Winter Hours Just Updated! Bella Cucina is a local Italian family owned and operated business that began in 2003. We feature fine Italian dining and hand-tossed NY Style pizza. The restaurant has a formal dining room, an inviting cocktail lounge and a quick service pizzeria serving lunch and dinner for eat in, take out, or delivery through Door Dash.
Bella Cucina uses locally caught seafood and farm-fresh produce to create nightly dinner specials. Open every day of the week except for Sundays for your convenience with a full bar and catering for special event needs.
Reservations recommended. Call 910-454-4540
Relaxed eatery offers staples from Northern & Southern Italy plus small plates & hand-tossed pizza.
Penny Anderson
Great location on the main road to Southport. We tried the Valentine’s drink special called the Cupid Martini and it was delicious. The dining room was very busy but the staff always came by to check and make sure we had everything we needed. I will definitely be back. Thank you for a great experience.
… moreJennifer Mahaffey
Out of all the Italian places this town has. This one one by far my fave with genuine cuisine, fair prices, and not overly fancy, but classy. Portions are really good! If there is anything I’ve learned about genuine Italian eateries, it’s in the name. Real and on point genuine Italian food isn’t about your ego with the proudest name on the sign, referring to your name sake. Proud and real is when you have a basic title that is appeasing and simple like Bella Cucina. I was very impressed with the appetizers. I would like to suggest though Bruschetta as an appetizer. I was a little bummed about not getting Bruschetta, but the dinner made up for it. I don’t get to go out often to sit down and eat, but when I do it’s typically Italian and as someone with Italian heritage, it really brings me joy to have a beautiful dish. Thank you for all the great food Bella. I’ll be back to order to go or dine in. I can’t wait to try the pizza and or Lasgna next!
… moreGreg Peters
We had a most enjoyable dining experience here on a Saturday night. We were a party of six, all first-time visitors to this restaurant. The owner Maria greeted us warmly upon our arrival, and we were promptly seated and provided with delicious bread and olive oil. Our server Rylee was enthusiastic and personable, and she took our drink orders and made suggestions for favorite entrees. We enjoyed several tasty dishes – Chicken Piccata, Veal Piccata, Chicken Parmigiana, and Vodka Cream Bolognese – and the portions were very generous. For dessert, we had delicious Tiramisu, chocolate cake, and cannolis. Maria made it a point to stop by several times during the course of our meal to ask about our food and service – excellent on both counts! When the time came to split our bill amongst the three couples, Rylee did so flawlessly. We will definitely be back, and highly recommend Bella Cucina!
… moreHope Walker
We stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites and walked across the parkjng lot to a wondetful Italian Restaurant that we discovered that had just changed ownership. The new owners are Italian and going to keep things relatively the same, but maybe update a few things and work on a more family aptmosphere. The food was delicious! I got the vegrtable lasagna special and my other half the Bolognase Tortellini. When we told our waitress about a problem we had she fixed it immediately and it was grest the second round. The new owners seem great and are going to keep some the same and a few things updated.!
… moreDawn
I think some of the food prices could be adjusted/lowered some & should offer one or two more smaller sizes for pizza sushi. Food is overall good there tho & Staff is most pleasurable that I’ve met etc. Good Service. Vibes/Atmosphere is pretty Awesome there! 🙂
… moreScott Perrin
There are 2 sections, dine in and and over-the-counter. The dine-in side is nice and you will need a reservation. Food was great.
… moreShyla Sanders
I know they say it’s all about the inside, but not when it comes to my calzone. They burnt it to a crisp. My mom has had problems with them and their service isn’t that great. 2 out of 5 stars
… moreCarol Garavelli
Hannah, our server , was absolutely incredible! She was attentive and making sure we were taking care of. Hannah was extremely friendly and made us feel a priority. We asked to speak to the manager because Hannah went above and beyond!!! If we can have Hannah, as our server, we will be back!
… moreAnita Randolph
Had a take out order. Ordered spaghetti and meatballs, and Stromboli. Spaghetti was brought out, but not the Stromboli. Had to wait for them to do the Stromboli. By then Spaghetti was cold hardly any sauce. A full pan of noodles and little sauce and come on 3 meatballs for 18.00 and the Stromboli felt like water was added inside no flavor except the crust. No utensils either. Don’t get wrong the person that took my order on the phone was very sweet, kitchen needs a little better cooking skills when it comes to authentic Italian cuisine. 41.00 for food I couldn’t finish eating . One day when I’m back in Southport I’ll try something different. Tu for listening.
… moreEd Vigezzi
We stopped by to have some dinner, as it was a short walk from the hotel. We had an excellent meal with fantastic service.
For dinner we had the Ciabatta Bread and Oil, Mozzarella e Pomodoro (Tomatoes and Mozzarella), Chicken Piccata and Tiramisu. All of the courses were excellent. Very flavorful and filling. Tomatoes and Mozarella is my favorite and they did not disappoint. Really very good and I highly recommend it. The ciabatta bread was fresh and had come right out the oven. Delicious! Chicken Piccata was excellent and I really loved the lemon butter sauce. Tiramisu was very good. The pizzas looked excellent, so if we are back in the area I will try one next time.
Our server was Natalia. She was outstanding. When we arrived and were seated by the hostess, the hostess let us know that a large party had sat down right before us (12 people). Natalia let us know, but came over quickly so that we could order and get our order in as the large table was getting settled. Fantastic! Even though she was busy with the larger table, she made sure to check in with us regularly and make sure we had what we needed. I really appreciated the great service from all aspects of the restaurant.
There is a large dining area and a bar. There is plenty of parking.
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