Isabella's Italian Restaurant

This is one of Redland's finest Italian Restaurants. They certainly
aren't stuffy enough that you can't wear a pair of jeans here, but
a glass of Chianti and the formal wait service feels like a treat.
One large room is divided in two with a partition built up behind
the hostess desk. Plenty of tables and booths are covered in
wine colored linens. At dinner-time there's a small table by the
front entrance tempting patrons with a large platter of Antipasto.
The night's offerings change daily and could include tortellinis,
grilled eggplant or zucchini, carrots, red bell peppers or potatoes,
all drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, pre-assembled
into teasing portions and brought to your table shortly after
ordering. You may as well overdo it here cause it's hard to pass
up their appetizers. So with that in mind splurge on the Shrimp
Isabella, 4 jumbo and ever so freshly crisp, sweet shrimp sauteed
in a sweet sherry cream sauce, it's a dream! I like to sop up
every last drop of the sauce with the complimentary bread. The
Bruschetta Pomodoro E Basilico is also quite addicting and such a
great way to eat a good dose of fresh veggies. Toasted garlic
toasts scoop up this Italian style salsa with fresh chopped
tomatoes, red onion, fresh basil and garlic, tossed with a olive oil
and red wine vinegar. I eventually had to figure out how to make
this at home cause I was going too often just to get this appetizer
and even though it's only $5.95 it was adding up! The cream
based soups have been rather bland the times I've ordered them,
but the Tomato Soup leaves me with no complaints. No matter,
the house salad fills in perfectly on those off nights, especially
topped with their Honey Mustard Dressing and an abundance of
fresh grated parmesan. There can never be a better Manicotti
than here, with thin crepes encasing a spinach and ricotta
mixture, topped and baked with a fresh marinara. This dish was
the first to win us over as an Isabella's fan. The Raviolis are
amazing, with an ever so delicate pasta enveloping a creamy
cheese filling and topped with either my favorite, the Alfredo
Sauce or Marinara, Sage Butter or Pesto Sauce. I absolutely
adore this dish. The Scallopine Con Pepe Verde outshines any
veal I've had yet, such a tender cut of veal sauteed and finished
with a creamy green peppercorn sauce, and still you can't go
wrong with the Canneloni filled with ground veal and vegetables,
which is baked in beschiamela and bolognese sauces. Although
they don't mention it on the menu, they'll pair the manicotti with
the cannelloni, so you don't have to choose between the two.
Since I'm not much of a chicken lover, I was taking a chance on
the Tropical Chicken which came highly recommended by another
patron and is now a new favorite. A thin breast of chicken is such
dream buried in sweet cream and seasonal fruit, sometimes it's
peach, strawberry or mango slices, sectioned orange, bits of
watermelon or cherry halves. I love a bit of salt with this one, the
sweet and salty together is fantastic. This comes with a side of
marinara topped pasta, but I order angel hair with more of the
cream sauce sauce. Fresh rosemary permeates the Trota Alla
Griglian a boneless fillet of Rainbow Trout that is roasted with a
hint of garlic. It's a very nice dish served with herb roasted red
potatoes and fresh green beans. I'll tell you what, Isabella's
even surprised me with their Sauteed Calamari Steak which was
melt in your mouth tender topped with a lemon butter caper
sauce. Isabella's food has only gotten better every year,
claiming their fair share of the town's business. Reservations
aren't usually necessary, but on a recent weekend we had a 20
minute wait, so it's best to be safe.

The prices for dinner here are modest with entrees ranging from
$9.95 for Spaghetti with Meat Sauce to $17.95 for Filet Mignon
smothered in fresh sauteed mushrooms. I was surprised to find
out they had two other locations with San Bernardino being their
oldest and Corona their newest location.

The Redlands location is open daily for dinner and lunch Monday
through Friday 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Redlands location is on 330 North 6th Street, Suite 112.

Telephone (909) 792-2767.