Tasty Italian, nice relaxing atmosphere, freshly grated cheese, some good wine, now I would like to watch The Godfather! read more

This was, without exaggeration, the worst and most absurd "fine dining" experience of my life. My sister made a reservation the day after Thanksgiving for 6:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve--an entire month in advance. We arrived a few minutes early and were greeted by...nothing. No hostess. No check-in. Just a growing crowd of confused couples and families standing in the hallway. After about five minutes of watching absolutely nothing happen, my sister went inside. Other guests confirmed they also had not seen a hostess and were unsure if one existed. Eventually, my sister tracked down the bartender, who explained that their online reservation system had "done something" and tables were double-booked. Once tables cleared, we should be seated. No list was made. No names were taken. It was first come, first hope. We ordered drinks and stood at the bar. My sister felt bad for the people still waiting at the door and explained the situation. Several wisely left. (We should have followed.) Thirty minutes in, we asked for bread and received four slices of focaccia for a party of seven. My mom--now officially hangry--asked to see a manager. None appeared. She went to the restroom in the hotel lobby next door and struck up a conversation with the front desk clerk, who generously gave us complimentary warm DoubleTree cookies. The hotel next door had better service than the restaurant we were supposedly dining in. We continued waiting with zero communication. When we finally stopped a waitress to ask, we were told "15 more minutes," because customers were lingering too long over their food. While standing at the bar, we noticed coffee mugs full of wine being sent into the kitchen. There were no bussers, no barbacks, no hostess--just three waitresses and a bartender working New Year's Eve. After two hours, we were finally seated. We ordered another round of drinks. My wine never arrived, though I was assured it would be "right back." After 15 minutes, I went to the bar myself to retrieve it. When our orders were taken, we were informed they were out of their specials and the four-course dinner. Salads arrived, and then we were told the waitress forgot to order two veal dishes. We could wait an additional 30 minutes for one of them to be re-fired. Also, they were out of the potato side, but we would receive extra vegetables instead. My sister opted to skip her veal and just eat her pasta side. Shortly after, I realized I never received my salad and again had to go to the bar to ask for it. When the entrées finally arrived, my "extra vegetables" turned out to be two lonely asparagus spears. When I asked about the rest, the waitress shrugged. My father's seafood fettuccine came with two shrimp, and the calamari was raw. He pointed this out; the waitress apologized but did not offer to comp the dish or fix it. She did explain that some kids were helping the chef/owner, who was in a bad mood and "won't talk to her." Moral of the story: if you cannot handle service on New Year's Eve, do not offer it. And please, hire a manager. I suppose it could have been worse--honestly, just read the other reviews. read more

Our dinner took place on Friday, May 8th at 5:30 pm... keep in mind that Bella Roma opens at 5, so we were early on the reservation list & there were not many people in the restaurant, yet. I would like to give a 5-star rating because the food was the bomb... when we finally got it. There were 8 of us for a combined birthday dinner, as the majority of us had birthdays in April & May. It took some time to get seated... no big deal. This was intended to be a fun night filled with laughter & good food. Some of us hadn't seen one another in a very long time, some hadn't met yet. Once seated, it took a bit for our server to show up... again, no big deal. Then it began... she didn't introduce herself, so none of us know her name... we were all laughing and I told her, "This is what you can expect from us". Her response? " a snarled-up face and "hmmph". I noticed but bypassed it. I explained that there would be 4 separate checks & asked if she would like to take our orders according to check assignments... nope, in order around the table. We all ordered the 4-course, one with the wine pairing. After an hour I got up and asked her if she had an ETA on the 1st course cuz it's been an hour. She threw her arms up in the air and started ranting about only having one chef that night..there was more that came out of her nasty mouth, but that's the jist of it... it's now 6:30, still a small amount of tables filled. I responded with raised eyebrows and said, "it's been an hour". MAGICALLY, our food started arriving within a few minutes after that however, the wine pairing never showed up for all 4 courses until after each course & she had to be reminded of it. If the kitchen was short staffed & there was going to be a bit of a wait, it should've been explained at the time she was taking our order, it wouldn't have been a problem. Cocktails were ordered mid-meal & I had to go to the bar myself to get them 30 minutes after they were ordered because they never came. A coke was ordered after that, & an unopened can was slammed down on the table in passing a bit later. At one point I left the table and went outside to cool down because she was pissing me off. We watched her cater to other smaller tables throughout our dinner and never once had a follow up to see how we were doing. When the checks came, they were completely incorrect & she got pissy about having to correct them. Once the bills were correct, she took it upon herself to add a 33% gratuity to one of them... that didn't work & she was made to remove it. I don't know what everyone left as a tip, but I do know that one person left $10.00 on $128.00. My bill alone was for 4 of the 8 of us & came to $381.00. I was prepared to leave a $150.00 tip before I even got there, that would've been a roughly 40% tip...she got nothing. I left a zero tip... never before & I hope never again. Her bad attitude, nasty mouth & dismissiveness cost her about a $250 gratuity from our table. It's since bothered me, but there are lessons to be learned here. It took 3 hours for us to complete our time there. That's a very long time for dinner. I hope I never experience this type of service again, especially at a "high end" restaurant. Bottom line... the food is fantastic, the service sucked. read more

