Monday
Apr162007
Bella Espresso, Bellevue Hill
Monday, April 16, 2007 at 9:16AM 
Allpress espresso. 9 Bellevue Road, Bellevue Hill. Busy and popular, it's standing room only outside, but there's still some room indoors where a couple of wooden boxes against a wall have been artfully transformed into comfortable seating by virtue of some plush cushioning.
Ordering is all outside; four staff work busily in a small kitchen space; taking orders, cooking - the scent of grilling bacon drifts across the indoors - and an ipod provides some relaxing music. newspapers are on offer for customers to browse. Some baby chillies sit in water bottles in an installation artwork.
Even the regulars' dogs are known by name, but if you're just visiting, you could be in for a wait.
Coffee breaks all reasonable convention in how long it takes to arrive; perhaps have a regular order for you. When it arrives, it's good; not too strong, not too hot.
Update 20th January 2010: Bella Espresso has closed, and been replaced by a cafe (as yet unreviewed) called BLIP. Due to consistent anonymous comments, I've closed comments on this post.
Reader Comments (15)
Bella is now gone,why,because a greedy customer of theres offered the landlord double rent,he is opening new cafe called Blip in its place.
please don't support this new business.
Bella opening again real soon
thank-you
bella local
Lies, the food was lousy
Hey, Local: thanks for your comment. Are you talking about the old cafe, or the new one?
The old one mate, its improved out of sight now, fresh and very edible
The only thing the new place is good for is if you're into drinking dirty dishwater and sitting in a food court cafe. Yuk Yuk Yuk.
And the character of that great little local cafe was stripped away with the tasteless renovations and face-slapped staff.
AND They don't even open on the weekends now! Don't worry about us locals, as long as they get the weekend off!
ahhh jealousy is a curse! blip is a wonderful little cafe with very nice staff and great coffee.... instead of winging go and make yourself a new name and stop feeling 'burnt' from the take over...
very immature to write stuff like you have above..
they must be doing something right, they have doubled the business. its a great little cafe, no matter who the owner.
I was searching online for Bella and this is what came up,wow.
I used to go to the old one for the atmosphere, the tradies roll and the staff knew my coffee order before I even ordered.
Reality is that little places like this with high Sydney rent will always find the going tough 'cos of their very high breakeven point. Wet winters can be brutal for their trade...
For all you sweet gimps who liked bella better, get your taste buds checked...i would rather eat out of my dogs bowl than have one of the old cocroach infested tradies rolls..get a life bella local its pretty obvious your the old owner you sweeeeet dezmon.
I <3 BLIP
Oh my God,I was looking for the old cafe online to see if they had re-opened elsewhere,I was told by the new staff that the old owners sold the business?
Obviously there's more to the story that's not being told.
How can these staff just lie to me?
Anyway I've found a new place in North Bondi called BRU,its the best,great ppl and freindly staff.
Bella was the only reason I went to bellevue hill.
:(
i heard this was being talked about online, its a hot topic in the shops, so i thought i'd check it out for myself.
i've worked for the old owners and for the new ones and all I can say is that the original was the best...
it was happy, it was loved by everyone and it had soul. the new place is a badly done copy and the vibe surrounding it now is unbearable.
seems like karma to me.
Well what a suprise....
I can't beleive this place isn't open thru xmas/new years or sundays for that matter?
Coffee should be available 7 days...
:(
The above comment sounds like sour grapes from notreallymyname, I have eaten several times there as Bella and now Blip, the last 3 times I ate at Bella they stuffed up my order and then the coffee was cool to say the least which is when I gave up on the place, I have since been when Blip the orders have been timed so my coffee is served just prior to eating...........the food has been clean and fresh and the staff very pleasant, and they do open Sunday for a small time, just perfect to grab a coffee and feet up reading the paper at home with my family. The Barista (Ricky) is one of the most consistant I have tasted....and having travelled I rate his ability.
Where do we start....
Bella what??
All I can say is that Blip is a much better cafe than Bella ever was or could be!
And it's obvious because they have more than doubled the turnover from day one.
All you Bella followers should shut your trap and get a life!!!
If you're trying to post a negative comment about "Bella Cafe", but you're not providing a valid email address, then your comment isn't going to be approved.
This applies in particular to comments ending in "Every suburb deserves a BLIP!".