I am very impressed across the board. Really good! Comfortable, clean and worth it. Service was great, helpful and prompt. Wine list good and reasonable. Pizza is very flavorful... excellent and a must. My girl and I split (housemade sausage and red roasted peppers) along w a salad which was made to order and super fresh, local greens and herbs. Light tasty housemade dressing. Already trying to mimic at home. Delicious. I noticed flatbread sandwiches were popular and looked amazing. Will try that next time. Great lunch for two $39 incl wine... Perfect amount of food. read more

Protein is hard to come by here. Carbs are not. The food is good--it is certainly not generic. The seating is "family" style. The waiters can be cold. We have been turned away for arriving 15-30 minutes before closing time, which was 9:00ish on a weekend. Pizzas are good. I like extra sauce on the side. I've had a few of the sandwiches--the one with lamb is a favorite. read more

One of the more underrated Italian restaurants in town. Chef James does a phenomenal job with the pastas and pizzas. The betolla pizza is incredible. We also love the charcuterie options as well. Sitting at the bar with bartender Mark, makes for a great experience for dinner. They bring in their flour from Naples and prepare all of their breads. I would encourage everyone to go try this place. Never had a bad meal. read more

Fantastic place! Great food and service. Be prepared to wait, but it is worth it! I wish we had a restaurant like this in my home town.

I had dinner last night at Bettola and was totally shocked at the poor service and bad over all environment. The bar tender was obviously on her first night. The owner seemed more interested in staying in the rear of the restaurant hanging with the hostess than making sure the patrons were being taken care of in a quality manner. I usually go to Bottela 2-3 times per month but probably will shy away for awhile. The days of having to put up with poor service and lack of attentiveness and over-all lackluster atmosphere are over for Birmingham. There are too many great choices now. Hopefully these issues will be addressed before Hot and Hot arrives! read more

The wait service is really friendly, the bread is fantastic. The margherita pizza is the best I've ever had. But- the calamari was chewy and we wished we had tried a different small plate appetizer. This place is really really loud and could use some sound dampening. Still, I will be back for the pizza again. read more

This is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Birmingham whether it's for lunch or for dinner. Great food, good service, and good prices. The pasta and pizza are some of the best I've ever had anywhere. This will continue to be my go-to Italian place for the foreseeable future. read more

Food was great! I ordered ravioli and it was $25 and I only got 6 small raviolis. Prepare to buy an appetizer and salad prior to your entree! Otherwise you will leave hungry. Service was also okay. read more

Wow! Very fresh ingredients, crust was outstanding , nice vibe. Tried the Filleto but will be back to work through the list.

This was one of the first dinner's I went to in AL. and I was very much pleased. I have been gone for 3 years now because I work in Atlanta, Ga. however, I have always remembered how good the food was and friendly the people were there. I will make a trip through AL. going to Texas and I am going to stop by and visit this resturant again. I am willing to drive on my off weekends to AL. 3 hours away to enjoy this environment. I really wished they were open on Sundays I could get there more often. But, it may not be open on Sundays due to religion beliefs or they need a day off. I can understand those reason. I really enjoy this place. Amazing food, people and enjoyment hoping I get this same feeling the end of Nov. when I arrive back there. Thanks Bettola for giving me a wonderful memory about your restaurant. read more

Exceptional food! Exceptional drinks I'd go and recommend that everyone needs to go here, one of the best places I have ever been

This is my FAVORITE restaurant in Birmingham right now! I love everything about this place! The vibe is great, it smells wonderful the moment you walk in the door and the food is to die for! I recommend this to all of my out of town visitors and locals who haven't had a chance to make it in! You can find me sitting at the chef's bar drinking a glass of red wine and enjoying an anti pasta board! read more

A lot of great restaurants in Birmingham.. this is one. Always great food and service. You leave full unlike some other places for the money. read more

Favorite special occasion spot for two. The food is always fabulous and service can't be beat. This is one place I will order something different every time because I want to have it all. Saturday night we had the anti pasta, salad with roasted leeks, pizza, gnocchi and chocolate goodness for dessert. Prices are reasonable even if it's not a special occasion. Thanks Coco for another fabulous meal. read more

This place is amazing. One of the best restaurant meals I have eaten ever. The group of 12 all felt the same. Highly recommended- I would give it 10 stars if I could! Go there. read more

We had reservations at Gianmarco. Which I'm sure would have been excellent. But it was recommend that if we wanted "fresher" and lighter Italian, that we might want to try Bettola. We are SO happy we did! The food was fantastic! We did a charcuterie board to start which was exceptional (highly recommend the cannoli bean purée with the freshly made bread. My husband got the marscapone neopolitan pizza and I ordered the Sugo pasta. The idea being we would share. We were both So happy with our selections that neither of us wanted to share! The homemade pasta with a VERY fresh sauce with the tomatoes and herbs were fantastic. Our wine selection was the perfect balance for the meals. We ended the meal sharing a pot de creme which was decadent. The decor is beautiful. Staff and serving was timely, friendly and knowledgeable No regrets and we highly recommend. read more

