I said a couple of reviews ago that I had the best Italian meal that I have ever had. Well I found…read moresomeone to knock that one off its throne. When I came into Chatham Ontario, Canada, and checking into hotel, the lady at the front desk said you have to go to this restaurant. I hear that at a lot of hotels, but I figured I would check it out. For starters, this place is located downtown in a very quaint little district, there seems to be plenty of street parking. Although I can imagine on Friday and Saturday nights it can get a little hectic. Regardless, I found a spot walked across the street to the restaurant The place itself is really quaint and inviting. They made it up to look like a small Italian village. It's really really cool. This place is also kind of elegant, they have black tablecloths and silverware rolled up in cloth napkins and it is just an overall upscale dining event, although you definitely do not have to dress up to go here. My waitress, Claire, greeted me and asked if I wanted anything. I ordered a loss of water to start and just wanted to check out the menu. She came back a few moments later and I decided to order the calamari appetizer, the chicken parmesan which came with a salad... I opted for Caesar, and a glass of their house! Pinot noir. One thing I like about Italian restaurants is the pacing of the meal. This is not a walk-in, turn them and burn them. Type of establishment. This is a hour and a half to 2-hour culinary adventure. Claire has this down to a science. The appetizer came, and was cooked perfectly. I love fresh calamari. A nice touch was the dusted jalapenos and pineapple that came with. Instead of a shrimp style sauce, they opt for a slightly spicy sweet dipping sauce. Next came the bread. Claire also brought over the obligatory olive oil and balsamic vinegar, plus a spicy oil. She recommended that I mix all three and even brought over some shaved Parmesan to put on top of that before I dip the bread into it. Absolute heaven on a plate! Then came the salad, the Caesar was absolutely perfect. I love it when a salad is dressed properly, and not just a wad of dressing lumped on top. This was such a good salad and of course I had to have extra pepper and parmesan. After a short break, the main course arrived, and it was huge. Seen a bigger chicken parmesan in the history of my eating Italian food. And it was cooked so perfect! The spaghetti underneath was perfectly cooked, and the marinara sauce was totally on point. Mozzarella on the chicken parm and then covered it in the red sauce to give it that slightly melted texture. Did I finish it? No, I did not. But I am having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The reason being I wanted to save room for the tiramisu. I ordered the tiramisu, and had a double espresso. What a perfect combination! The tiramisu was absolutely wonderful, not too sweet and the bitterness of the coffee worked perfectly with it. I have to brag on Claire a little bit, as she was one of the most perfect wait staff people I have ever met. She was attentive without being hovering, she paced the meal perfectly, made great suggestions. I could not eat another bite as I was so full. And completely satisfied. This was literally one of the most perfect meals I have ever had. Bottom line? It was expensive. And I am more than willing to pay for quality food and service. And this place hit on all cylinders. If you are looking for a great night out, you would do no better than to check out this place.

they're special was a 10 ounce ribeye steak. It was pricey however I thought it would be great. It…read morewas at least 30% pure fat with fat mix throughout and it was cooked almost well then when I ordered, medium,rare. It was probably the worst meal I have had in Chatham. The service was OK but the noise in that restaurant is terrible

The ambience was great and above all, the food was amazing. I have never had mango Shirley temple…read moreand kids loved it. Service was great too. Food came really quick.

Food, services, and ambiance are top notch. One of our Top…read morechoices in all of Chatham-Kent

Great food, old school Italian ambiance as well as great customer service. I love the lasagna and…read morewine menu

The service and food was good the lighting needs to be turned up a little bit but other than that…read moreit was really good and the only other thing that I didn't like was they want you to have a reservation but they wasn't busy but they set us down anyway but said next time please call for a reservation so I didn't know really didn't like that part but I'll go back

We were greeted fast and with professionalism by Reese. To our pleasant surprise Reese was also our…read moreserver. His attentiveness and enthusiasm were very infectious. We wanted for nothing ever. Our drinks were refilled before we even finished them. Reese gave us the time to enjoy our appetizer which made the entire timing and experience of the meal exceptional. The portabella ravioli was amazing! The sangria flight exceptional. Don't forget to order the goat cheese with naan WOW! I highly recommend Ciao Bella for a true dining experience. Atmosphere inside is unique and classy. This location even has an adorable outside dining venue. Your restaurant is lucky to have an exceptional employee like Reese. One comment would be to soak the ladyfingers so much more for a better balance in the Tarimisu. Otherwise amazing! Thank you!

A large group had a reservation so restaurant was well aware of the number they would be serving…read more We waited well over 1 hour before getting our food. A couple of us requested our house salad to only have romaine as the spring mix used can be bitter, also no shaved carrot and no canned red pepper. We requested cucumber and cherry tomatoes instead. Simple request right? Salads each had 1 slice of cucumber, cut in half, 2 cherry tomatoes, cut in half. Here is the kicker...we were each charged $2.00 extra for the cucumber and cherry tomatoes while another person at the table got the same thing, but instead had the regular house salad, which wasn't eatable' due to the overload of salad dressing!! We dined a few times at Ciao Bella last year and had a great experience...being charged the extra $2.00...don't think we will return.

First class service, quaint atmosphere and delicious food. I would highly recommend this for groups…read moreof 6 or less. Not very big but amazing nonetheless.

Excellent meal and service, small town restaurant with city type meals and quality service, can't…read morewait to go back

We have tried this restaurant once several years ago and decided to give them another try. Today…read morewas great! The service staff was very friendly and attentive. We got a huge Greek salad and we loved the bread. The veggie calzone is also amazing. We sat by the windows, which was nice as it was a very sunny day. The food tasted very fresh and delicious. We will return again.

A very sweet marinara sauce Chicken parm was good…read moreSalad was soggy, wilted Nice staff and busy on Friday night

Still good after 30 years Service always excellent…read more Ambiance very hard to beat Food unchanged (thank goodness) always stellar Just a place that is always memorable

Once again - good old school place - good service , good food ! Shared prime rib & eggplant…read moreParmesan - both came with salad - sides of pasta - bread basket included . Everything tasted good - kinda large portions. Leftovers for next day dinner .

I didn't even get to try the food because we were sat and for 20 minutes nobody checked in on us,…read moreno drinks, no water, no anything. I won't be back due to this since I am an out of towner and I don't have time to wait around to get served. The food did look good based on the smells and the plates being brought out. The place was clean enough.

This was such a fun find! I have friends in the Monroe area and it worked out to pop up here for…read moredinner. They had a really fun seasonal cocktail menu with a Pistachio Martini, Espresso Punntini and a Maple Bourbon smash. They had a wonderful menu that was mostly Italian and had a great wine selection that paired well with that.