(December 2007)

By Warren Rojas

Food: 8 Ambiance: 7.9 Service: 7.2

It’s a bit hard to tell which came first at Bellissimo: the mountainous portions of homemade pasta (sizable plates all but guarantee leftovers) or the fiercely loyal patrons. What is clear is that the conflux of the two makes it that much harder for us regular folks to indulge in Bellissimo’s well-worn charms.

The tiny Fairfax locale houses maybe a dozen highly prized tables—most nights, the place is overrun by families, clusters of friends and boomer couples—framed on both sides by vibrant coastal frescos. Decorative columns and other Roman mementos help complete the Italian feel, but the food is the main attraction here.

Menu choices include a handful of pastas, along with loads of veal, poultry and meat (lamb, filet) options. Seafood creeps into various pasta dishes, appetizers and salads, while also bolstering numerous stand-alone favorites.

One fettuccine standard goes grand with a pungent marinara anchored by spicy Italian sausage bits and a hail of crumbled goat cheese (tangy cheese folds into the herb-infused sauce beautifully). Swordfish pescatore summons a terrific swordfish steak (remarkably tender) sauteed with mussels and shrimp in a winey tomato broth. Fried calamari is good, but the crunchy squid can’t salvage its clumpy polenta counterpart.

The exclusively Italian wine list touts approximately five dozen bottles, including nearly two dozen Piemonte and Tuscan reds, all under $120.

(August 2006)

By Warren Rojas

F 8.2   A 7.9   S 7.2

What it lacks in square footage, Bellissimo makes up in spirit, showering first-time guests and repeat customers alike with a panoply of Northern Italian delights.

The tightly knit dining room accommodates just shy of two dozen tables, which keeps this family-run enterprise-proprietor Samira Hradsky has brother Dani run the place while she tends to her Parisian cooking school-buzzing most weekends. Then again, perhaps the chairs remain filled because staff bid regulars farewell with enthusiastic handshakes and thunderous pats on the back.

Each visit begins with a basket of crusty bread and individual saucers of nutty olive oil heaped with fresh grated parmesan. Daily specials abound, including fresh seafood offerings and signature pastas along with standard chicken, veal and beef selections. One tantalizing opener summons a crispy shingle of Parmesan capped with chilled peppers and piles of shaved prosciutto. A quartet of plump scallops are seared to a crisp and covered in a wonderfully grainy pesto sauce. Twin cuts of garlicky tenderloin are stacked sky-high atop a foundation of sautéed spinach and wine-soaked mushrooms. Meanwhile, a five-course menu gastronomic (approximately $100 per couple) gives the chef carte blanche over the entire meal. And no visit is complete without a round of complimentary digestifs.