Bella Sole
Fresh coastal ingredients. Timeless Italian craft.
La Bella Vita
A love letter
to the Italian coast
Bella Sole was born from a simple conviction: the finest meal is one that connects you to place. Executive Chef Marco Bellini grew up splitting his summers between his grandmother's kitchen in Cinque Terre and the fishing piers of the California coast — two worlds that share the same soul.
Opened in 2019 on La Jolla's storied Prospect Street, Bella Sole sources its seafood daily from the San Diego docks and its dry goods from a small Sicilian importer Marco has trusted for twenty years. The result is a menu that changes with the seasons and the catch, anchored by technique and alive with Pacific flavor.
Buona sera —
Tonight's branzino comes in from a small dayboat out of Point Loma — same family I've bought from for nine years. We brine it in Pacific seawater, roast it whole over olive wood, and finish it with Cetara colatura and Meyer lemon from a neighbor's backyard in La Jolla. If you order it, ask your server for a spoon; the pan juices are the whole point.
On the plate tonight
- Wood-fired branzino, colatura, Meyer lemon
- Burrata, persimmon, Calabrian chili honey
- Hand-cut tonnarelli, sea urchin from Baja
- Affogato, brown-butter gelato
From our pantry
- Tonda Iblea olive oil, Sicily — pressed Nov '25
- Acquerello rice, aged seven years
- Colatura di alici from Cetara, Amalfi Coast
- Sea salt from a tidepool friend in Encinitas
Join us for an evening
Reservations recommended. Walk-ins welcome at the bar.
Prefer to call? (619) 555-0142
Come dine
with us
1247 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
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