The riggies were absolutely delish. We came in from the Syracuse area and the riggies here are nothing compared to Bella Regina!!! The portions are huge, I ate a ton during my meal and had a full to-go container as well. We had great food and great service- will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tammy DeVries
Celebrated my birthday there. The food was awesome!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good Guy
Going to just have to give this place a five star. Unimposing look to the outside but the good and staff are easy above par. I got the meatball rigis and it was enough for the people. I'm a big dude and can eat a lot. Everyone's good was amazing and they all loved it. Prices are very reasonable too. I'm glad I don't live closer because I would spend a lot of money there!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
jesusblood neverfails
Been here alot of times .Food is excellent when cooked right.However sometimes its ridiculous.We stopped coming for a little while because we got sick on the broiled fish.They never responded to a email I sent.We decide to come back this time ,at start ,we get 2 very small peaces of tomato pie 1 was stale,I ask for more told , No ,if u want more have to buy a hole pie to go.Then get our food it was very good.However the service was a very rushy and not so good..Practically push you out of there.Try to finish eating and pack our to go, waitress is grabbing all utensils and plates before we can finish ,making me spill oil all over the table and she hi tails away ,while I clean up the spill.Then get a bill n charged all these up charges for regular pasta and oil which they had to be fixed.This place use to be top notch and after our last 3 visits having issues every visit ,we wont be back anytime soon
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Rich “Jake” Jacobson
Been there twice over several years and it is very very good.This last time we went in fall of 23. The waitress was phenomenal. I would definitely go back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Belgarath OldWolf
So why one star? I ordered a Diablo pasta dish along with a friend(after the waitress kept pushing Riggies hard). This was frozen fish with red sauce with jalapeno juice. The flavors were pretty good for a low end restaurant, however their prices which weren't posted online indicated a higher end restaurant (which it is NOT). The muscles that were in the dish, half didn't open for both of our dishes. I found out this could taint an entire dish, they took the unopened muscles and replaced them. Again I found out later this can taint an entire dish. When we went to look at the desert menu we were told to look in the freezer... When we asked for the bill we were informed of the percentage fee for splitting the bill, this wasn't posted anywhere we could see.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Christopher Ford
Best chicken riggies I've had in Utica, amazing tomato pie, which I usually hate, food is out of this
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Riggies, Tomato Pie
Country Suburban
Food was awesome! - From Country Suburban Heating & A/
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anthony P
My favorite Italian restaurant in Utica and has been for over a decade. We stopped in last night and the service was great. Everyone was friendly and polite. We had our 1 year old son with us and he loved the food too! We ordered greens, fried calamari, riggies and Alfredo. We had plenty of leftovers! The calamari wasn’t my favorite and I love fried calamari, but it was still good. Everything else was top notch. Our bill was under $100 which was nice. I’m glad they’re still going strong. Will always be back!Parking: There’s more parking out back. A lot of people never realize that but there’s plenty
I went for my very 1st time last night with a friend of mine and their chicken riggies are the best and their rigatonis are wonderful. The service was good and the atmosphere is very good. Their tomato pie is outta this world. Staff is wonderful.
Atmosphere is lively and staff are attentive. The dishes are awesome and plenty to bring home for the next day.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Starlet Lebrun
An unusual experience. The staff talked more about other places to go then they did about there own restaurant. I had the stuffed shells with the Alfredo sauce and the Alfredo sauce was horrible. Very salty, creamy and thick and made the dish barely edible. I was also charged extra for the Alfredo sauce. My husband got the seafood pasta dish and it was flavorful but barely had any pasta and we had to send back the muscles because they were closed. And will pass on the tomato pie and calamari.Dietary restrictions: Would not recommend with allergies as they don't substitute.Parking: Limited parking and only 1 handicap accessible space that is barely acceptable and would not be accessible for van parkingWheelchair accessibility: A narrow ramp and single handicap spot. That is not van accessible. Restaurant would be difficult but not impossible to navigate
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Dixie Ingerham
Best Riggies I've ever had... Regina is a super nice person ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Riggies
James T.
This is a restaurant I try to get to every time I am visiting Utica. The food is outstanding, especially the riggies and the fra diavlo. The food takes a bit to prepare so it's a good place to sit down and have a conversation. The service is also great.
Erica M.
