On a busy Wednesday evening, Roberta Ceresoli moved through Caffe Bella Italia Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria like a dancer. She moved gracefully, welcoming restaurant patrons and escorting them to their tables.
Just as quickly, she was checking on guests’ satisfaction with their entrees, encouraging her staff members and delivering an extra plate. Then she thanked a family who was leaving, swept crumbs from a linen tablecloth and straightened a stack of menus.
That was all in about the first 10 minutes. No wasted motion here.
Roberta and her husband, chef Stefano Ceresoli, are the owners of Caffe Bella Italia, 1525 Garnet Ave. Working together for more than 10 years, the couple also spends most of their time together between the restaurant, its banquet room for groups of up to 65 people and their catering business, hosting special events from 20 people to several hundred.
The partners in love, life and business will also open a new restaurant, Solare Ristorante & Lounge, 2820 Roosevelt Rd., at the NTC Promenade, Liberty Station in Point Loma, in late June or July. Operating a family business includes taking care of three sons, Alberto, 12, Lorenzo, 6, and Matteo, 4, as well as involvement in many interests, including yoga, surfing, cycling and swimming.
So how does Roberta do it?
“People ask how I deal with all the stress, and I tell them I’m just a happy person,” she said, before gliding away to check on a carry-out order for a regular. When she returned, she added that she was from a big family, so being around lots of people, especially at mealtime, was normal for her.
“We have friendly service here, we make everything from scratch and we have a nice atmosphere,” she said. “Most of our customers are repeat customers, so we get to know them.”
Felipe Pallares, a Pacific Beach resident, said he has been coming to the restaurant once a week for the past six years. “I love the people, from the owners to everyone here,” he said. He also praised their gnocchi (homemade potato dumpings) and the soup of the day, which that evening was puree of butternut squash.
The Ceresolis’ restaurant roots go back to when the couple first met in Milan, Italy, at Stefano’s bakery/focacciaria in front of the building where Roberta lived. The pair was a match made in restaurant heaven, with Stefano’s love for cooking, interior design and the restaurant business combined with Roberta’s degree in sales and marketing and her experience in the hotel industry.
Glancing around the restaurant, Roberta described how the family did everything themselves when they created Caffe Bella Italia from a building that had housed a dry cleaner for 50 years. Her mother even made the curtains.
“Have you seen the back room? It’s absolutely gorgeous,” said Kevinie Woo, a Pacific Beach resident who was waiting for her carry-out order of bowtie pesto pasta. She said that as a student at the University of San Diego, she came all the time for birthdays and special occasions with her friends.
A friend who was a restaurant and wine guru told Dana Irwin of Pacific Beach about the restaurant.
“You would never expect something like this at Garnet and Ingraham ” everyone here speaks Italian,” Irwin said. A patron for three years, Irwin said her favorite entrée was porcini mushroom risotto. She explained that she appreciated it even more after spending more than two hours trying to duplicate the recipe at home.
The quality and variety of the food is paramount to Roberta and Stefano. The specials of the day, including featured wines, occupy the entire first page of the menu and varied that day from homemade ravioli stuffed with pumpkin and parmigiano cheese to fresh halibut filet sautéed in white wine and garlic to rack of lamb with julienne of green squash zucchini.
When it comes to cooking at home, Roberta is usually the one standing in front of the stove. “Stefano says he cooks all the time here,” she smiled. But she brings home sauces and other ingredients that Stefano has already prepared, taking advantage of her own to go service.
Caffe Bella Italia Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria, 1525 Garnet Ave., is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner from noon to 10 p.m.
Sunday and Monday offer dinner only, from 4:30 to 10 p.m.
For more information, call (858) 273-1224 or visit www.caffebellaitalia.com. Banquets and catering, call (858) 623-8588.