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Hours
Sun
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Tue
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Wed
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Thu
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Fri
5:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Sat
5:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
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CUISINES
Italian, Romana, Lazio, Central-Italian
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Dinner, Late Night, Drinks
features
Does this restaurant serve Romana food?
Details
About
Authentic Italian cuisine made from scratch every day. Chef is a native of Rome, Italy.
CUISINES
Italian, Romana, Lazio, Central-Italian
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Dinner, Late Night, Drinks
FEATURES
Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Street Parking, Free off-street parking, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Accepts American Express, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Accepts Discover, Table Service, Gift Cards Available
Contribute
4.5
109 reviews
Excellent
73
Very good
17
Average
11
Poor
2
Terrible
6
Sam V
10 contributions
Jun 2022 • none
We would give Ristorante Bella Roma ten stars, if we could. We love Italian food and this was one of the best Italian restaurants we have eaten in. We sat outside on a delightful Helena summer evening. We ordered the Sfornatino Taleggio e Funghi, a baked Taleggio cheese with Parmigiano-Reggiano and portobello mushrooms; the Bresaola, Arugula e Parmigiano salad; and the Pappardelle al Ragu, and shared them all. We didn’t know what to expect from the creamy Taleggio cheese, but it was outstanding, a delightful combination of cheese, mushroom and a homemade toasted bread. The salad and dressing were perfect and the added parm-reggiano, delicious. Finally, the pappardelle with meat sauce was flawless. The pasta was properly al dente, the sauce rich and flavorful. The experience was enhanced by the background music and service. The music was muted instrumental, complementing the taste of the meal. The service by Lucas and his trainee, Summer, was impeccable. They staged serving the food so we could savor each dish without being rushed before the next dish arrived. The Bella Roma has an extensive wine list and suggested pairings with each dish. Buon Appetito!
Written June 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bart
2 contributions
Jul 2020 • couples
Just passing through town we were lucky to stumble upon Bella Roma as we walked around the historic downtown. We had a light lunch of pasta and salad that was absolutely delicious, enjoying the outdoor patio. It was so good we decided to come back a few nights later for dinner, even though technically it was a few hours drive off of our planned itinerary. We headed up to Glacier National Park for a few days then back to Bella Roma! We sat in the dining room at the bar and Romana made us some delicious cocktails to get the night started. The owner and executive chef Davide was there and walked us through a four course meal complete with wine parings- everything was amazing. A great couples night out in Helena!
Written July 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ADTrainor
Great Falls14 contributions
Feb 2020 • family
We went here for my twin’s birthday dinner. The menu was a bit overwhelming with traditional Italian style foods as well as ordering courses. To be honest no one knew what they ordered. However the surprise was all four of us had amazing meals. Delicious and flavorful. Everyone ate every last bite! Simply delicious!!!!!
Written March 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Meranda94
37 contributions
Apr 2022 • family
We are from out of town, didn't realize Bella Roma is "fancy," and walked in with a party of 4 and a 9 month old baby. We decided we could make it through a quick dinner and when our waiter started to explain the 4 course option we clarified that we could order JUST the entree and emphasized that we wanted to be quick.
The experience was awkward from the start. We tried to order a side of steamed vegetables for baby and were told that could not be accomodated, despite the fact that steamed vegetables are reflected on the menu.
After ordering, and talking amongst ourselves, we decided changing our order to takeout might be best for all. When approached, the waiter seemed thrown off by the request, but said he'd see if it was possible; even though their website has a pickup option.
When our takeout food did arrive I asked the waiter for the bill, he said "Now?" Um, YES... our food is sitting in bags on the table. We're ready to go! He brought the bill but never came back for payment even though my husband sat there with cash displayed on the payment book for several minutes.
I should also mention that the manager walked by our table several times while we waited. Finally we asked the hostess if she could help expedite the payment process. After several more minutes the waiter returned and said they couldn't make change. We gave $200 for a $133 bill and the menu specifically states, "Cash appreciated."
The waiter told me I could go to the hotel lobby next door to make change. We're not even hotel guests, and in a customer service oriented restaurant the waiter would carry change, OR be the one to run next door... NOT the customer.
Ultimately we gave the waiter our credit card. Several more minutes passed. Altogether it took over 20 minutes to simply pay our bill, AFTER our to-go food was brought to the table and bagged.