Do yourself a favor and just go! After a quick survey of which restaurant to go to, all fingers pointed here. We arrived around 9:00 and the place was still packed. We were seated at the chef's bar within about 15-20 minutes and ordered a drink from the most friendly, knowledgeable bar tender I have encountered. Our waitress was super nice. She took her time explaining the menu and making thoughtful recommendations. She offered to put together her favorites for our antipasti plate. We enjoyed grazing on our antipasti assortment and the (not fried) calamari. The two of us split the generous Bietola pizza. The sausage was amazing. With the bread, the small antipasti, calamari, and pizza, we were quite full with leftovers to take home. Overall opinion: quality food at a good price, but wine did seem a little pricey. This place is competing with Bottega Cafe as our go to spot. Look forward to returning soon! read more

The gnocchi was wonderful. The red sauce was the best I've had in Birmingham. I was there at lunch, and ordered at the bar, which had a long lunch line. We had to ask for bread for our table, then had to ask for olive oil for the bread. The lunch portion was not overly generous. Service was a little slow. But the food was delicious! read more

I would like to give this place a higher rating, because the pizzas that I have eaten here are among the best in town. I have never had good service here, even when they are not crowded. They are usually very crowded at night, and getting a table can be difficult. You can have a drink at the bar while waiting, but it is also over crowded and hard to get up to. Inside is very small, with lots of cramped banquette, of which I am NOT a fan...especially when spending so much for a meal. As I said, the pizza is delicious, but a big expensive for the size. The paste dishes and meat plates are also good, but again too expensive for what you get. The biggest problem I had was with the cocktails, of which they much think very highly since they run about $12 for a thimble sized drink!! I would highly recommend sitting outside if you can, at least if you want to be able to hear the people you are dining with. The awesome pizzas are the only thing that dragged the review up to three stars. read more

Brandon W is the best server EVAH!!!!! Food delish, all was as described and yummy! Gina is amazing too!!!

They have converted what was a loud restaurant due to close tables into a miserably loud restaurant by piping in obnoxious electro funk music at nightclub sound levels. Instead of seating us at an open table they said "we are underserved you need to wait on a bench for 10-15 minutes." Oh by the way we had reservations. read more

Bettola is a good option if you're feeling adventurous. They have a wonderful ambiance, great staff, and inventive dishes and drinks. Beautiful semi-covered outdoor seating is the way to go late in tge evening. I had the fried egg pizza and some sort of peppered whiskey drink with family recently; while the drink was far too spicy for my taste, the pizza was absolutely delicious. Happy to give this place another go. read more

Legit Neapolitan pizza and great sandwiches as well. We set out on the porch & enjoyed the great weather. Service was on point and the food was ready pretty quick by my standards. One drawback for it being a restaurant in the south, they had to use simple syrup to make sweet tea rather than having it on tap like most places do. But hey, she was on the spot spinning it up and it still tasted prettty decent. Maybe a little expensive for what it is, but that's just the nature of things in new trendy areas like this In my experience. read more

Very disappointed in the fact this "Italian restaurant" did not have pitted olives or stuffed for my martinis. Pits are "the pits". In addition, the next 2 items I wanted to order were altered because the necessary ingredients were "not available". Scallops Was one of them. The scallop risotto is why we came to this establishment again. We won't be back. It's a shame. read more

It's one of our favorites because the food is consistently good and there is usually a new special on the menu whenever we make it in. It is a little pricey for what you get but I think it's worth it because it has a great neighborhood feel and you can sit outside and not hear cars passing by... Pretty nice for a city restaurant. read more

Best authentic Italian food in Birmingham.

Our reservation was for 7and we arrived at 659. We we told there would be a short wait...45 minutes later we were still standing...and waiting. When we finally sat down, our waiter was lovely however it took 21 minutes for the bar to pour a glass of wine that was 1/2 the usual size. Very frustrating experience at what is usually one of my favorite places! It will be a long long time before I think about returning. Too many great places in town to return to an experience like this! read more

Maybe the times I have been here for lunch the B-team was cooking. I found it very bland and left hungry. If you aren't set on Italian, there is the Cantina next door which is pretty good. read more

Very nice place, atmosphere excellent. Been there three times always excellent. Tried hanger steak and pork chop as well as pizza all excellent. Prices fair portions just right. Good enough to be located and successful in any big city but we are lucky to have it right here in Pepper Place. read more

