La Bettola
18504 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
It's anniversary time, which means both sets of our parents want to take Katie and me out to celebrate our three years of wedded bliss. Between our parents, they have 97 years of marriage combined. There is some pretty impressive stuff there, and it is something to aspire towards. I'm always up for dinner with our parents. Not only will we get a free meal out of the situation, but we might also be able to glean a little insight into a lasting marriage. First up was dinner with my parents, a visit back to my hometown of Yorba Linda, and a restaurant I've wanted to try for years, La Bettola.
La Bettola is situated on the corner of Lakeview and Yorba Linda Boulevard, in the middle of the tiny Firestone Village shopping center, including a 7-Eleven, Auto Zone, and Round Table Pizza. They have been here for over 15 years, and this would be my and my parent's first visit, even though my parents have lived in the Land of Gracious Living for over 40 years.
Very dim but brightened up a bit with stringed lighting hanging from the ceiling. There are maybe 15 tables in this Italian bistro, but even in this relatively small space, I did not feel we were right on top of other diners. The menu here was different from what appears online. The online menu features many items that are not listed on the restaurant menu we were given, but we were assured by our server that they could make whatever we were craving. Prices range from $15 to $28 for the pasta entrees, and the more substantial chicken, veal, and steak entrees are priced at $20 up to $34 for their New York steak. Even though my parents were generous enough to pay the bill this evening, I would not take advantage and have the steak. Let's take a look at what we did have, though.
Bread service was up first for us, and we all really enjoyed this Foccacia sliced in strips. It went well when we dipped it in the olive oil and balsamic. Our server was very generous about refilling this as we went through three baskets of this fresh bread without even blinking an eye.
I love it when Italian restaurants include a salad in the price of an entree. It's a nice touch, as is the case at La Bettola. The salad in the top picture is their House Salad, which included an excellent selection of mixed greens, shaved carrots, and tomato with a house dressing that was a very solid creamy vinaigrette. I'm usually partial to Caesar Salads ($4.50 upcharge), but here I thought it was just average and not worth the extra money for the more superior house salad. The Caesar, which included hearts of romaine, garlic croutons, and dressing, needed something added. It might have required a more substantial hand when applying the dressing, or some large parmesan squares would have livened up this drab Caesar.
My mom was pretty heartbroken to see that spaghetti was not on the menu like she had seen when she had perused the online version before coming here, but true to their word, La Bettola made her something that was not listed on their menu. This Spaghetti Bolognese ($17.95) was a very generous serving, and my mom allowed me to take her uneaten portion home for lunch the next day. I enjoyed the bolognese sauce, which had some excellent hunks of meat, and the pasta was done nicely. If this had been my entree, I would have added some sausage to this dish to make it even better.
My dad picked out something I also had my eye on, the Linguine Mala Femina ($21.95). This linguine is joined on the plate with chicken, sausage, sundried tomatoes, cajun spices, and a mellow white wine sauce. This dish had a slightly spicy tinge to it. The sausage was less prominent than I would have liked, but it was another solid dish. My dad, whose appetite is not as voracious as it once was, had no problem finishing this plate off, which was a good sign that he enjoyed this meal.
Last but not least, Katie will be having this Ravioli Special ($34.95 with chicken added). Inside the ravioli are mushrooms and cheese, with a wine-based sauce covering the well-made ravioli. She found the sauce to be delicious, while the ravioli themselves were good but did not knock her socks off. She'll try another dish the next time she visits La Bettola.
After leaving La Bettola, I had mixed feelings about this experience. First, I wish they would update their menu to include everything they offer. The online menu shows way more than the stripped-down menu presented to you tableside, and pictures on Yelp show even more items not listed on either the online or hard copy menu. Very confusing. I also do not usually comment on the pricing at the restaurants we eat at, but La Bettola's price point is a little out of whack, especially Katie's ravioli. Without the ten-dollar chicken topping her ravioli, her meal would still cost $25 for five ravioli containing only mushrooms and cheese. A little excessive. The food was okay here but needed to be better to warrant a return visit from us. Nothing really wowed us, but La Bettola is suitable for the people of Yorba Linda. This city needs more independent, locally-owned restaurants within its borders, especially regarding Italian food. Very happy my parents took us out to dinner, and even happier if we can live up to their outstanding example of what a marriage should be like.
Out of five taverns (because bettola translates to a tavern in Italian, another thing that people from Yorba Linda have to do without), five being best to zero being worst, La Bettola gets 3 taverns.
La Bettola does not have a website, but you can find out more information about them on their Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-bettola-yorba-linda
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