A good manager would have noted something was amiss, particularly as the server had told us he was new. In the end we left a very small tip, tipped the hostess $10.00 and told her thank you as she'd been the most helpful of anyone, and went on our way.
Upon return to our Airbnb we ate our dinner and determined that it was okay but not anywhere close to amazing. Maybe our expectations are too high as we're from a much larger city, but it seems reasonable that when a customer has made it clear that all they really want to do is leave, the server, and the manager, should do their best to make that happen.
While our experience was not good at several turns, at least we have an interesting memory.
Written April 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bart B
Helena108 contributions
Nov 2021 • couples
We ate dinner at Bella Roma on a Saturday night at 7:00 in November. The restaurant was very busy and the service very slow. Our drinks were empty for most of the hour we waited for entrees and the food wasn't great when it arrived. The Calamari was crispy and well seasoned but the aioli all over it was not good. The Saltinbocca was well prepared but the "roasted potatoes" were more like home fries. The cost would have been reasonable had the experience been better but was not considering the quality of service and food.
Written December 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jamescaje
Centennial278 contributions
Sep 2021 • family
We stayed in thy connecting hotel and wow. I have an in law who is Italian who was very impressed. The chef is from Rome and everything is made in house besides items imported - like olive oil, fine meats and wine. We did the four course meal and the portions, flavor and service did not disappoint. Highly recommended.
Written September 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jon M
1 contribution
Sep 2023 • couples
This was our last visit to this restaurant. I ordinarily don't write reviews but was compelled to do so after this experience.
To start with, their website advertises a happy hour from 5-6 pm. I inquired about the specials when we arrived at the bar for pre-dinner drinks, and the manager informed me that they do not actually have a happy hour and they've been trying to get their website corrected. But he was happy to sell me a $4 beer for only $5. Then came the bill. A double shot on the rocks out of a $40 bottle of whiskey is over $30! Ridiculous.
After being seated at our table, the waitress asked if the hostess had explained that they were out of some items on the menu. We were unaware of this, so she went on to explain that there was no ravioli, lasagna, steaks or filet available, which comprised 5 out of the 10 entrees on the menu. Since it was our anniversary dinner we decided to continue and order from the remaining items that were available. We then proceeded to order an appetizer, and were told that that item was also not available, but they would bring a plate of something 'similar' which ended up being a meat and cheese plate. We tried to make the best of it and not let it ruin our celebration, but in retrospect we should've paid our drink bill at that point and moved on to a different venue.
The food that was actually available was fine but after spending over $200 for the two of us, it became painfully obvious there are other establishments within walking distance that are much better value than this 'fine' dining. Had we known of the issues here, we would've walked, and will do so from now on.
Written September 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Davide Giuliani
Hello there, sorry you had a bad experience at Bella Roma. We strive for exellent service! I will check in details about what happend and get back to you. In the meantime please accept my offer to give you a $100 giftt card towards your dinner for when you decide to come back and try us again. We are very sorry!
Thank you!
Written October 2, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
phaniefield
Auburn58 contributions
Sep 2020 • couples
My husband and I ate here a couple of nights ago on a visit to Helena. In fact, it was our first dinner out since the pandemic hit. We sat on the patio, which we requested because of covid, even though the dining room is quite pretty. The food was excellent. We started by sharing an arancini, which was great fun. It’s really something only a restaurant can do, and we enjoyed it. Then we shared the salad with burrata and fennel. Also very good. My husband’s swordfish was perfectly cooked and my fettuccini with clams had the right amount of spice. Desserts were fine.
I would love to give this place five stars, but there were some issues. It’s fall, and we expected the patio heaters to work. Not one of them did - apparently they were all out of propane at the same time. Service was terribly slow. We didn’t get our salad for an hour and one half. We finally asked our waiter to bring our desserts in a box and the check when our main arrived. It’s too bad. Our waiter was good and I know he was embarrassed. This can only point to a management problem in the kitchen that needs to be fixed.
