If you’ve lived in Shanghai for more than a week, you’ve probably heard of neighborhood Italian establishment Bella Vita.

Well, that’s because the group has nine China outposts in total, spanning fast casual Bella Vita, upscale Bella Vita Bistro, café Buonissimo, and more.

After the inaugural location kicked off in Tianjin in 2011, owner and Italian native Samuele Rossi (previously Chef de Cuisine at Grand Hyatt Beijing and Executive Sous Chef at MGM Macau) expanded next into Florentia Village in Pudong; 2019 saw Bella Vita grow into its Foshan digs, followed by its downtown Shanghai debut of Bella Vita Bistro on Tianping Lu in October 2021. 

Finally, Bella Vita on Haifang Lu joined the lineup as the newest addition in early 2022, which brings us to the focal point of this article. 

The open space receives ample sunlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, inviting diners to stay for the afternoon with their laptops – encouraged by the expansive pastry display counter and coffee selection. 

The newly launched spring menu is equally enticing, focusing on pizza, grilled proteins and wine.

Think imported, high-end ingredients, homemade everything (pretty much a requirement for opening a successful Italian restaurant in Shanghai these days), and a lofty 30+ bottle Italian wine list spanning entry to expert palates (and price points to match of RMB150-1,200 per bottle). 

And, while the rest of Shanghai seems to be riding the fusion train, Bella Vita digs deep into hyper-traditional, genuine pan-Italian recipes. 

The all-day-dining menu starts out with a full selection of imported meats and cheeses, with the most extensive offering being the Piatto di Affettati Misti (RMB188) – a cold cut platter featuring speck (smoked pork shoulder), Bologna mortadella, coppa, spianata (a type of spicy, flattened salami), grana padano, cherry buffalo mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, olives, and the like.

Moving into meat and seafood heavy antipasti, activated charcoal is what lends the breaded truffle chicken bites – Pollo e Tartufo (RMB78) – their onyx hue, fried to a crisp and best enjoyed dipped in a smarmy truffle mayonnaise. 

A dish hailing from Ascolana, Italy, the Olive all’ Ascolana (RMB58) sees meat-stuffed green olives enveloped in a crackly coating of bread crumbs, minced Parma ham and mortadella, served alongside a spicy tomato dipping sauce and mustard.

The briny pop at the center cuts through the meaty richness from the fryer. 

A bright tomato marinara broth is simmered with seafood stock as the Guazzetto di Cozze e Vongole alla Marinara (RMB88), chalk-full of crustaceans – sautéed mussels and clams – and presented with toasted bread, ideal for soaking up every last drop.

Twisted al dente Italian-imported Barilla Fusilli Tartufati (RMB99) is all about the corkscrewed pasta tossed with pork sausage in a mushroom and truffle cream sauce.

A liberal shaving of grana padano kicks up the salinity level to a 10, a textbook match for the earthy shrooms. 

Spring idyllic, the Linguina in Salsa di Pomodorini (RMB99) is a seemingly simple combination of the most classic of Italian flavor pairings: tart cherry tomatoes, supple burrata and a refreshing lashing of basil oil – one that has stood the test of time, and for good reason.

The thread tying it all together is Barilla linguine, each springy strand slathered in the tastes of the season. 

Clams, mussels, squid, rice, and fresh herbs are cooked in a base stock made from white wine and assorted seafood, finished with a homemade lobster bisque as the Risotto ai Frutti di Mare (RMB108), a tidal wave of oceanic umami with a pleasantly chewy rice backbone. 

A key focus of the menu, the pizza selection spans two varieties – an air pocket-marked yeasty crust (akin to Napoli style) that centers on 48 hour-proofing for higher digestibility and that signature elastic chew; and a crispy cracker-like thin Roman style crust.

Altogether, there are more than a dozen pizzas on offer, including the trio of Champion Pizzas designed by Liu Yaqi (Bella Vita’s R&D Chef).

These award-winning creations scored the coveted top spot of the China division pizza competition organized by Italian flour company 5 Stagioni three years in a row, 2016 to 2018. 

We dug our hands into the 2018 Champion Pizza (RMB128/8”, RMB238/12”), shmeared with truffle cream.

A sheathing of bresaola, rocket and grana padano are layered above melted mozzarella, sprinkled with an egg yolk crumble and dried mushroom dust.

Other crowd favorites span the Bella Vita Pizza (RMB78/8”, RMB108/12”) with tomato sauce base, mozz, Serrano ham, rocket and grana padano…

... and Pizza Cotto e Tartufo Nero (RMB108/8”, RMB188/12”), topped with Yunnan black truffle, cooked culatello ham (the choicest part of cured pork most commonly found in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy), grated egg and mushroom, mozzarella cream, a truffle oil drizzle, and an ooey-gooey runny yolk that soaks into the doughy crust. 

As for the Roman style pizzas, there’s the Cotto e Salame (RMB88) with a DOP tomato sauce base, spianata spicy salami, culatello cooked ham, grana padano cheese and a generous sprinkle of mozzarella to hold everything together…

… and the seafood forward Pescatore (RMB108), adorned with shrimp and black mussels atop DOP tomato sauce and mozzarella, studded with stretchy blobs of buffalo mozzarella, confit garlic slivers and a dribble of chili oil.

Marinated for 48 hours with chilis, herbs and a secret spice blend, the Pollo alla Diavola (RMB128/half, RMB188/whole) is then slow-cooked and roasted whole, plated above sautéed mushrooms and twice-fried French fries. 

Three hundred and fifty grams of grilled M6/M7 Wagyu beef flank is imbued with smoke tableside via a house blend of herbs as the Tagliata di Flank Cotta alla Griglia (RMB599), a carnivore’s dream come true. 

Clocking in at a whopping 1.5 kilos of meat, the venue shows off its charcoal grill with the Bella Vita Grill Platter (RMB499) – 300 grams of American choice grain-fed ribeye; 300 grams of roasted pork ribs; 500 grams of grilled chicken; 200 grams of Italian pork sausage; 200 grams of rosemary chicken breast; a black pepper gravy; a parsley, arugula, and garlic salsa verde; and charred cherry tomatoes.

Enough to easily feed a family of four!

Tiramisu (RMB48)

Homemade gelato from Bella Vita’s sister venue Buonissimio takes center stage in the Bella Vita Gelato Platter (RMB88), featuring a quartet of flavors that represent tastes of Italy: Sicilian pistachio; IGT Piedmont hazelnut (topped with a butter cereal cookie to mimic an ice cream cone); Madagascar vanilla; and 74% chocolate, plus a dollop of homemade orange jam. 

A molten chocolate bomb, the Tortino al Cioccolato (RMB48) showcases an avalanche of cocoa flowing from a 50% chocolate lava cake.

Streaked with more of that orange jam, the cake is flanked by a frozen sphere of Sicilian pistachio ice cream and a dribble of amarena cherry syrup. 

Bella Vita lives by the motto: “Enjoying Italian cuisine is more experiential, not intellectual.”

Here, they want to keep it simple, giving their guests exactly what they expect, in a cozy, familiar setting fit for anything from everyday gatherings to special occasions. 

Bella Vita, 555 Haifang Road, by Xikang Lu, 海防路555号, 近西康路.