Wish... no... Bella Vita... no... Reggiano's

[jb_973]

Over the weekend I noticed that Bella Vita in West Orange, the casual Italian dining restaurant at the space previously inhabited by Wish (and, prior to that, Primavera), has changed its name once again - now known as 'Reggiano's'. I believe it is still casual Italian Dining, although I haven't had a chance to check it out yet.

Anyone know the scoop on why this changed so quickly? I didn't even get a chance to check it out when it was Bella Vita.

[hitmanoo]

Over the weekend I noticed that Bella Vita in West Orange, the casual Italian dining restaurant at the space previously inhabited by Wish (and, prior to that, Primavera), has changed its name once again - now known as 'Reggiano's'.  I believe it is still casual Italian Dining, although I haven't had a chance to check it out yet.

Anyone know the scoop on why this changed so quickly?  I didn't even get a chance to check it out when it was Bella Vita.

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Primavera moved down the street to the hotel on the other side of Eagle Rock Ave.

Wish was always slow and went out of business.

I never had a chance to dine at Bella Vita. Not sure if the place has changed hands yet again.

[coughy]

primavera always owned the lease on the restaurant. the owner opened bella vita - which was very good and reasonably priced - but found running two restaurants was too much so he sold the lease. looking forward to trying reggiano who i believe now has a liquor license.

[scarlet knight]

We ate at Bella Vita twice. We enjoyed it for a few reasons: the food was very good; the dinner entrees were generally $12-18 and it was BYOB.

Of course, nothing good can last. When we went this past Saturday, the name changed to Reggiano. The menu was the same, but the specials were from the new regime. The specials cost $27-34! We were advised the new menu is upcoming and a liquor license is expected in six weeks.

It is a new format. We liked the old format better. I will say the food was good, though. The chef was talking to a lot of tables, but not us.

[hitmanoo]

Went to Reggiano tonight. They have had their liquor license for a couple of days now. A few people didn't realize and brought some wine. Personally, I think they should have been informed of the license and allowed to drink their own wine, since the license is brand new. However, it appeared that they were charged a $15 corkage fee for a couple of bottles--I digress.

The food was pretty good. I tried the zupa di mussels with a red sauce, and while it was pretty straight up, it was just as it should have been. Quite tasty with a light red sauce for dipping some bread.

Had the soft shell crab special which was done with a very lightly sauteed crab in a green salad with sliced mango and shredded onion. Finished with a balsamic dressing. I'm not sure that this dish really worked for me as I hoped it would. I enjoyed the salad and the mangos... the crab didn't really tie well into this one, leaving me a little diappointed with my first soft shell crab of the season.

Also tried the seafood risotto. This was quite flavorful, though a little oversalted. Not killed with salt, but a little overdone.

Was told that the chicken marsala was excellent. If I return--given how close it is to home, I'm sure I will give it another go--I may have to try it for myself.

In all, I'd have to say that in my opinion, it was just another standard local Italian place with a liquor license. Good enough to be a local stand-by, but not worth the trip in from out of town.

[jb_973]

hitmanoo - what are the prices like?

[hitmanoo]

hitmanoo - what are the prices like?

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I'll tell you a couple of the prices I remember, as I didn't pick up the check last night.

Mussels- $11

Risotto- $25

I don't want to lead anyone astray by guessing at other prices.