My husband and I met with some friends for dinner last night. As we are from opposite areas (Syracuse and Schenectady) we tried to pick a central location and hubby and friend checked for a place that seemed like we'd all be content with food. Bella Regina was chosen. So, we arrived to find there are at most 6 parking spaces in their lot and all were taken. We drove around the block twice trying to find a spot and finally parked in back of their building in a lot that I hoped wouldn't result in either a popped tire or being towed. Thankfully neither happened. Our friends had arrived first and had gotten us on the wait list. About 10 minutes later we were seated. Put in orders for water - can't get lemon for the water but for 25cents we could get packets of juice... Um, no thanks plain is fine. One server brought out a plate of tomato pie slices for us. They were so hard and dry I couldn't even bite into it. We ordered calamari and the sampler platter as apps. They came out pretty quick. It was all clearly stuff that is purchased in bulk frozen from Restaurant Depot, not homemade. The calamari were like rubber bands and had a strong fishy taste. Our waitress kept pushing the Riggies on us for our entrees (must have mentioned them at least 4 times). They didn't appeal to any of us. The hubbies each got the Fra Diablo, I got fettuccine Alfredo, and other friend for stuffed manicotti with Alfredo sauce. Both of the Fra Diablo had over half of the mussels unopened, which means they were DEAD before they were cooked, something that could taint an entire dish and make someone very sick. It took 3 tries to get anyone's attention to let them know. Our waitress looked annoyed by the complaint but took the mussels back and brought back replacements. The other two meals were drowning in sauce (at least 1 cup on mine) that definitely wasn't homemade. My guess is they buy it in bulk cans and just heat it. It was very salty and had a canned taste to it. The broccoli on mine was so overcooked the florets were mush. After all this disappointment we did consider dessert but in order to find out what they have we'd have to get up and look in the to-go case as our waitress didn't really want to "rattle the options off" to us. So we got our check and asked to have it split between two cards. Apparently though they will charge each card 3.5% to split the check. I didn't see it posted anywhere that they even charge a fee for credit card sales, which is the law, it must be posted predominantly... Usually posted on the menu and as you come in, none of us saw it at all. After all this, none of us feel that we would go back. We had been told that everything is homemade and made to order. That wasn't the case in the least. Mediocre food made from canned and frozen items and dead shellfish that could have made someone very ill are definitely reasons to avoid the place.
The riggies were absolutely delish. We came in from the Syracuse area and the riggies here are nothing compared to Bella Regina!!! The portions are huge, I ate a ton during my meal and had a full to-go container as well. We had great food and great service- will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Celebrated my birthday there. The food was awesome!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Going to just have to give this place a five star. Unimposing look to the outside but the good and staff are easy above par. I got the meatball rigis and it was enough for the people. I'm a big dude and can eat a lot. Everyone's good was amazing and they all loved it. Prices are very reasonable too. I'm glad I don't live closer because I would spend a lot of money there!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Been here alot of times .Food is excellent when cooked right.However sometimes its ridiculous.We stopped coming for a little while because we got sick on the broiled fish.They never responded to a email I sent.We decide to come back this time ,at start ,we get 2 very small peaces of tomato pie 1 was stale,I ask for more told , No ,if u want more have to buy a hole pie to go.Then get our food it was very good.However the service was a very rushy and not so good..Practically push you out of there.Try to finish eating and pack our to go, waitress is grabbing all utensils and plates before we can finish ,making me spill oil all over the table and she hi tails away ,while I clean up the spill.Then get a bill n charged all these up charges for regular pasta and oil which they had to be fixed.This place use to be top notch and after our last 3 visits having issues every visit ,we wont be back anytime soon
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Been there twice over several years and it is very very good.This last time we went in fall of 23. The waitress was phenomenal. I would definitely go back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So why one star? I ordered a Diablo pasta dish along with a friend(after the waitress kept pushing Riggies hard). This was frozen fish with red sauce with jalapeno juice. The flavors were pretty good for a low end restaurant, however their prices which weren't posted online indicated a higher end restaurant (which it is NOT). The muscles that were in the dish, half didn't open for both of our dishes. I found out this could taint an entire dish, they took the unopened muscles and replaced them. Again I found out later this can taint an entire dish. When we went to look at the desert menu we were told to look in the freezer... When we asked for the bill we were informed of the percentage fee for splitting the bill, this wasn't posted anywhere we could see.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Best chicken riggies I've had in Utica, amazing tomato pie, which I usually hate, food is out of this
