Hello Beautiful, Indeed! | Ciao Bella Restaurant, Bloomsbury, London

I knew I was going to write about Ciao Bella before we even got there. My hairdresser, Tony has been banging on about it over the years I’ve been going to see him for the same old boring trim. It wasn’t until recently that others were putting it on our radar too – firstly there was this stunning photo below on Marina O’Loughlin‘s Instagram feed that had me swooning, then a mention in Time Out. It was proving to be more of an old-school London institution than I’d given Tony credit for.

Chasing pavements… Photograph: @marinagpoloughlin on Instagram

You may have noticed we’ve unwittingly let our blog slip a tad lately (bit of an understatement) and this has been down to several reasons. Firstly, work. Ironically we both became self-employed with the hope that we could dedicate more time to We Love Food but instead have found ourselves with less time than ever.

Plus, my health issues have caused us to hit the pause button on so many things and unfortunately, eating out became one of those. I had jaw surgery back in December for my TMJ problems and have been on a soft-ish food diet ever since, the op wasn’t as succesful as the lovely doc hoped for and the pain levels have increased. This has been massively difficult, not just dealing with the pain but because it’s interrupted my favourite past time – eating out at restaurants. I either haven’t felt up to it or couldn’t muster up the energy to try to find somewhere I could find delicious yet non-chewy/crunchy dishes. However, this has bought me back to some of my trusted faves such as the dhal at Chai Ki and the semi-tender biryani at Dishoom.

Another thing I have to bear in mind is that restaurants are noisy places. Loud surroundings mean I have strain to both talk and listen, causing havoc with my neck as well as my jaw. And my hearing is off because my jaw is giving me grief. I refuse to let these things ruin my love of a good meal out, so I have been fighting as much as I can but far too often, it’s just too much to contend with.

The last and least significant matter, is weight. For at least a month after my op, I indulged in the naughtiest soft-food diet purely to comfort myself. Think mash, sponge and custard, ice cream, Angel Delight (although not all at once). Obviously soup featured in this too (sometimes). I also wasn’t allowed to go to the gym so put on over a stone. The least of my worries in the grand scheme of things but it wasn’t helping me to feel good.

Right, back to Ciao Bella. A family catch up was on the cards and my dad one is a tricky one to please when it comes to restaurants. He’s a big lover of Italian food and family owned indie restaurants, so the traditional trattoria, Ciao Bella had him written all over it. Even better, there’s a great proper old London pub on one side – The Lamb and a more than decent coffee shop, Redemption Roasters on the other. Which until I started writing this, didn’t realise they roast their beans at Aylesbury Prison, where they also teach and train – fascinating stuff! I refer to decent coffee as my dad hates crap coffee, I mean, who doesn’t? But he really, really gets upset over it. Like the good daughter that I am, I just want my dad to be happy.

I’d booked a table at Ciao Bella for bang on lunchtime (via phone, the only method they accept and the only method I hate). It was busy and bustling, I loved it from the moment we walked in and were whisked away to our little round table in the corner (which pleased my dad no end – he loves a round table, as do I) by a rather surly waitress. My dad spent the duration of our meal trying to win her over by hilariously practising his Italian, which fell on deaf ears (we later found out she was actually half Polish – and the most dominant half too).

Pizza was out of the question because of the jaw so I opted for Spaghetti alle Vongole (£12) which was swallowed with just the hint of a chew, something I’ve got quite good at these last few months. You can choose either a tomato or white wine sauce, seeing as I always cook a tomato sauce at home, it had to be white wine. Plus that’s what my hairdresser recommended and he seems to know the place like the back of his hand. It was perfectly cooked with ample seasoning – simple and delicious. Some of the other spaghetti dishes come served in a paper bag, I quite fancied that for the novelty factor – next time (because there will be a next time).

So much pizza and pasta there was barely room for the wine…

The majority of the table had pizza and boy were they good (and big – 12 inches), stupidly good value too. We hardly had room to move for all the carbs and wine ladening the table, including the totally unnecessary Pizza all’Aglio (£4.50) that we ordered. As delicious as it was, it’s really not needed when there’s all that dough plus the bread sticks – gotta love a restaurant that gives you bread sticks. The majority of the family were on white wine, Ade and I went for our usual red and decided to share half a bottle of the House red (£6), what turned up was an actual half bottle – not the carafe I had imagined. But still, £6 – what a bargain!

The dessert menu had pictures! Oh what joy that bought. There was a very random mix of homemade puds and those terrible ice cream toys things you get in bad Indian restaurants. It had to be a homemade one for me, I mean there’s just no contest. The Creme Caramel (£6) was just OK and Ade’s massive slice of Tiramisu (£6) went down a storm. My dad nipped off for a fag and left us to choose his for him (sometimes I wonder if we’re related, there’s no way I’d leave this decision in anyone else’s hands).

A few of us asked for a limoncello to round things off – when in Rome and all that. They only left us with the bottle which was more than enough for a couple of glasses each. To this day (three weeks later), I’m unaware how much we were charged for this as my dad kindly (and drunkenly) paid.

Buzzy, chaotic, charming and delicious is how I’d sum Ciao Bella. Somehow the slightly grouchy service only increased my fondness for it – it’s a little like an Italian version of the lovable Wong Kei.  The raucous surroundings and having too much of a laugh weren’t great on my jaw, although and I paid for it later big time in pain, but it was worth it. They don’t make restaurants like this anymore, especially in London – get to those that are left.

86-90 Lamb’s Conduit St,
Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3LZ
Telephone: 020 7242 4119

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday: 12pm-11.30pm
Sunday: 12pm-10.30pm

Find out more here

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Nearest station: Holborn (10 mins walk) Russell Square (8 mins walk)

We ate as guests of John Powell, this does not affect our review in any way. We always write with complete honesty. 😉