Due to its location in Temple Bar, you may mistake Ciao Bella Roma for one of those early bird-tourist rip-offs that you find in the area. But the restaurant is actually one of the main meeting places of Dublin's Italian community. And as you may know Italians have a horrible taste for food, so the grub here must be pretty average. Not. The pasta is gorgeous, and the simple bruschetta's offered for starters make you scream for more of the same. It can get packed on the weekends, especially if the aforementioned Italians bring their parents, but if early dining is your thing try the early bird (which they do offer) - the last time I went I got a two course meal plus a glass of wine for only 12,60 €. read more

I have been here three times, two to eat pasta and one time for pizza. I have to say that regarding pasta the place really deserve to be mentioned as one of the best place in Dublin, for pizza I personally prefer other places, but anyway not so bad and for sure much better and healthier than Dominos, Four star pizza etc.... read more

Currently traveling from the U.S., just looking for a place to have a late dinner at. This place was packed at 9, so we figured it'd be a good bet. The crowd was right. This is a very traditional Italian pasta/pizza restaurant with an excellent selection to choose from. We had carbonara and their Fusili in a sort of minced sausage bolognese sauce. The carbonara was excellently prepared, not too creamy and not too oily, tossed with egg like it should be! The Fusili was full of flavor and the presentation was immaculate. The house white wine we ordered with the dinner was very good as well. Full bodied, but not too heavy. After dessert we ordered sambuca, and after we asked for the check, they brought us two more sambuca on the house! And the sambuca was served as it should be, in a shot glass with a coffee bean, unlike a lot of places that serve it in a snifter (no Bueno) The prices were reasonable, staff was knowledgable, friendly and attentive, and the food was top notch, traditionally prepared, perfectly presented Italian. 100% recommend to anyone looking for high quality Italian, or a nice place open late. read more

Ciao Bella Roma is my favorite Italian restaurant in Dublin. It serves delicious pizza and a variety of tasty pasta dishes. They offer good prices, fast service and a very Italian atmosphere. All of my Italian friends consider this the best pizza in Dublin! My personal favorite: Bruschetta, a glass of red house wine and a delicious spicy pepperoni pizza. Yumm! read more

A great place for lunch, with the early bird menu getting you two courses and a glass of wine for under a tenner, how can you go wrong!? A really lovely setting, always filled with plenty of Italians (always a good sign for an Italian restaurant!) with tasty food and reasonable choice for an early bird. read more

Food was ok, not too pricey but service was bad. We were 1 of 2 groups in the place and it took 10 min before anyone came to the table. When she did, she was not friendly and borderline rude. 3 stars only for quality and price of food. read more

Very nice place! Went for an early dinner and we got the lunch menu. Choose an appetizer from 4 options, entree from 4 options and a soft drink or house wine is included for €18.50. Service was just a bit off in that the waiter seemed to have trouble remembering who had what but overall fine. Food was very good. read more

Very good Italian food in a casual setting, which you can tell by the number of actual Italian customers occupying the restaurant on a daily & nightly basis. This place serves my favorite pizza and seafood pasta in Dublin. While the service isn't the best, and the seating is quite cluttered in the dimly lit, often busy dining room, I still come here whenever I want authentic Italian cuisine in an unpretentious atmosphere. It's that good. Try the pizzas, which are oven-baked and very thin and crispy, or the pasta dishes. I recommend the seafood pasta, which is prepared in a light oil/butter sauce and is full of fresh clams, prawns in the shell, and other 'fruits of the ocean.' The mussels starter is also very nice -- perfectly cooked in a delicate wine & butter broth which doesn't overpower the actual flavor of the mussels. Sop it up with some bread, and wash it down with a glass of wine. Mmmm. The prices are normal Dublin prices, and the portions aren't huge, so plan to order a starter and a main course. They do have an early bird menu special, which includes two courses and a glass of wine for under €20. read more

Not impressed, Seated very quickly, Got a Veal escallop and a Calzone Pizza is less than 3 mins, Before we got drinks, the drinks were not slow to arrive (food far too fast, obviously pre cooked). Waiter cleared our table, never asked if we wanted anything else or how the food was, ran as soon as he got the plates. Not good, wont be back. read more