Very unpredictable. Had one nice meal with good food and service. Went back within a week to encounter the worst restaurant experience. Terrible service, a Caesar salad that was disgustingly inedible, and a main course accompanied by scorched (burned) vegetables. One server who tried to handle as many tables as she could and the other who seemed noticeably high and if she took your order the other had to come over in a while to retake it. Mediocre to bad food. Definitely not recommended. read more

Really good Italian food! Staff proficient and prompt. All of our entries were delicious - highly recommended

The food was some of the best my wife and I have ever had. The owner is from Rome and his cooking skills are 1st class. We felt like we were back in Italy eating at an amazing restaurant. Will definitely eat there again. Highly recommend. Torres' from Glendive Mt read more

Ristorante Bella Roma - Italian Near Me - Helena, Montana

We had a remarkable meal at Ristorante Bella Roma! My only wish is that I had taken more pictures of our beautiful dishes. House-made pasta and desserts, gorgeous wine pairings, crisp and delicious salads, and chef's kiss for the oxtail pasta special. Our waitress, Brandy, was friendly, knowledgeable and thoughtful. We look forward to a return visit! read more

Ristorante Bella Roma - The housemade Cannoli was delightful! - Italian Near Me - Helena, Montana

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From beginning to end deliziosa. Our server was from our (former) town of San Diego. Very personable and fun to visit with. All the staff and cooks are Italian and the food does reflect that. My husband favorite dish is from Rome it's the carbonara and this did Not disappoint. Buonasera give them a try read more

Ristorante Bella Roma - Also great - Italian Near Me - Helena, Montana

Website says open until 10:00 pm and "a little later on weekends depending on the crowd." Called on a Friday at 8:00 pm to ask about placing a pick up order. The person on the line paused before saying in an annoyed tone that I could place an order but "would have to do it like right now." When I asked about their website saying they are open until 10:00 pm, the person told me that this was correct, but that they usually started closing down once their last reservation for the night was done. How would anyone know this was the policy given what their website says? Moreover, how would anyone know when they could possibly place an order given this policy? Didn't want to keep them there, so ordered from somewhere else. Incredibly rude. read more

In the morning, this restaurant is used as the breakfast area for the attached Doubletree Hotel. Food is in an adjoining room setup on counters with an omelet station where an attendant makes your eggs to order. Then you take your food back to your table at the restaurant. Servers come around to fill your drink and clear your plate. The décor here is a few levels up from a traditional hotel restaurant and is rather interesting. I would love to have seen it at night when it dresses up in white tablecloths and mood lighting. Next time. read more

Ristorante Bella Roma - the bar area - Italian Near Me - Helena, Montana

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The food and service exceeded our expectations! Prices were reasonable. We ate early and the chef welcomed us personally. Great service! Amazing food! Can't say enough good about this gem! read more

It was -2 and snowing, but our party of 9 arrived at our reserved time only to be told when we arrived that they would not be able to sit us for at least another hour which likely meant a 2 hour wait for dinner. We listened patiently to all the excuses the hostess gave us but what we really heard was they knew we were coming, but were busy so unable to honor our reserved time. We were told we could either come back later or find another option in Helena at 6:30 on a cold holiday Saturday evening. It seemed very unprofessional for an established restaurant. read more

All of our major milestones are spent here! Birthdays, anniversaries, family get-togethers, this is the best food in town. I've never had a steak as tender as the ones I have here! They offer a four course meal with an optional wine pairing as well. Prices are not for the faint of heart. read more