Have been for dinner and love their pizzas, but went today for lunch and officially became a believer. The prosciutto, mozzarella, and arugula flatbread sandwich is UNBELIEVABLE. You get a delicious salad with it. I added a soft drink and my total was only $12. I'll be doing this again! read more

A few months ago, I shared my experience dining at Bettola and I commented that the service did not match the quality of the cuisine. I have gone back to Bettola recently and am reporting that I noticed much improvement in the professionalism, attitude and overall competence of the hosting and waiting staff. The gentleman who is at the entrance to greet guests and seems in charge of managing the restaurant must be credited for this welcome improvement. In addition, the merger of Vittoria and Bettola has more than doubled the seating capacity of the restaurant and the new bar provides a nice focus point and a comfortable place to wait for a table. Now that the service is reliable, I am looking forward to being a regular customer again! read more

I love this place for dinner or lunch. They use locally grown, organic produce, and they know good, fresh food. The pizza is very authentic. I highly recommend it! read more

I paid $13 at lunch for the gnocchi. It was made with fresh ingedients which was good. The taste was just okay and the portion was for a toddler. No salad, no side item. It was about 6-7 gnocchi with about 3/4 cup of tomato sauce. When I pay $13 plus tax and tip I expect at the very least to feel full or have left overs. I left dissatisfied and still hungry. I did taste my lunch date's pizza and it was pretty good. That is the only reason I gave 3 stars instead of 2. I probably will not be going back. read more

Just had dinner there tonight ... this place is awesome!The cocktails are are the best and the entrees hold there own. For a pre-dinner cocktail I had a cocktail that was worth the trip alone. For dinner I had the gnocchi with braised short rib and everything about the dish was exceptional. read more

Great lunch spot for those who work downtown. Panini sandwiches are delicious. Try the pollo y pomodoro!

I was very disappointed in my experience at Bettola. 30 minutes after ordering our food and drinks, we still had no drinks and were told that they were out of pizza and we would need to re-order. After reordering, we were told that our pizzas were delivered to another table where they had been sitting for 15 minutes. They brought us those (now room temperature) pizzas. My pizza was not finished and they brought me the toppings to put on my own pizza. To top it all off, when they brought us the bill instead of giving us a discount for the terrible experience, they tried to over charge us. After this experience, I wrote an review on their Facebook page and received a message threatening legal action for the review! With so many great food options in Birmingham, I will not be going back to Bettola again! read more

Had a reservation for two at Bettola for New Years (12/31/15) and enjoyed a set price 3/4 course dinner without any complaints. When it can time to pay the $159.12 bill I decided to leave a $40 cash tip. However, when checking my bank statement the following week I noticed Bettola had added an additional $30 tip to my card. Yes-that's a $70 tip so I assume someone pocketed the cash and turn in the bill without the cash and the restaurant added an additional 20% tip. The food and service was good but be cautious when paying the bill. read more

Our night started out ok, as my wife and I were seated right away for our reservation. We were quickly attended to by our waiter who gave extensive reviews and recommendations of the unique cocktails before taking our drink order. This is where the night turned sour. From that point on we saw our waiter no more than 3 times, at no less than 20 minute intervals. To make matters worse, our drinks did not come out for 20 or so minutes. In fact, they came out after our pizza which had been ordered 20 minutes later. While the drinks were good, the same cannot really be said about the pizza. The flavor of the toppings was ok, but for a restaurant the bills itself as authentic Italian style pizza, the crust was so soggy. It seemed almost uncooked. It's a shame because another 1-2 minutes in the oven would resolve this problem. Once we finished our food we were left sitting with empty plates and cups for a long period of time before a manager came by to clear our table and offer dessert menus. However, it took another 10 minutes before our waiter showed up again. When he brought our checks he mentioned that he hoped we hadn't felt ignored and that "it was just one of those nights." So, your miles may vary as far as service goes, but I wonder if the pizza is always soggy. I won't be finding out as we won't be returning any time soon. read more

I took my mother who was visiting from out of town to Bettola this past Thursday. I was so excited to try it based on the reviews on Chowhound. I love pizza and was looking forward to trying the highly regarded pizza here. However, I was very disappointed. The atmosphere was good- a little quiet, which was interesting based on the fact that the kitchen was open. Our server was nice enough and helped us choose a bottle of wine, which was well priced and good enough. We decided to start with an appetizer (choose your own antipasto) and split a pizza (sausage and roasted peppers). The antipasto was great; HOWEVER, the pizza was not good at all. We were SO disappointed! The crust itself was good- a little chewy, and the toppings were good, but the bottom of the pizza was disgustingly soggy and undercooked. We ended up only eating the crust and toppings. I asked the waitress if we ordered a typically "wet" pizza, but she let me know that all of the pizzas are soft and wet. Maybe it is just me that I don't like my pizza be sopping wet? I probably will not return, but if I do, I will stick to the antipasto and wine. read more