Ciao Bella Italian Grill - Memphis

First time eating at Ciao Bella on Sanderlin Ave. Nice place and atmosphere. They open at 5pm. The server was timely but had an attitude as if she didn't want to serve us. She gave us our water, no straws, and got our drinks, no straws. So I asked may we have straws please and her attitude came out. She was snappy when asked a question. When you haven't been to place before you might ask the server for suggestions. For the most part we knew what we wanted but a couple, two, didn't. We had about 13 people in our party. We were there celebrating my granddaughter's birthday. She had no problem taking that gratuity. An automatic gratuity is a given at places serving 6 or more. Which at some places if the service was bad enough I ask for the manager to let them know no sir no ma'am no gratuity. I could almost understand if she was tired but the place opens at 5pm. She wrote Thank you to herself on the merchant's copy as if from the customer. All the other employees we saw and passed by were very friendly, speaking and acknowledging the birthday girl.

This Neighborhood Gem moved to a larger location (5101 Sanderlin Ave/Suite 100/Memphis, TN 38117). The food is still delicious and Melissa, our Server, was exceptional!!! We enjoyed a perfect Caesar salad, Piccante and Ortolana pizzas. Also, my wife enjoyed her cocktail (Peachy Keen) so much, I spent the weekend trying to replicate it. No matter what you eat, you have to try their Tiramisu... its DEVINE!!!

Our group made reservations for the inside of the restaurant. A patio area is also available. Parking was a little tight as the shopping center was quite busy. A security patrol was patrolling the parking area. Our table was ready for our use immediately. The restaurant was clean and nicely decorated. We had a small problem with the setting sun blinding one of our party when the doors were opened. Another small issue concerned the leather seats. The leather was so new we couldn't slide into our seats easily. With the high traffic, I'm sure they will worn smooth soon!A note that due to this high traffic, they will cancel your reservation if you are over 15 minutes late, and they ask you to limit your time to 2 hours.The menu had a nice array of Italian and Greek fare. Appetizers were a meal unto themselves! Main courses were a ridiculously large amount which we choose to take home. I had three more servings from my penne bolognese, which was delicious. All of our party thoroughly enjoyed our meals. A nice variety of wines were available to pair with the meals.Our waiter was very pleasant but seemed to have a large area to service. All in all, excellent evening! If you can't get reservations, a takeout/ delivery option is available.

I so wanted to write a different review of this place. The Greek lemon orzo soup was very overpowered with lemon zest. The capellini toscana with shrimp was extremely plain. As if all the ingredients were prepared separately and thrown together at the end with no seasoning. On par with that, our server reached over someone while they were eating to whisk away their glass of wine because they were running short of wine glasses in the kitchen. With wine still in the glass! It was completely inappropriate. No apologies were made, and it was such an awkward moment for everyone at our table. Would not recommend.

This was my first visit and it was great. I dined alone, and the staff was very attentive. Everything I ordered was good, and the atmosphere was very relaxing. I can’t wait to go back and try some of the other drinks and dishes on the menu.Food: 5/5