Fodor's Expert Review Bella's Italian Café

Although this SoHo (South Howard Avenue) mainstay earned its wings by offering crowd-pleasing Italian classics, much of its popularity stems from creative takes on such dishes. Carnivores are not slighted here, but it is often more delicious to go meatless, perhaps with the pear sachet (pasta purses packed with pear and three cheeses and topped with a creamy saffron sauce). The grouper alla calabrese (lightly battered and sautéed with red wine, capers, olives, and onions) is another memory maker. Bella's is not too highbrow to ignore pizza and calzones—there are dozens of options. Offerings like these have kept the restaurant popular since 1986. If you're in a rush, there's curbside pickup.