Sunday, August 10, 2008

Bellini's, Victor, NY

Vegetarian Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.


Meet and Greet

Upon entering on a Sunday evening at 7:30, we were instantly greeted and sat down. The parking lot and the dining room were quite empty, so seating was not a problem.


Mise en Scène
The interior is divided into smaller areas by which from one area you may not see people in other areas. Where we were sat was in a booth, next to the booth was a window on one side you could see to the other side of the dining room. The window was slightly frosted to provide some privacy. The window and wall surrounding extended ceiling to floor, providing a sound barrier as well. Since there were not many other guests in the area we dined in, can’t comment much on the guest profile. It is a semi-upscale eatery, so dressing in nice pant and shirt or dress is sufficient. I went in nice pants and t-shirt which was a little dressed down.

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


Choosing a Veggie Treat
We visited this location maybe two years ago, just after it became Bellini’s (previously, Houlihan’s). At that time we remember it was difficult or close to impossible to choose a vegetarian main dish, though we do remember having amazing appetizers back then. Today, we faced a similar quandary. Don’t remember what we got two years ago, but seemed there were less options for appetizers today than at that time. There were two options, an eggplant dish and bruschetta. We opted for bruschetta, which I call the ‘Italian chutney’ or ‘Italian salsa’. This was very tasty. When it was time to have our main dish, the waitress explained that any dish could be made to order as things are freshly prepared. This stood true possibly for the pasta dishes, but of course, not the soup selections, neither of which were vegetarian. Regarding the pasta dishes, I think one was fully vegetarian, all others had meat, but it could be left off. The dishes were a bit pricy though if you take the meat out. We had not asked if there is a reduced price once meat is removed as we opted for the margherita pizza and the prodotto salad. The salad was very good. It had a little of each of the five tastes and different textures- greens, crisp pear slices, carmelized walnuts, red onions, blue cheese, dried berries and dressing. Though this salad was tasty, it doesn’t beat the one I had in Albany maybe 5 years ago somewhere on or near Wolf Road. That salad had all five tastes, with sweet being juicy, red strawberries. The dressing on Bellini’s salad was also very heavy- too much was poured on. I, though am not like a lot of people I know who like a lot of dressing (They would ask ‘Can I have some salad to go with that dressing? And not “Can I have some dressing to go with that salad?”).

Both dishes were worth trying (once) and trying to bring home the leftovers.

Menus LunchDinnerIntermezzoBar Bites

Checking In
Waitress checked on us in regular intervals and was very attentive and friendly.


See you later

Bill was given and payment taken in a timely fashion.

Pay Scale
$21-25 per person (including tip)
Tips- 10% or a little more is sufficient
Star System 2/5


For lack of good pure vegetarian options at an Italian eatery*

To find/Contact
Bellini’s

10 Square Drive
Victor, New York 14564
585.223.4680
Map / Directions

*Pure vegetarian in this case doesn’t mean eggless or dairy free, but simply a lack of menu options without meat already included in the descriptions.

Have you eaten at Bellini's? If so, please share your thoughts below.

Thank you for reading!

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