"The quintessential neighbourhood Italian” londoneater.com
"Bella Vista has managed to deliver authentic regional Italian cooking, that is done really well." foodpedia.com
"What's bellisimo is that the menu punches way above its weight (this is no ordinary neighbourhood trattoria)." Read More.. | Read Magazine Page 27.. Sudi Pigott Evening Standard Food Magazine March 2012
"The food at Bella Vista is without a doubt the best food you'll ever get in an Italian restaurant outside of central Graeme le Saux" Ex Chelsea and England defender. BBC pundit and star of Dancing on ice.
"Bella Vista has been a Blackheath fixture for an impressive 20 years, but there’s nothing old-fashioned about the cooking or décor and it’s a world apart from the other High Street chain offerings. It’s a thoroughly modern one-off trattoria serving cucina Italiana, even more modish since the arrival of new head chef Piero Marenghi hot from L’Anima, currently London’s most talked about and award-winning Italian restaurant. Yet, it remains astonishingly inexpensive for the quality of its food, especially compared to many of its less remarkable "Italian” neighbours."
Sudi Pigott author of the best seller of How To be A Better Foodie
"Just the other week a friend was telling me that she has fallen in love with polenta – a traditional, Northern Italian creamy cornmeal. So when I saw soft polenta with wild mushrooms on the starter menu at Bella Vista, it was a must.
The crab and avocado salad, however, had also caught my eye, and my carnivorous other half wanted the beef carpaccio with rocket and gorgonzola. Fortunately the two of us have pretty healthy appetites, so we took the plunge and ordered all three.
A wise decision. The wonderfully garlicky wild mushrooms sat hand in hand with the creamy polenta; the salad was fresh and beautifully presented and the carpaccio gone in minutes.
But let me backtrack. My boyfriend and I arrived on an early Sunday evening to a buzzy Blackheath Village. Bella Vista itself was quiet, but a steady flow of custom soon started to trickle through the door. Like us, they were probably there to check out the new décor – sauve and sophisticated with crisp lines and stylish fabrics. Seated comfortably, we perused the menu while sipping Prosecco and nibbling plump, green olives and fresh bread.
Moving on to our main dishes, we tucked into a flavourful dish of linguine with clams, garlic and chilli and a perfectly pink beef tagliata (carved sirloin served on a bed of leaves) with braised radicchio and roast potatoes. I can recommend both, especially washed down with a glass of crisp, dry Trebbiano.
And who could resist dessert? With temptations like Amaretto tiramisu and almond and chocolate Caprese cake, not us. We ordered, enjoyed and then sat back in that hazy glow of being very well fed."
