Italian restaurant has a sweet thing going

By DEBORAH ROWE

Villager staff

There is nothing around like the new Sweet Bella, a great little Italian restaurant owned by Annette Lansdowne and Steve Engel, both residents of The Woodlands. There is "OK" Italian food, even "good" Italian food, but if your palate desires the best of the best then "excellent" is the rating for the food at Sweet Bella.

Appetizers, dishes and desserts include calamari, Bruschetta, Caponata, chicken deliciosa, singing meatballs. Italian muffulettas, Italian beef, rigatoni, lasagna Bolognese, vegetable lasagna, linguini with clams, spinach salad, chopped Italian salad, chocolate heaven, Bella cheesecake, white chocolate pound cake and of course, Cannoli.

Engel's parents owned a Pizzeria in Chicago which, of course, is known for great pizza. Lansdowne grew up in Queens, New York which sets the world standard and expectations for thin crust pizza.

The two met when they worked together on updating a restaurant to give it a fresh and inviting look, Lansdowne said.

"From there we realized we were both looking for great Italian food in The Woodlands and there was a possibility of teaming up to create it," she explained. "Each of our spouses helped us."

And team up they did. The result was awesome: fabulous food for fair prices. Lansdowne said that she and her business partner love what they do.

"You have to love people to be in this business. We have the best customers. Everybody comes on in, feeling right at home in our cozy, Italian kitchen," she said.

What makes Sweet Bella so popular?

"One reason is that we are independently owned, not a franchise," Lansdowne said. "Another reason is Italian food is loved by most people, and ours is certainly good. We have been all about word of mouth, and customers are always satisfied. They have been our advertisers. We greet our customers with genuine warmth and our price points are very comfortable."

Sweet Bella's culinary chef, Eric Matthews, said that the food quality stands out because it is so fresh and top quality.

"We use only the best." he said. "We use fresh herbs, fresh produce, and make our own sauces, pasta, bread and more. We build layer upon layer of fresh ingredients to achieve that perfect taste," he said.

"We even make our own sausage," Matthews added. "Our meatballs are hand rolled. We don't skimp on the quality of product. We start with a good foundation."

Lansdowne said that customer service is a big part of their business.

"We have customers from all over: Conroe, Kingwood, 1960 and more. We are family-oriented and emphasize the customer is always right," she said. "That is why we are doing so well."

Local resident and customer Nicole Collier agreed.

"Sweet Bella is a great restaurant. The people are friendly and the food is always fresh with great flavor," she said.

For more information call 'the restaurant at (832) 585-0066. or visit the Web at www.sweethella.net.