Pizza Bella Roma, Fremantle

One evening after Id been wandering around Fremantle all afternoon, worked up a hunger and then picked up my bf from uni, we wandered the Freo strip for something for dinner. Everytime we walk past Pizza Bella Roma it smells amazing. But we never go there because most of the time I find generic Italian food pretty uninspired and boring - its always the same no matter where you go. But sometimes I get a hankering for some pasta and garlic bread and I cant be arsed making it myself. Im fully aware of how easy it is to make yourself, but sometimes I cant be bothered and a cheap massive serve of pasta is what I want. This craving hits maybe 2 or 3 times a year...


So this time we decided to let our noses lead the way, and into Pizza Bella Roma we went. I hadnt been there in AGES, the last time I went I ordered surf and turf and got a MASSIVE portion, with calamari, prawns, 2 peices of steak and salad. It was mad, and pretty good. It used to have a good reputation but I hadnt been there in ages so not sure how it is now...


I ordered canneloni with chicken, bechamel and a tomato based sauce, and S ordered pasta arrabiata, with some garlic bread to start. The waiter seemed to be a backpacker without any real ambition to be a decent waiter, didnt crack a smile the whole time and was generally a bit average. He sat us in the corner, one of the only tables free for 2, bought us some water, took his time bringing the coke S ordered and did it all without a smile. The woman who seemed to be in charge of front of house looked a bit flustered but she was friendly and had a smile on her face.


The garlic bread came out pretty fast, 4 big pieces for about $9, but what I thought was a bit average was that they were only buttered on one side. Cmon, if youre paying nearly $10 for garlic bread at least put the garlic butter on both sides. It tasted fine enough but would have been way better if they'd done it properly...

We got our food fairly quickly, and mine looked fine, the pasta S ordered looked pretty boring...

They didnt bother to even garnish the pasta with anything, no cheese, parsley, nothing. It looked like they had slapped it together... S said it tasted fine but thought I could make much better pasta arribiata - even though Ive never made it.

My canneloni had more effort put into it, with both cheese AND parsley - they really pushed the boat out for my dish! It was ok, there was plenty of sauce and it wasnt a huuuuge bowl full like normal, a managable portion. The filling was a bit lack lustre though, it lacked any real depth of flavour and could have used a generous pinch of salt and pepper at the very least... My meal was better than the S's, but thats not saying much.


The smell of Pizza Bella Roma is still as fab as it ever was but it doesnt reflect the quality of the food at all. Ive heard their pizzas are good, so if I ever go back there Ill stick to them. Everything else seems to have really gone downhill since I last visited... There are alot of better places to eat in Fremantle, and if Im feeling like a bowl of pasta I think I'll stick to Siennas Leederville on $12 pasta night on Mondays...