Bellacino’s, Charleston, West Virginia

Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet

We were wandering around downtown Charleston late Saturday night due (1am!) to being on a trip there recently, and we were hungry. Being from Rochester, New York where things, especially downtown are closed late at night, we hadn’t expected to find eats. But, by accident as we turned down Capitol Street due to seeing a large crowd of youngsters walking around, we found this eatery. We immediately walked in. It was a walk up to the counter and order type of place. Once you ordered, you would sit down and they would either call your name and you’d walk up to the counter and pick up your food or they would bring it to your table. Though we were not greeted at the door by any staff, those who greeted us as the counter were friendly, helpful and answered all our questions sufficiently. As we waited for our meal, we noticed several others sitting around and waiting. Though the wait seemed to take forever (it must have been about 10 minutes), it was well worth it!

Mise en Scène

Upon walking in, we were happy to see it was well lit and clean. Yes, it was the only eatery in the area we could see that was open catering to the clubbers, so few drunks came it. That’s meant to happen, I suppose. But most of the people were lively, friendly and not drunk! Of course, because of this, the dress code is comfy and casual. No need for hi-fi dressing here!

**We did not have to use restrooms, so no comment on that ambiance!

Choosing a Veggie Treat

There were several vegetarian options on the menu- including pizza, cold subs, and toasted subs. (Here they called subs, grinders.) Basically, in these choices you get the same fillings but either on pizza or in bread toasted or untoasted. They did have a taco salad and taco toasted sub, but they had beef on it – no beans. I think they could consider adding refried beans or soyrizo (vegetarian chorizo) so vegetarians can enjoy this option.

Actually we loved the presentation of the sub. The sub was packed in a cardboard box that seemed to be eco-friendly. Once the box was open, it folded fully open, flat. The sub itself was amazing. “It was simple and tasty.” Vegetables were sliced thin, but were still crunchy. The bread was toasted on the outside, buttered on the inside but the bread was soft on the inside. This is what we liked. In fact, we had not expected our first order (sub and fries) to be as good as up to this point food had not been a highlight. But, because it was so amazing and tasty, we stayed longer and ordered an additional one!

Checking In

Because this was not a restaurant where you needed to be waited on, no comments required.

See you later

We paid at the counter, which makes it easy to get up and leave as soon as you’re done eating. The lady who waited on us was standing at the door when we walked out and she said bye to us.

Pay Scale: $5-10 per person

Tips: Not required

Star System: 4/5

(If we were meat eaters, I would have given 4.5 or 5 as the price was economical, but the veggie choices were limited.)

To find/Contact

Bellacino's
218 Capitol St
Charleston, WV 25301
(304) 343-0911‎
bellacinos.com
Directions to Bellacino's

Other reviews at Google.

Photos in this post taken by Jennifer Kumar.