Server was great: good recommendation on food and drink. Food was absolutely spectacular, fairly quick and very delicious. Atmosphere was very calm and felt welcoming. Always a great time visiting read more

Wonderful service! Great gnocchi, but the calamari was not good. I realize they were short staffed, but that is no reason to serve a dish that isn't any good. The rings were tough and small. read more

I was very disappointed in my meal we ordered the shrimp and calamari and there were two med shrimp and the sauce just ok. I had the four course meal and left hungry and spent $110 dollars I would never go back read more

For the first time my wife and I experienced the Italian ristorante Bella Roma, this last Valentine's Day. We had searched hard for a place to go for a great steak, and the local steakhouses didn't have great reviews, so we opted for Bella Roma, and chose the 4 course meal for two! It was in the building of a hotel, which was a little weird for such a fancy place, but I guess that doesn't matter. It stared with coffees and super soft focaccia bread with olive oil and vinegar to dip in. Very good! I loved that. Then our first of 4 courses was an appetizer. Mine was a fancy salad and cheese with thin raw filet minion slices. I had to think twice about the raw meat but decided to go for it. (I'm not versed in fancy food and couldn't rename those fancy food names if my life depended on it). It was very good though! My wife had some tomato soup type thing with breadsticks. For the second course we both had salad. Hers was spinach with walnuts and blue cheese, and mine was Ceasers and came with a whole head of romaine lettuce still together! I'd never seen that before. It was okay but was my least favorite part of the meal. The third course, was of course the steak and potatoes. I got the 16oz ribeye medium rare, and my wife got the 8oz filet medium rare. Hers was more medium and mine was more rare, and it was very soft and buttery, although I would have opted for a bit more cooked, but it was still delicious. The potatoes were very good too. I was approaching critical fullness and couldn't finish the steak if I wanted to save room for the dessert. For desert both my wife and I had the cannolis. They were very good and it took us about 30 minutes to stuff them in our tummies. I recommend the cannolis. The service was also very good, we couldn't take two sips from our water before they were there refilling the glasses. They were very attentive and our waiter was very nice. This place was not cheap though! This dinner ended up being the most expensive dinner my wife and I had ever had in our lives, but thankfully we are blessed and can afford if for a special occasion like this, and for the first time in years we were able to dine free of our children! (Thanks to our amazing neighbors)! love you guys!! I recommend Bella Roma for fancy occasions, they do make delicious food and have great service! read more

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Was there 10/4/2025 and I will tell you it was a horrible experience. Half way through our meal they fired our waitress for taking entrees back to the kitchen that came out before the salads. The manager refused to come and speak to the table and the kitchen staff assaulted a person in our party. If you are looking for a nice peaceful meal you would have better luck at McDonald's. For 65$ a person you would expect to not be assaulted or forced to deal with that read more

My favorite Italian restaurant! I come for the burrata and wine whenever I am in town.

Initial visit for an anniversary dinner date. Was immediately greeted by the host/head chef and seated right away. Waiter was very polite and made excellent recommendations. Ended up sharing the 4 course dinner and ordered another entree. Food was flavorful and presented well. Lrg wine list to choose from. Enjoyed the music and atmosphere. Deserts were Awesome!! We'll be back. Enjoyed a quiet walk along the gulch afterwards. read more

I'm absolutely shocked this isn't a 5 star restaurant. I've been to Italy several times, and the food here is 100% authentic Italian food. The pasta is made from scratch, the bread from scratch, the sauces are excellent, and nothing was frozen. It was also reasonably priced for the quality. Brandy served us, and she was lovely. She had a cute and sweet personality and made great recommendations. The ambiance was great as well. The presentation of the food was fantastic I highly recommend, five stars! Oh! Last, the wine was also great and priced well. read more

For starters, the manager was rude kind of just chair next to one of their rickety old wooden tables on the patio and walked away. The patio was dirty. The tables were no no The food was marginal. The service was exceptional. been going to Bella Roma for years And used to enjoy it. Food was great. The service was great. The patio was comfortable not anymore. read more

Food was good, but no salad or bread came with dinner! Service was very slow, not enough staff, no water refills! Too pricey for a piece of lasagna and a bowl of pasta! read more

Most authentic Italian food in Helena. Amazing service and amazing food.simple fresh ingredients

