Friday night and friends wanted to eat dinner in Little Italy. Thought it would be a perfect time to try Mia Bella as I hadn't since they opened.
First impressions are good. It's a cute place with fake fresco's on the wall. Very clean, and busy (which would have been a deal breaker if it wasn't on Friday night)
The staff was very friendly though not very open to giving the daily specials without being asked for them.
I settled on the Albanian salad and lamb chop entree. My wife had the Ma hi Fish (not so) special and the same salad.
The salad was good. Cool, crisp, fresh greens , cucumber and tomato in a nice vinaigrette though the aged Feta cheese was the star of the salad.
The entrees on the other hand...
Wife's Ma hi came out grossly over cooked on a bed of equally overcooked and under-seasoned spinach. She hardly touched it, and when the waiter cleared the plates there were no questions toward her untouched plate.
My lamb came out like a sloppy mess. The chops were good, cooked rare to my liking and seasoned well. Though they sit on what must have been 3 pounds of Polenta and were covered with tomato sauce. The polenta had broken already and the sauce was good, spiced well and fresh. There was much too much going on on this plate. I didn't notice if it took more that one waiter to bring it out.
Dinner came to $117 with drinks and gratuity. For the money there are much better options in Little Italy. This may be a place to stop for a light meal (I saw pizza's on the menu) and a glass of wine.