So my sister researched this place and said we had to try it. 4 blocks from our hotel so why not? Service all through prompt to seating us was slow, at 2 in the after noon I can understand getting ready for dinner but not letting us sit for 20 min with empty water glasses. The food, to us, was of good portions size as we got the lunch early bird special. But there was not a lot of seasoning on anything. My pasta dish was a little spicy, but with our more balance i have no idea where the spice was coming from! Chile powder? fresh peppers? Canned chipotle maybe? I mean for a cute out of the way place where in the afternoon there is less tourist, this place is great. Other then that skip it for one of the many little bistros you can find a long the way. read more

Ciao Bella Roma is one of the few places to eat pizza and not only pizza where you can find fresh product, nice environment and very warm welcome from the staff. I really enjoy to have dinner in Ciao bella Roma and I recommend to everybody to try. Barbara read more

Great atmosphere. Polite and attentive staff. Out of ten we would give the food an 8 or 9. The two pizzas we ordered were quite satisfying. The spicy salami pizza was a bit greasy. Our server Daniella was great and made the experience pleasant. We recommend the place for a nice sit down Italian dinner in Temple Bar. read more

I ordered the pizza with spicy salami (essentially like spicy pepperoni's) and it was one of, if not the, best pizza I've ever had. Very cool environment with lots of different people enjoying Italian food. Highly recommended read more

We had a really good experience here on our trip to Dublin. We actually ate here two days in a row. The number 20 was amazing. The Tiramisu was the best I've had. The staff was very friendly and it felt like we were in an authentic Italian restaurant. read more

Ciao Bella Roma - Tiramisu was amazing. - Italian Near Me - Dublin, D

I visited here a while back with my mother as she never really enjoyed Italian food. I wasn't having any more of her excuses and needed her to try something that would change her mind, as my love for the cuisine has become an addiction. I eat waaaay to much pasta! The restaurant had a real authentic Italian feel just like the ones I've visited in Italy. It's cosy and warm and the staff are so welcoming. We didn't want to have a big starter because I can never finish my pasta, so we went for some type of smoked cheese that was baked in a dish and had bread to accompany it. So tasty and not too filling the portion size was perfect. For mains we both had linguine with whole king prawns, garlic and chilli. So delicious but the mother nearly died when the prawns came along with heads and tails on :)!! She enjoyed it in the end but! Had some sautéed spinach with garlic and butter on the side which was too die for, not too heavy. Want to return soon to try the pizza everyone is raving about! read more

Lovely food and wonderful atmosphere. Will definitely go back and highly recommend their "saltimbocca"

I love Ciao Bella Roma. (and being an immediate neighbor I've tried and tested them A LOT, believe me) Whatever you take off their menu, it will be just soo tasty (and don't only get stuck on the pizza, the pasta rocks too!). The place itself feels very authentically Italian, and my Italian friends tell me that they do in fact serve the most authentic Italian food in Dublin. Personal favorites are: Pizza Bella Roma, Calzone melanzane, the regular Pizza with eggplant, Pasta alla Genovese (I think it's called... the large round pasta with a type of beef ragout, so good!!) The red house wine is cheap yet very drinkable (only a bit warm at times because they seem to store the bottles above to the pizza ovens, if that bothers you request some ice in a bottle cooler to chill it with). The servers are always very fast and very friendly, and even if not all of them really are in fact Italians, they could well be. I can also warmly recommend Ciao Bella Roma for take-out, they somehow manage to cook up your pizza to perfection within a matter of just a few minutes, much faster and SOOO MUCH better than any frozen pizza. read more

Great value for lunch. Less than a tenner for starter, main and a glass of wine. Pasta was good, and the pizza looked great (next time)...

