Bello Cucina - Morris

In a town like Morris, one can settle for Morris quality food or be adventurous and drive up to the cities. However, the latter option is a bit unrealistic and not always a choice. In regards to dining in Morris, I generally hear a lot of talk and compliments about Bello Cucina around campus which set my expectations pretty high, but I 'm reminded by the fact that food in Morris is nowhere near the quality that I 'm used to in the cities. Having dined at several authentic Italian restaurants back in the cities, I came in with a somewhat clear mindset of what may be on the menu. Bello Cucina 's menu was clearly written and nicely presented (the same applies to their desserts and drinks menu). They offer the usual pizza/flatbread, pasta, rissoto courses alongside soups salads. There was nothing out of the ordinary. I decided to try the Scampi Linguine with Langostino lobster. We waited about 30-40 minutes for our food, which is typical considering it was dinner time and there were a fair amount of tables on a Wednesday night. While I wasn 't expecting my meal to look marvelous, presentation was a bit below mediocre; a few sprinkles of parsley on the side which looked a bit childish. However, I was a bit bummed that I couldn 't see that beautiful stream of hot air rising from my food or smell that usual Italian aroma spewing from my dish. I recall Scampi Linguine to exude a fresh garlicky-lemon scent and I was disappointed that my dish failed to do so. First bite in and I was shocked to find that my dish was lukewarm which felt a bit unsatisfying. There was no hint of that exquisite garlic-lemon taste in my sauce; all I could taste was bland, boring cream. The Langostino lobster that accommodated my dish was also flavorless. Thankfully, my linguine was al dente. I tried to keep in my mind that my expectations were perhaps set too high when I walked through the door. Also, their other dishes may taste a lot better than the one I opted to try. Although I did not enjoy my linguine, I did however enjoy the mango lemonade which managed to leave me feeling full despite not finishing my unsatisfying pasta. Overall, the interior is quite clean and casual, nothing too fancy. A few paintings attempting to scream Italy with wooden tables and chairs, and a stone wall placed towards the kitchen area. Bello Cucina isn 't the worst, but it 's something you can definitely recreate at home in the comfort of your own kitchen. Service was alright, but can definitely be improved.

Normally a great experience, it wasn 't this time. I ordered a nicoise-like tuna salad, but it was missing the advertised green beans, the lettuce was rusty, and the sliced red potatoes were icy--either not thawed from the freezer or in a really cold part of the fridge. When I told the wait person, her comment was, well, at least you 're enjoying the fish. Seriously?! Don 't these people know I 'm going to do a Yelp review right at the same table? Apparently not.

In Morris, you don't have many food options. If you want a nice meal, you can come here, to Don's Cafe, or Old No. 1. In my opinion, Bello Cucina is the best. Not only is the atmosphere pleasant, but the food is delicious as well. There are some times where they'll burn something (if you're sitting in the back by the kitchen, you'll smell it , but for the most part I haven't had any problems with the food. For an appetizer, I usually get the breaded calamari. Interestingly enough, it's one of the cheaper appetizers, but it's really good. They lightly bread it and serve it with some type of dipping sauce; all I know is that it has garlic, lemon, and other spices in it. It's delicious. I've only been here three times so far, and I'm honestly surprised that I haven't gone before. The waiters and waitresses are very nice, but if there's one thing that really makes or breaks a business is the lack of timely service. The first time I went, it was on a rather busy Saturday. I've had my fair share of busy restaurants on the weekends, but it took over ten minutes for anybody to come and serve us. Other establishments I've been to handle busy days much better than Bello Cucina. On top of that, the food generally comes lukewarm rather than hot (at least, the appetizers do. They offer you bread after you place an order and it's fresh. While you're waiting ever so patiently for your food, at least you have some bread to munch on. I'm not sure if they have gluten free bread, but they do indeed have gluten free options on their menu. So summary time. Service is horrible, but the food is good. Also, there are gluten free options on the menu. They have dessert, but it's overpriced. All other prices are a bit high as well, but honestly they could be worse. From my experience, portion sizes are tiny. I could use more noodles in my spaghetti.

Best restaurant in Morris MN. This is a great spot with fantastic food and great service. I am pleasantly surprised by the fact that this place even exist in this area. Tonight was all you can eat crab legs and they just kept coming and coming....... They also make a great sotb cocktail. I will be back!!

Why is there bacon in almost every pasta dish? Why are the noodles over cooked? I mean like reeaaaalllllly overlooked. Why does the calamari have 10 layers of caked cheese on it. I mean the octopus traveled thousands of miles to rural Minnesota just to be totally destroyed. We couldn't finish it. My partner got the penne Corsica and it tasted like watery mac n cheese. She couldn't finish it. Why so much cream sauce? Why the bacon? It's a **** abomination. Seriously we could have gone to subway and got the Italian bmt sub and had a more authentic Italian meal. Server was real nice tho. Not worth the money. Wish I would have just ordered the walleye or straight up gone to taco johns.