Ciao Bella, Bloomington

Rating: B

We went for dinner here after recommending it to a friend (he had guests from out of town, wanted a nice place that wasn't real expensive to take them for dinner). We'd never actually eaten here, but always heard from others that it was a good place to eat if you like Italian.

We were a party of seven, adults and children. We ordered pizzas, pasta and Maryanne and I had steaks.

Everyone's food was great, no complaints about taste or quantity and such. Except for mine. Maryanne and I ordered the same steak cooked the same way. Her's was cooked near perfect, mine was very underdone.

To the restaurants credit though, they asked if I wanted this one refired or if I wanted a replacement (I choose to refire). They took it off the bill and gave us free desserts on top of that. Everyone apologized, some repeatedly, about my steak being undercooked and they also apologized for me not being able to eat with my party and ruining the flow of our dinner.

Many points in the positive for that.

I give it a B rating not because of my steak problem, but because of the overall atmosphere and pricing. Prices seemed high for the bit of food you got, and the food itself was not bad or exceptional, just good. The same "good" that I would get at most other places for a lower price. Maryanne had the same thoughts, the kids just said it was good pizza. The pasta's were apparently pretty good, getting thumbs-up and such.

Still, expect to pay a lot when you eat here. Don't be afraid to flag down a server when you need a drink refill or you might not get one (we ordered a bottle of wine, three of us finished it off and were not offered any other beverages the rest of the evening), and please don't go here looking for exceptional 5-star food. You will get at least 4-star service for the most part, and the food is at least Good. Your wallet will take a hit though.

Review posted late due to ISP issues. Actually dining experience was 7/23/09, evening.