I feel bad contradicting many of the rave reviews on here, and having had lovely dining experiences there with a group and on a date I was even more shocked by the service I recieved last night. My partner and I went on a date there before the theatre and were met with hostility and a terrible atmosphere the second we set foot in the door. A woman, who appeared to be a manager (as she wasnt wearing apron/wait staff uniform) was exceptionally rude to us from our "greeting" at the door to our leaving. Firstly the only table available was one the size of a postage stamp next to the door (it was freezing and the door was opening and closing a lot) or "downstairs". We were brought downstairs where a very loud family with a lot of children were dining so we figured this is why we were reluctantly offered a table downstairs. They put us right next to the screaming table despite the whole floor being empty, so we moved. When she emerged from the kitchen she made a big deal about how we had moved seats as the other tables were reserved for 8pm. We explained we would be gone by 8 (it was 6pm) and offered to move back if needed, but there was a general concession for our moving. Our order was taken without any eye contact and she left the table before my partner had ordered a drink (she was there for about 1 minute in total). For a starter, we had a smoked cheese dish in a tomato sauce which was basically just a bowl of melted cheese (it wasn't inedible but I wouldnt order again). My partners pizza arrived and it was incorrect (as she had taken down the wrong order). We explained to our new waiter who brought the food that it was wrong and he apologised and brought it back. She then came back to the table and started explaining that this "may" have been her fault but implying that we "may" have said the wrong thing. It was so unprofessional!!! Ive never encountered someone contesting a wrong order in a restaurant before. When my partners pizza came is was sloppy and inedible (and he'd eat anything!) My gnocchi was ok, I asked for black pepper as it was quite tasteless and she came and attempted to grind some pepper. It was obvious the cannister wasnt working as nothing came out, when I pointed this out she exlained it was coming out "very finely". There wasnt a hint of black pepper from my dish. [side note: Italian Restuarants - just leave black pepper on the table!!!! I hate this standing on ceremony and I always want more than is given...] Overall, a hideous experience where it felt as though we'd showed up at a strangers house at a really bad time and wanted to join them for dinner. I was a regular here - never again. read more

We do love Italian food and we do love eat it in Ciao Bella Roma. Starting from starters: crispy bruschette miste with selection of grilled vegetables on top, clams, mussels; through pasta (my friend says: "like a mamma" mocking Italian accent) and pizza - bella roma (with prosciutto) and siciliana (with aubergine) being our favourite ones. From deserts definitely worth trying is baba al rum (unfortunately quite often it's gone when I'm asking for it), profiteroles and death by chocolate. There's one think however that stops me from going there more often is wine at a temperature of coffee that's being served in here (no they don't serve cold coffee - if you were going to ask). Old Chinese proverb says to eat where locals are eating - that's why Ciao Bella Roma is the best place to eat Italian cousine and Anseo is the best place to try hot whiskey read more

I'm sorry. I don't get the fuss. Bargain, maybe. Tasty, not so much. Cheap plastic ham on the crostini starter reminded me of 1980s billy roll. The diavolo pizza is no fallen angel. You expect devilish spicing. Not here. Instead, your pizza gets sogged down in oodles of rubbery mozzarella and cheap pepperoni. You know, the kind that tastes like grilled deli luncheon pepper salami. Plenty of authentic Italian sass in the service, but top five in Dublin? I don't think so. It would be two stars, but for the bargain pricing. #sadface #evenaperonididnthelpmybuzz read more

Had a group of 6 ... We were given best table in house.. My seafood pasta was fabulous and seafood was succulent and not over cooked! Fresh and flavorful dinner. Wine was divine. Will definitely return before we leave. read more

Great service, good food, and lovely ambiance. The place can get loud and crowded but has an atmosphere like a wedding reception: joyous, raucous, and fun. Even when the wait staff are slammed, they are still responsive and seem happy to be there. It's always a good sign when Italian people are working and eating in an Italian restaurant. We've been three times this week. I would definitely go back if only I didn't live on another continent. read more

Best pizza we ever had. We had to travel from the USA all the way to Ireland to find it. Fresh ingredients great dough with the right amount of sauce. read more

Immediately greeted by the owner/manager, it was very busy on a Sunday night (a great sign). We were put in a temp place and then relocated to a better table once it came up. Service was slow even for European standards, chicken dish was very good...do remember to ask whether meet/fish dishes come with pasta...ours did not. We order d a separate mixta salad - very bland, just olive oil as dressing and a pasta (I don't recall which one). Pasta texture was good, but wasn't what I was expecting. I'd recommend but make sure you're patient as far as service level and there are many options to choose from on the menu - choose carefully. read more