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Riggies, Tomato Pie
Food was awesome! - From Country Suburban Heating & A/
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My favorite Italian restaurant in Utica and has been for over a decade. We stopped in last night and the service was great. Everyone was friendly and polite. We had our 1 year old son with us and he loved the food too! We ordered greens, fried calamari, riggies and Alfredo. We had plenty of leftovers! The calamari wasn’t my favorite and I love fried calamari, but it was still good. Everything else was top notch. Our bill was under $100 which was nice. I’m glad they’re still going strong. Will always be back!Parking: There’s more parking out back. A lot of people never realize that but there’s plenty
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Riggies, Cheese Dip, Seafood Chowder, Chicken Alfredo, Tomato Pie
I went for my very 1st time last night with a friend of mine and their chicken riggies are the best and their rigatonis are wonderful. The service was good and the atmosphere is very good. Their tomato pie is outta this world. Staff is wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Riggies, Tomato Pie
Restaurantji Recommends
Atmosphere is lively and staff are attentive. The dishes are awesome and plenty to bring home for the next day.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
An unusual experience. The staff talked more about other places to go then they did about there own restaurant. I had the stuffed shells with the Alfredo sauce and the Alfredo sauce was horrible. Very salty, creamy and thick and made the dish barely edible. I was also charged extra for the Alfredo sauce. My husband got the seafood pasta dish and it was flavorful but barely had any pasta and we had to send back the muscles because they were closed. And will pass on the tomato pie and calamari.Dietary restrictions: Would not recommend with allergies as they don't substitute.Parking: Limited parking and only 1 handicap accessible space that is barely acceptable and would not be accessible for van parkingWheelchair accessibility: A narrow ramp and single handicap spot. That is not van accessible. Restaurant would be difficult but not impossible to navigate
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Best Riggies I've ever had... Regina is a super nice person ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Riggies
This is a restaurant I try to get to every time I am visiting Utica. The food is outstanding, especially the riggies and the fra diavlo. The food takes a bit to prepare so it's a good place to sit down and have a conversation. The service is also great.
My husband and I met with some friends for dinner last night. As we are from opposite areas (Syracuse and Schenectady) we tried to pick a central location and hubby and friend checked for a place that seemed like we'd all be content with food. Bella Regina was chosen. So, we arrived to find there are at most 6 parking spaces in their lot and all were taken. We drove around the block twice trying to find a spot and finally parked in back of their building in a lot that I hoped wouldn't result in either a popped tire or being towed. Thankfully neither happened. Our friends had arrived first and had gotten us on the wait list. About 10 minutes later we were seated. Put in orders for water - can't get lemon for the water but for 25cents we could get packets of juice... Um, no thanks plain is fine. One server brought out a plate of tomato pie slices for us. They were so hard and dry I couldn't even bite into it. We ordered calamari and the sampler platter as apps. They came out pretty quick. It was all clearly stuff that is purchased in bulk frozen from Restaurant Depot, not homemade. The calamari were like rubber bands and had a strong fishy taste. Our waitress kept pushing the Riggies on us for our entrees (must have mentioned them at least 4 times). They didn't appeal to any of us. The hubbies each got the Fra Diablo, I got fettuccine Alfredo, and other friend for stuffed manicotti with Alfredo sauce. Both of the Fra Diablo had over half of the mussels unopened, which means they were DEAD before they were cooked, something that could taint an entire dish and make someone very sick. It took 3 tries to get anyone's attention to let them know. Our waitress looked annoyed by the complaint but took the mussels back and brought back replacements. The other two meals were drowning in sauce (at least 1 cup on mine) that definitely wasn't homemade. My guess is they buy it in bulk cans and just heat it. It was very salty and had a canned taste to it. The broccoli on mine was so overcooked the florets were mush. After all this disappointment we did consider dessert but in order to find out what they have we'd have to get up and look in the to-go case as our waitress didn't really want to "rattle the options off" to us. So we got our check and asked to have it split between two cards. Apparently though they will charge each card 3.5% to split the check. I didn't see it posted anywhere that they even charge a fee for credit card sales, which is the law, it must be posted predominantly... Usually posted on the menu and as you come in, none of us saw it at all. After all this, none of us feel that we would go back. We had been told that everything is homemade and made to order. That wasn't the case in the least. Mediocre food made from canned and frozen items and dead shellfish that could have made someone very ill are definitely reasons to avoid the place.