Profile

With its light blue carpeting and bluish walls, the self-styled Northern Italian Bello has a vaguely nautical appearance. On the walls are large oil paintings of peaceful scenes of Spain, Italy, and elsewhere in Europe. Despite the calm surroundings, the large room gets loud during the pre-theatre rush of predominately middle-aged couples and small groups, all dressed for a night on the town. Most of the popular dishes here tilt to Italian-American, with large portions and big flavors—and if you're smart you'll go with the flow. Stick with the classics—shrimp cocktail, fried calamari, and such are a good way to start. The many chicken and veal entrees come in hearty portions—ordering one of the several scaloppine dishes, for instance, brings you no fewer than four tender, finely pounded pieces of veal in a rich sauce. Similarly, several of the seafood dishes, such as the zuppa di pesce con linguini, are raucous assemblies of scallops, fish, clam, mussels, shrimp and other morsels served over mounds of pasta. The kingly portion of linguine in white-clam sauce is garlic-intense—anyone planning to hit the Great White Way after this dish would do well to pop an Altoids or two. — John Rambow

After 5 p.m., Bello's own parking lot is free for diners. For $8 extra, you can keep the car there until the restaurant closes.

Vongole oreganate, $10.95; scaloppine saltimbocca, $19.55; tiramisu, $7.50