This place could be amazing... but falls short. From the young host/server chewing gum, to being served a red wine when I had asked for Bianchello (a white) the service was underwhelming. I had high hopes for the food, but was disappointed in that as well. It was good, don't get me wrong, just not great... especially for the price point. read more

We celebrate Valentine's Day at Bella Roma and had an amazing 4 course dinner and perfectly paired wine. The staff and atmosphere were just lovely! We felt like we were in the " big city". We would definitely recommend Belle Roma and plan to dine there again. read more

Ristorante Bella Roma - Belle Roma - Italian Near Me - Helena, Montana

The food and staff were great!!! The food was way better than I imagined. The customer service was really good. They were not up in our face but they had decent timing when we needed something. It was all around great and worth it. Highly recommend. read more

A horrible experience..the kitchen owner, fired our waitress after yelling at her because he was sending food/entree out before salads etc. he was yelling "they get what I send out" she said to keep them warm and send out salads. We were a party of 13...almost all of us ordered the 4 course dinner..we had our 11 year old grand daughter with us and she was crying. We asked to speak with the manager or owner and we waited over 30 minutes and he would not come talk with us. A member of our party went to the kitchen door and asked to speak, he was greeted with yelling, and was choked by kitchen staff..we called the police 2 times and even hearing the yelling from the first call never came, we waited outside for 45 minutes, apparently the owner knows someone at the police depot. And we heard he has spent time in jail for treating his employees like this..horrid experience and the poor waitress did nothing wrong read more

We went in to celebrate my husbands birthday... and what a weird experience. We had a 6:45 reservation and got seated right away. And then we waited... for about 10 minutes to get our drink order taken, another 10 to get our drinks (tonic water with lime and a glass of wine). You could tell things were hectic for wait staff and the kitchen but we are patient so didn't get to upset at that point. We ordered our food after drinks were delivered (caprese salad, Caesar salad, gnocchi and another pasta dish- what my husband ordered isn't want he actually received). Then we waited for 45 minutes. Our waitress kept coming back and apologizing for the wait. At 45 minutes in she came to our table and asked what she could do to make it right with the wait time (we still hadn't gotten our food). We were very polite and just asked for a timeframe on when we might be getting food- she said 12 minutes and told me she'd bring a complimentary glass of wine because of the wait. Another 20 minutes go by (officially at 1 hour with no salads or entree)- both our drinks have been empty for sometime now... she comes by again to apologize for the wait. I asked if we could at least get our salads? She responded "oh my gosh, I thought they'd been brought out already?!" At this point, we were ready to walk out, but she came back again and said "your meal will be comped" and was extremely apologetic, and then brought out my husbands Caesar salad (but not mine). About 5 minutes later (1.5 hours into this debacle), our main dishes come, and then my caprese salad arrives. Now, the food was actually good and we enjoyed it once we had it, but the wait, and not getting our salads before was crummy. We finish eating (still no drink refills, wine she was bringing never showed up), she comes to grab our plates and says she will bring our bill. I was surprised but thought "okay, maybe we'll pay for our drinks?". We weren't expecting a free meal, but when the waitress says "I'm so sorry for the wait, I'm comping your meal" you assume it meals the meal... bill arrives and she had 2 caprese salads and had just removed the cost for my entree.... So we still had a bill for $70 (after I told her she needed to take 1 caprese off because we only had 1). We paid the bill (I wasn't going to make it weird) and walked out. The food was good when we finally got it, but the service was atrocious and weird. Wouldn't recommend. read more

Fabulous food, Fabulous staff, enjoyed every minute and detail the food was extraordinary and the staff were soo attentive loved it highly recommend! read more

Wonderful food and wine selection! Been to Italy many times, this restaurant reminds me of the friendly people and all the delightful food I experienced there. read more

The food is fantastic, the atmosphere is fun and relaxing, the staff is fun and enjoyable. We are definitely eating here again.

