The Denman Challenge: Ciao Bella

Everything about this restaurant tries to convey authenticity. From the apparently Italian wait staff to the very Italian-heavy wine list, it makes an honest attempt to bring a little piece of Italy to your evening.

The restaurant is nicely laid out, but you might want to get there early if you want a booth or a table by the window as they have a limited selection of both. The bar looks inviting and the comfortably-sized patio located on the cross street would be a great place to have a lazy Tuscan meal.

The staff is friendly and the service is up to par, but the best thing about Ciao Bella is the entertainment which is provided every week Thursday through Saturday. The piano was easily the most endearing part of the evening, with classic songs and a long set. We both enjoyed the entire performance, especially the few songs that the pianist sang. Her voice is fantastic - it is worth to patron this restaurant just to listen to a few quiet and intimate melodies.

The menu offers 120 pasta combinations, as well as meat and seafood options.

When: Thursday, June 29 2006. (8:30pm)

M: As an appetizer we shared the Beef Carpaccio ($9.95), one of the specialty of the house. The dish was well prepared, using nice seared beef, good oil and quality parmesan.

Alla Vongle ($13.95) is one of my favourite sauce and I was happy to find it on the menu. I was surprised though when my plate arrived - this is not the usual pasta Alla Vongle. Their version uses an oil-based sauce, which is fragrant with garlic and onions but contains no tomatoes. The clams, served in their shells, were for the most part lovely although a few of them did not taste fresh.

T: The Pasta Abbruzzo ($13.95) was technically correct but seemed to be lacking the heart of the dish. The scarcity of the pine nuts and the small amount of spinach gave me the impression that I was eating a lot of pasta, and little else. The sauce was a little sweet but fortunately not distractingly so. I did enjoy the controlled use of sun dried tomato: too often have I been subjected to dishes where the tomato takes over and overpowers all other flavours.

Wine list, by T: I was pleased to find that the wine list included all of the most well known Italian wines, from Montelpuciano de Abrizzo to Amarone. Most of them seemed a little excessively priced - more than the usual restaurant mark-up at least. Regardless, this is a fine selection befitting an establishment of that size and I cannot fault them for charging more while trying to cater to the Italian market.

Pro: Ciao Bella offers a 4-course dinner for the modest sum of $25. Other great deals are to be had on Pasta Tuesday, where all pasta dishes are at 50% off.

Con: The wine list mark-up is steep: it could use a 5 to 10% reduction. As well, the restaurant can be very bright at times. It would do much to the atmosphere if the lights were dimmed a little and the candles at each table lit.

Verdict: T says nay, M says yea. We both agree that the food was nice but that the price couldn't justify the product. This is why we recommend going for Pasta Tuesday or taking advantage of the table d'hôte in order to get more bang for your buck.