Written September 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Candace C
1 contribution
Dec 2023 • friends
A Christmas holiday dinner with friends from Helena and out of town. So looked forward to a special celebration at Bella Roma. We had a reservation and were seated right away. It took over 15 min for someone to come to our table and take our drink order. The server said he didn’t know he’d be waiting on us and seemed like he felt he was “stuck” with us but I told him he would love having us. It was all downhill from there. 1) didn’t have the bottle of wine we wanted—ok, no big deal, 2) he brought us another bottle and it was fine but didn’t look like the one I ordered and the server didn’t ask if it was the right one so I asked the owner to bring the wine list and it didn’t match, but we’d had a glass from it and it was ok, 3) we placed our order and then waited for AT LEAST 30 min for our salads—not a piece of bread to tide us over, 4) one of our party ordered a cocktail and the tonic was flat and she was told they didn’t have anything to replace it with…really? 5) the server game back to the table as said one of the entrees couldn’t be prepared—chicken cacciatore—seems a basic item—guess not, so she ordered something else 6) another 30 min goes by and the server has to come back and say another entree was not available…what? 7) we waited an hour and 45 min for our meals and they were LOUSY…sent them back. We said we would pay for the wine and salads, but not the entrees—all four were awful and I was happy to visit with the owner about it. He did come to the table and said “we all make mistakes.” Nothing was a mistake it was all poor service and quality from the start. A quality restaurant would have said “we’ll take care of it” and so sorry you are disappointed and hope you will come back and try us again. NOPE! They were happy to take our money—though tried to charge us more for a bottle of wine that wasn’t even on the wine list, and said one more time, “we all make mistskes.” Our mistake was picking Bella Roma for our dinner and we won’t make that mistake again.
Written December 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ingrid L
Moroto221 contributions
Jul 2021 • couples
We had found this restaurant online as one of the few in Helena for fine dining. We had trouble finding the host as the lobby of the restaurant required one to walk through the patio with guests to reach the host.
The host was great, we were seated promptly. The menu was limited and frankly not very varied.
Our entrees were underdone. Our server had too many tables to offer fine dining service and frankly wasn’t a fine dining experience except for the price. The food was not up to fine dining level.
Would not recommend this establishment.
Written July 23, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carmae F
1 contribution
Dec 2023 • family
My family and I had dinner at Bella Roma a few evenings ago, right before the Christmas rush to celebrate the season. Everything we ate was not only prepared to perfection, it was served by the most enchanting wait staff.
Each person’s dinner was simply more mouth-watering than the next. I had the gnocci and it was better than any other gnocci I have ever tasted. Every meal had its own distinct flavor profile and was nothing less than scrumptious.
What a beautiful time we had. Thank you. It is a pleasure to have you in downtown Helena, Bella Roma.
Written December 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jerry O
Great Falls11 contributions
May 2020 • none
Yesterday, my wife &i, had a wonderful experience, we had lunch at Bella Roma, my wife had pasta with pesto, this dish was wonderful and the pasta is hand made by the owner’s Mother and the dish was exceptional.I had the Italian meat balls, this dish was out of site.The service was top drawer, Justin was are servicer. When in Helena, don’t miss an opportunity to enjoy this experience
Written May 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jaime B
1 contribution
Nov 2023 • friends
Bella Roma is absolutely amazing! The food is incredibly delicious, bursting with authentic flavors that take you on a journey to Italy. The service is top-notch, with friendly and attentive staff who go above and beyond to make your experience unforgettable. I highly recommend Bella Roma if you want an outstanding dining experience. It's just downright delicious!
Written December 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Will H
2 contributions
Jul 2022 • friends
Came as a party of four. Riley, our server, was entertaining, punctual, and cared about our experience. We ordered the caesar special. It was portioned generously. Our next courses were the wagyu peppercorn fillet and amitriciana pasta. Both paired excellently with their special syrah. Finally, we had a dessert platter of tartes and custard and two orders of tiramisu with a canoli to top it all off. Canoli was better here than in little italy! Overall incredible experience, coming back again for certain!
Written July 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jaxon A
1 contribution
May 2024 • family
The food here is VERY authentic and delicious. I have been here twice now in 2 weeks and plan to keep coming back. On my last visit, the chef (who's from Italy) came out to my table a few times to ask how we enjoyed the food. There are no words to explain accurately how good the food is, but I made sure to not leave anything on the plate as I couldn't help myself. I wish we had italian this good in Missoula. Our server Liam, who has been my server both times I've gone, provided stellar service and recommendations. Please go here, this place should be full every night. I'm not sure if people in Helena understand what kind of gem they have!
Written May 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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