8.95 for a starter and main, yes thank you! Pizza was out of this world, all the salty deliciousness you could want, and it was huge. Not a place to go if you're not hungry, but my God, what a treat when you are! read more

I ate there at the suggestion of a bouncer from a nearby bar. I wish I'd gone earlier on in my trip so I could have tried more of the menu.The food came out quickly and the fresh pasta was so delicious; it really hit the spot after a long day on my feet sightseeing. I only wish I'd had room leftover for dessert! read more

Wine = Shocking, I think Vinegar was served by accident. Carbonara = Barely any sauce, absolutely tasteless. Pasta was way over cooked, not much chicken. Rip-off meal and terrible service. We had to wait 15 minutes before they would take our order because the menu changed? VERDICT: I would gladly return, to close it down! read more

I feel at home in this place. To give you an idea of what I am talking about :my home is busy and loud. The service feels very Italian, in a good way, not too formal and with the staff shouting at each other every now and then but always friendly to the patrons. On my last visit, as we were paying, we were given a slice of Panettone with melted chocolate. Yes, they bought me. Food wise, I always order a pizza when I go to Ciao Bella Roma-because I pretty much always order pizza when I go to an Italian restaurant and they are delicious in this place. The crust is perfect and the price is right. read more

During our recent trip to Venice, our innkeeper recommended Ciao Bella Roma for a casual dinner. His recommendation was spot on! This is a true local spot, and you won't find any of the tourist trip/sky high prices Venice restaurants are world famous for. The mozzarella app was spot on, as was the shrimp with lemon and olive oil. The shrimp was very fresh and perfectly balanced with the lemon and oil. The pizza was excellent, with a load of fresh toppings to choose from. The house red was one of the best glasses of wine I had in Italy. We had an awesome meal for under 50 Euro. If you're looking for a laid back local pizza joint, Ciao Bella should be at the top of your list. read more

5 stars for food, staff and wine. I always had a very good experience in there and the prices are not so expensive. If you like italian food I do recommend this place at least it's real Italian. read more

I have the lobster pasta with my friend several months ago and that was the best pasta I ever have. In my opinion, it is the best Italian restaurant in Dublin. read more

Just to preface this, I lived in Italy for many years and am married to an Italian. I ate here with a group of 10, including guests from out of town. The service was VERY slow. It took one hour and a half for our main dishes to arrive and we only had a small starter in the meantime. Mine and all the other pastas were way overcooked (a terrible sin in Italy). I also had broccoli and salsiccia in the pasta which were overcooked and underseasoned. I have been here a few times over the years and found it to be a solid restaurant. Judging by my experience and some recent reviews it has really gone downhill. Pasta Scotta? Una vergogna. read more

One of my favourite places for pizza in Dublin - love to go back here. Great service!

I was so excited to come to this restaurant at first since I heard they have very delicious lobster spaghetti but I am really disappointed. The shrimp was not fresh and very smelly. I told the waiter and he said that is the right smell and chef said it also. But I pretty sure it was not. I am a seafood lover and I eat so much seafood in my life and I know what it should be. Finally they replaced me another potion of spaghetti but not lobster one, just a normal spaghetti. I asked discount on final price (lobster spaghetti is 60 which is not worth at all and I did not eat much since it was smelly) but they only cut 10 euro off which is not that fair. This is my first time write negative review and I will not come back to this restaurant again. Maybe their pizza is good but that seafood, at least not the day I ate it. read more

Definitely not a place I'll come back to. The service is just bad and the food is really badly prepared. I am surprised this restaurant has so many good reviews. In order to call this place good you have to have a low sense of taste. I do not recommend it. read more

Pizza below average, wouldn't come back. The base was like a chewing gum and not very tasty.

Great! I've tried it today because I needed to eat some pasta and definitely I will come back soon! I had 'zuppa di cozze' and pasta and a glass of wine for 12.95, a fantastic price, the cozze were damn good! read more

They have a very good price for lunch and early bird! Food is very good and in a real Italian way.

One of the best pizzas around, and their lunchtime offers are incredible. The only difficulty is finding parking nearby. It's a piece of Italy in Dublin. Incredible. read more