La Bettola Pizza & Grill brings the heart of Italy to 328 Joo Chiat Road in Singapore's Katong neighbourhood. The kitchen is devoted to authentic Italian cuisine — pizzas and grilled dishes crafted with quality ingredients and traditional recipes — under the personal welcome of chef-owner Emiddio Cioffi, who invites guests in for everything from business meetings to meals with family and friends.
The menu covers the full Italian table: antipasti like burrata with parma ham and sautéed mussels and clams, homemade pastas from gnocchi to crab linguine, premium Black Angus cuts and lamb chops off the grill, and sixteen pizzas ranging from a classic Margherita to the house-namesake Bettola with homemade pork sausage and smoked scamorza. The showpiece Fiorentina — a Florence-style porterhouse of 1-1.2 kg — is sized for two to three people to share.
To drink there is an Italian-leaning wine list served by the glass or the bottle, alongside Negronis, spritzes, Italian beers and homemade desserts such as tiramisu and torta caprese. Reservations can be made by email or WhatsApp, with larger parties asked to contact the restaurant directly.
Walk along Joo Chiat Road and you will find La Bettola Pizza & Grill at number 328, a restaurant whose promise is right there on its homepage: taste Italy in every bite. Chef-owner Emiddio Cioffi and his team bring the heart of Italy to Singapore's Katong neighbourhood, cooking pizzas and grilled dishes from traditional recipes with the finest ingredients they can source, served with what they call warm hospitality.
It is a table built for more than one kind of occasion. In his welcome to guests, Cioffi says he is pleased to welcome everyone “anytime, whether you want to host your business meeting or savour a meal with your family and friends.” Long business lunches, birthday dinners and quiet midweek plates of pasta all have a home here.
The menu reads like a tour through an Italian trattoria. Antipasti open the show: buffalo mozzarella caprese, baked eggplant parmigiana, mussels and clams sautéed in white wine and garlic, burrata piled with parma ham, or the generous Antipasto Bettola board, which pairs 300g of burrata with mixed cold cuts, olives and grilled vegetables. Lighter openings include a rocket salad with shaved parmesan and balsamic.
Pasta is where the handmade side of the kitchen shows. Gnocchi are made in-house — order them in a four-cheese cream sauce or baked Sorrentina-style under tomato and mozzarella — and so are ravioli stuffed with burrata and fettuccine tossed with Italian sausage and black truffle cream. Classics hold their ground alongside: tagliatelle Bolognese, linguine alle vongole, crab linguine and rigatoni with red-wine braised beef cheeks.
Then comes the grill, the second half of the restaurant's name. Premium Black Angus tenderloin, rib-eye and sirloin come off the grill next to lamb chops and the fish of the day. The showpiece is the Fiorentina, a Florence-style porterhouse weighing 1-1.2 kilograms and meant for two to three people to share.
Pizza lovers get sixteen toppings to choose from, from a faithful Margherita to the house-namesake Bettola with homemade pork sausage, broccoletti and smoked scamorza. There is a truffle-cream Bismarck topped with a fresh egg, a Mortadella pizza finished with burrata and crushed pistachio, and a folded calzone stuffed with ham, mushroom and fior di latte.
The wine list leans proudly Italian and spans the country's regions. Six wines are poured by the glass, including a Prosecco, a Pinot Grigio, a Pinot Nero the menu itself calls “perfect with pizza” and a structured Chianti Riserva.
By the bottle the choice widens considerably: crisp whites like Falanghina, Gavi and Vermentino di Gallura, and a deep bench of reds — Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Amarone della Valpolicella, Chianti Classico, Primitivo and more — with a Tignanello waiting for special occasions. Not a wine drinker? There are Negronis, Godfathers and Espresso Martinis, three kinds of spritz, Italian beers and a shelf of limoncello, amaro and grappa.
Save room for dessert. The tiramisu is homemade, as is the torta caprese, an almond cake from Capri served with mascarpone cream. Panna cotta, profiteroles and affogato — with or without a splash of liqueur — round out the sweet finish, with gelato and sorbet scooped in classic flavours.
La Bettola takes reservations by email at [email protected], and guests can also reach the team on WhatsApp at +65 9397 9837. Parties of more than ten, or anyone hoping to book last minute, should contact the restaurant directly to confirm availability. A practical note for the bill: menu prices are subject to 9% GST and a 10% service charge.
Whether you come for a pizza and a spritz or a full grill-led spread with serious wine to match, La Bettola's pitch is the same: authentic Italian flavours, warm hospitality and a table waiting for you in Katong.