![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_IMG_9063jpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA trip to Bella Italia was needed after it announced a new bold dish<\/p>\n
Paul McAuley is a Senior Life Reporter for the Liverpool ECHO, focusing on communities from all walks of life who make the city so diverse and rich. <\/p>\n
From new restaurant openings to cultural events, Paul specialises in covering everything that’s going on across the city.<\/p>\n
Moving from Ireland, Paul studied journalism at Liverpool John Moores University before joining the ECHO in the summer of 2021. You can reach him on Twitter or his email.<\/p>\n
![\"Our](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758213736_855_0_image.jpg\")
Our total meal came to just under \u00a370<\/p>\n
Bella Italia recently added a \u201cbold\u201d new dish to its menu, and bold indeed it was. The restaurant, on Ranelagh Street, has all the usual offerings you\u2019d expect at any standard Italian.<\/a><\/p>\n The list of options included the classics<\/a> mushroom al-forno, tomato bruschetta, meatballs, lasagna, Pomodoro mozzarella and pollo cacciatore available to order. This was all before you even laid your eyes on the extensive pizza selection.<\/a> Despite umming and ahing over what I was going to order, I already knew why I was there before the charming Guner showed us to our seats.<\/p>\n I was after Bella Italia\u2019s newest creation – The Katsu Carbonara. Yes, you read that right. The venue has launched a new meal which sees the mixture of arguably two of the most popular dishes in the UK.<\/p>\n Available until October 12, the Katsu Carbonara is tossed in a Carbonara sauce infused with katsu curry flavours, finished with slices of breaded chicken. And as a nod to National Katsu Day, guests can try the limited-edition dish for \u00a31 on Wednesday, September 24 – all day, at participating restaurants, including Liverpool.<\/p>\n However, I was eager to get in before all the commotion and so forked out the \u00a317.49 for it. While the taste of the dish shouldn\u2019t work it surprisingly does.<\/p>\n It was the type of meal that had you setting the fork down, insisting you were finished and then claiming you were only taking a breather before tucking right back in. The taste isn\u2019t where the issue was for me – it was the texture.<\/p>\n The pasta of choice is obviously spaghetti and so it was hard to wrap your head around that as opposed to your standard miniscule grains of rice. Perhaps a smaller pasta shell, like penne, would\u2019ve made it easier on the mind the process – or at least mine anyway.<\/p>\n Speaking about the new dish, a Bella Italia spokesperson said: \u201cOur guests love us for our Italian classics from creamy Carbonara to oven-baked Lasagne and fresh Margherita Pizza.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new Katsu Carbonara brings something exciting and unexpected to the table, blending the best of Italian comfort food with bold Japanese flavours.<\/p>\n \u201cAs part of our pasta revolution, we\u2019re continuing to make pasta the star of the show, from time-honoured favourites to daring new creations like this one. And with \u00a31 Katsu Day, there\u2019s no better time to give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n Away from the dish, my go-to was the Pollo Funghi. The \u00a315.99 dish is fresh mafalda pasta pieces with pulled chicken and chestnut mushrooms in a creamy porcini sauce, enriched with mascarpone cheese and fresh parsley.<\/p>\n It was an indulgent flavour that was properly balanced with the mushrooms adding an earthy taste and ideal texture. Add in a savoury protein punch with the chicken and it\u2019s definitely a dish I\u2019d return for.<\/p>\n The pasta gives a sense of comfort. It\u2019s hearty and filling and exactly what you need as the cold and wet nights creep in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A trip to Bella Italia was needed after it announced a new bold dish Paul McAuley is a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,786,4884,179,2349,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-434024","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-food-and-drink","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-liverpool","13":"tag-liverpool-city-centre","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115226302607749612","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Bella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_18092025bellaitalia_02.jpg\")
Bella Italia’s pasta fusion dish<\/p>\n![\"Bella](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_18092025bellaitalia.jpg\")
Bella Italia’s pasta fusion dish<\/p>\n