Bella Italia is a chain of over 80 Italian

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

 restaurants operating in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The chain is part of the Tragus

Tragus Ltd.

Tragus is a UK limited company which operates restaurants under the brands Cafe Rouge, Strada, and Bella Italia. The company is backed by the Blackstone Group private equity firm.-History:...

 Group, who also own Café Rouge

Café Rouge

Café Rouge is a French-styled restaurant chain in the UK, offering an all-day serving of main course meals, lighter snacks and salads as well as an extensive wine list. It is part of a bigger restaurant network owned by Tragus Ltd.-History:...

 and Strada

Strada

Strada is a chain of Italian restaurants in the UK. It was spawned by Luke Johnson. It has 64 restaurants, mostly in the South of England with a few in the Midlands, North of England and in Wales. It is positioned as upmarket of Pizza Express....

.

Bella Italia has been established in the UK since the early 1990s. The menu combines pizza and pasta, which is their main product, with a range of grill and speciality dishes. The food is complemented by some Italian wines - many from smaller producers - beers and soft drinks.

Controversy

In 2009 the company was found to be threatening to dismiss wait staff who do not get customers to pay tips on credit cards rather than in cash. Credit card tips are used by the company to subsidise wages (which are usually the legal minimum) whereas cash tips go directly to wait staff. In line with changes to tipping legislation, which came into effect on 1st October 2009, Tragus Ltd reviewed and updated its policies to ensure that all tips, after a 10% deduction for administrative and other costs paid by credit or debit card, are now distributed through the payroll system to restaurant staff. All Tragus employees are paid tips in addition to the National Minimum Wage.