the Grandma's Tiramisu for desert. Best of all: it's inexpensive. Much better than Emily across the street. read more

food is great ... but always understaffed!! one person to handle bartending, waitering inside and out!!! one busser ! be prepared to wait for everything! read more

Delicious and affordable food with excellent service make this a winner. Yelp pointed me in the direction of Belli Osteria when I searched for a good dinner spot close to the Barclays Center. I let the staff know I had an NBA game at 7:30 and they made sure we had our full meal before then (45 minutes total, including bread, appetizer, and entrees). 1. Fresh bread with absolutely subtle and amazing tomato sauce 2. Grilled polenta. Creamy and soft but not crumbly, not sure how it manages to stay intact in the grill. 3. Amazing bolognese parpadalle, gnocchi with 5-hour braised duck ragu, yes please! This will be my go-to when I'm near Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn! read more

Came for dinner. Everything was passable. We arrived at the same time as another person and the server seemed a bit frazzled. Sucks when there's no host and they leave the hosting duties to the servers, but what can you do. Our server might have been the only one for the side of the restaurant that we were in, so she was super busy. She didn't get us water until after we asked and this was after we got our check-in-deal beers and other cocktails. We also never got any bread. The food was fine, nothing spectacular. We had the squid ink pasta, calamari, and two flat bread pizzas. The pizzas were very crispy in a good way. Calamari and pasta were average. Overall, an ok experience but, again, nothing special. read more

In many ways Belli Osteria is Piccoli Trattoria and many ways it is not. They have the same owners (who are somehow present at all of their restaurants at the same time), they share the same commitment to great food and friendly service (we had the same waiter, Kurt, at both places) and they both have the best rolls in Brooklyn. But when you go to Belli Piccoli, you have to remind yourself that Belli Osteria, while similar, has its own personality. First of all Belli Osteria is much larger and roomier than Piccoli, so it has a different feel. Where Piccoli is intimate (translation: you get to hear what the diners next to you are talking about), Belli has high wood beam ceilings, large picture windows and tables in two rooms with plenty of space between. Prices here are interesting. The main courses are each about $3.00 less expensive than at Piccoli - we had Rigatoni Norma and Lasagna Toscana which were $10.95 but interestingly the special chicken salad we began with was also priced at $10.95 and coffee is .50 more per cup. We liked the Rigatoni Norma sauce at Piccoli more but again that is the danger of ordering the same dish cooked by two difference and competent chefs because they will usually make their dishes a bit different (unlike the boring chain restaurants). But make no mistake, the food at both (actually all three if you count their take out restaurant) places is exceptional. Thank you all for another great dining experience! read more

This restaurant has great food and atmosphere but I must say, I was there last night and the service was awful. We went there for someone's birthday, we called to let them know and told them when we got there. We ordered dessert and not until after we ate all of our dessert did they come to the table with dessert and singing Happy Birthday. Overall, I was aggravated and disappointed. read more

Service was amazing and the food was mouth watering!! Definitely will be coming back, the pasta and the bread was fantastic :)

The food was delicious! It was filling, flavorful and the portions were perfect! The waiter was attentive and made sure our experience was great! I def recommend for a date or just a nice dinner ! read more

Food and service was excellent friendly and helpful staff made me and my family very welcome flat bread pizza was the bomb seafood risotto also my only criticism is a little to much balsamic on the cheese and salami plate lol read more

Decent place for a bottomless brunch.. Food: shared the omelette (goat cheese) and French toast with my friend... No complaints about the food but I wouldn't completely rave and say I had to go back; bottomless Bloody Mary or mimosas for 90 minutes - the Bloody Mary was just not good, I think it was only tomato juice and vodka, mimosas were tasty but I guess it's hard to go wrong there Service: our waiter was very friendly and attentive, constantly refilling our mimosas... The place wasn't too crowded so I think they were more generous with the 90 minute bottomless drinks Ambience: small little place in a cute neighborhood read more