Porta Bella Italian - Madison

There was not a wait for a table. We sat inside. It is a very dark and a comfortable place. The booth was large with comfortable upholstered high backs. Matthew our server was very nice, but I think he forgot about us. We ordered drinks,Amaretto/Sour, which my wife thinks they put way too much sour and almost no amaretto. I ordered an Arnie Palmer, which hedidn't know what that meant. I asked him about what to order and he said the Shrimp and Scallop Scampi was the best, which Iordered and was one of the highest price items on the menu. After ordering he brought bread sticks which were very warm,covered in olive oil, basil and parmesan cheese. My wife ordered the Parmesan Meatball sandwich and enjoyed it took about halfhome for lunch. My dinner came with a Salad which Matthew didn't bring out until after delivering the main course. The Portasalad was a perfect balance of lettuce and toppings. The Scampi was good, the scallops were very large, and the shrimp weregood sized. The flavor lacked something, while a lot of the fettuccini were dry and cracked, which were under the broiler. Butthe browned cheese on top was very flavorful.

This restaurant is very cute, especially for a romantic night. Food was great! I really liked the portion and quality. My only complaint is super slow service which spoiled our mood. You must be very patient and not hungry when you go there becauseminimum time it takes that you get seated and served is 2hr.

Although food was great the bar service was lacking. Came in and sat down at bar since table not ready at promised time and waited 15 minutes to be served. The bartender served the single women who came in after us before he took the older couplesdrink orders that were setting there before them.

Food and service were good. My only complaint is the No Cell Phone use while seated or at the bar. Sign. Are we still in highschool? Anyway that didn 't stop me from taking some pictures.

The Food was Good, The Service was very Slow. They didn't have a bartender working last night. Each waitress was making their own drinks. My wife ordered a Jack and Water. She got a small glass full of Ice and Jack Daniels (about 2 shots) and a Pintglass of water. I ordered a beer, and got a pint glass with about 4 inches of foam on top. People who do not drink alcoholshould not serve it! The food was very good.