Whatever happened to simplicity? While many restaurants try to top each other with crowded menus or fancy cuts of beef, Bellante’s has seized on what may be a thrifty but winning combination — pizza, salad, pasta and dessert at one price, all the time.
We must admit we were initially skeptical of Bellante’s enticing newspaper advertisement: “All the fresh pizza, pasta, salad and dessert bar [you can eat] for only $3.99! Kids $2.99.” All you can eat for $3.99? Like those annoying long-distance phone offers, it seemed to good to be true. But Bellante’s, we found, delivers on the prices and the food.
You’ll find as many as 14 pizzas being served up hot and fresh all the time. Varieties include pepperoni, mushroom, Hawaiian (ham and pineapple), veggie, plain cheese, white, spinach, sausage and more. A constant line of hungry customers ensures that the pies don’t have a chance to sit around and dry out.
A fresh but limited salad bar offers tossed iceberg, carrots and radicchio alongside three cold veggie toppings — uncooked broccoli, onions and cherry tomatoes. Dressings are mostly creamy — ranch, honey Dijon and French are three of the six featured.
At the pasta bar, servers measure out precooked servings of linguine and saute them with one of three sauces (a cheesy Alfredo, light and tasty red pomodoro or a spicy oil, red pepper and garlic sauce).
Desserts include squares of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and slices of apple crisp, which is essentially a pizza topped with apples and cinnamon.
The bottomless drinks, such as sodas, teas or bottled waters are extra, as are beer and wine.
It’s no secret that pizza and pasta are among the cheapest items for restaurants to serve. How do you think Domino’s and the Olive Garden have succeeded for so long? And Bellante’s doesn’t dabble in gourmet or wood-fired pizzas. If you’re looking for trendy toppings such as artichokes or shrimp scampi on your pie, you’d be well advised to hightail it to Doughboys Pizzeria farther west on Pines Boulevard or to Wolfgang Puck’s at Sawgrass Mills.
What Bellante’s is really offering isn’t phenomenal pizza but value and convenience. Perhaps the biggest endorsement for this buffet-style eatery are the tables of content, smiling parents. They’re the ones whose little darlings aren’t throwing tantrums or squirming in their seats or whining about when they are going to eat.
The giant red, white and green-tiled restaurant is laid out like many buffet-style eateries, so you pay up front, grab a tray and hit the serving line. No waiting. And when the kids are finished eating, they can pile into a small game room in the back of the restaurant. Security cameras enable parents to remain at their seats and enjoy a few moments of solitude while keeping an eye on their kids via four closed-circuit TVs.
That said, Bellante’s can be noisy. All that tile simply amplifies the existing noise. We also noticed that the bus boys (and girls) were struggling to keep up with the piles of dirty trays and dishes that stacked up. But if you aren’t picky about your salad toppings or persnickety about your pizza, Bellante’s is the place to go for a quick, hassle-free meal. Just think of the money you’ll save on tips alone.
Jackie Potts is a freelance writer based in Miami. Please phone in advance to confirm information on hours, prices, menu items and facilities.