Service is horrible! Seated and 20 minutes for our waitress to even acknowledge us with water. Then another 15 minutes to come back and take our order. At that time we ordered our drinks, appetizers and dinner (which she never mentioned the specials) all at once because we didn't know how long it would be for her to come back. We got our drinks after another 10 minutes and then waited and 20 minutes and she said your food will be right out. Sure enough.... Entrees come out! I asked about the appetizers and she apologized and i said cancel them. Steak was amazing and the only reason i would ever go back.... But maybe just to go instead sitting through that again. I understand when they are busy but this waitress had four tables of 2-4 people. So many other great places where service is so much better. read more

I wish I could give 10 stars. One of THE best Italian experiences we've ever had, makes me wanna go to Italy right now. The chef/owner always comes out and brings us little surprises, one time it was homemade chocolates, this time it was chicken. The manager is always genuine and welcoming, the hostess is warm and friendly, she got down on my granddaughter's level to talk to her. The waiters and waitresses are always very knowledgeable and make you feel right at home. The restaurant has a cozy but elegant vibe, extremely busy and lively. Seems like home but also as if you're in a big city dining in a very fancy place. I always see the owner come out and hug people, talk about soccer and just enjoy their visits. Last but not least, THE FOOD is to die for. I've never had spaghetti carbonara like this, my husband had the wagyu steak and the sauce was heavenly. And the cannolis?!?! Aahhhhh, could eat 5 in a sitting if we weren't so darn full. Even the coffee is out of this world good. I wish I could keep it under wraps how good it is to ensure we always have a chance to eat here but it would also be criminal to keep It a secret. Sorprendente! read more

Food was good (what was still available). Service was atrocious. Workers were disappearing and/or yelling at each other... really ruined the environment. Customers were growing more and more impatient as their wait continued to get longer and longer. I wanted to like it, but it was a really crappy experience. read more

Perfect food and very nice service. Everything went well, I will for sure come back some time.

This was our first time dining at Bella Roma and I don't usually leave reviews, but times are tough so small businesses and maybe this will help them grow. We went this past Saturday for a much needed date night. I called while we were parking as we were debating between to close restaurants and wanted t decide based on wait time. The other location had a wait of almost 2 hours. Bella Roma stated their wait time was about 30 minutes. We walked in just a couple minutes later to be told that the earliest they could seat us, would be 8pm. It was 6:30. I explained that I literally just called and was told 30 minutes and we were the only ones in the waiting area. The host didn't respond about that and said we could sit in the bar but the food would take longer. That was fine with us and we sat at the bar. Also to add, when we walked in, the first thing we heard was the manager and a server arguing about a wine they didn't have. It was awkward. Anyways, we sit down at the bar and the bartender was very nice. We assumed he would be the one taking care of us, but the manager walked over and took over. I ordered a Shirley Temple and my boyfriend ordered a Coke, as we both don't drink. The manager then explained the menu and how the 4 courses worked. He failed to mention that the steak is an additional $30 on top of the $80 but we read that ourselves on the menu. The food started coming out and it was fine, nothing amazing. I asked for a refill and he told me that refills cost. I thought he was joking. For the price we were paying for dinner, that a Shirley Temple wouldn't have free refills. I asked if that meant the Coke would also not be free refills and he said correct. The bartender was clearly irritated by this and when the manager walked away, he assured us that our sodas would not be charged for refills. We spent the remainder of our dinner listening to staff talk poorly about each other, talk about how the owner is leaving people in charge that shouldn't be in charge, etc. My ravioli was delicious. Definitely the best part of the dinner. Then, the kicker was the steak. It tasted as good as the steak we recently got at Applebees. There was nothing wrong with it, but it certainly wasn't worth the money we spent on it. All in all, our dinner plus tip was $240 and we will not be back. There was nothing special to bring us back for that amount. read more

Best Italian food in Helena! Authentic Roman menu and the only restaurant pasta I will eat in town. It's strangely attached to a hotel so the ambiance isn't great but the food is. I strongly suggest making a reservation. read more

Late on a Saturday night, we were pleased to see that Bella Roma in the Doubletree Hotel was still serving dinner when we arrived at 9:45 PM. We were warmly welcomed by the hostess and our waitress. There were no other diners in the restaurant the entire time we were there. I enjoyed by dinner, a fettuccine ordered from the bar menu. Pasta cooked al dente and served with four delicious meatballs. Very tasty. Mom thought that her pasta was a bit too oily and salty, a spaghetti tossed with basil in a pomodoro sauce with sauteed grape tomatoes. We did have our waitress running quite a bit. Bread. Butter. A spoon for twirling the pasta (she seemed a little perplexed and first brought us a teaspoon and then a soup spoon which we made do with). In the end, an inexpensive meal (hooray for the bar menu) that I enjoyed and mom thought was two stars. So we're here at four because this is my review and not hers. read more

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Great service. Friendly staff and excellent authentic Italian food. All made in house. Very good and we will be back.