Sino si Bella?
Meet the Bella family.
Every Filipino restaurant has a lola somewhere in the back story. This one has Tita Bella — and a calamansi tree that didn't make the flight.
Bella's Inasal started the way most Filipino restaurants start — with someone missing home.
Tita Bella grew up in Negros Occidental, the province where Chicken Inasal was born. In Bacolod, every corner has a grill smoking. Every family has their own marinade — a little more calamansi here, a little more atsuete there. The smell of tanglad and charcoal is the smell of Sunday afternoons.
When the family moved to Mississauga, they could find pancit. They could find lumpia. What they couldn't find was the real thing — inasal done properly, over live charcoal, the chicken marinated long enough that the flavor reaches the bone.
So they opened Bella's. A small room on Burnhamthorpe, west of Square One. Charcoal grill out back. A freezer full of whole chickens being butchered down every morning. Kare-kare on the stove. The lechon rotates slow on the spit; the crackling skin is the reason people drive in from Brampton and Scarborough.
The menu is what the Bella family eats at home: inasal for weekday dinner, kare-kare on a Sunday, sisig when friends drop by, halo-halo when it's hot. If you grew up Filipino, you'll recognize every dish. If you didn't, we'll walk you through it.
Kaon na. Let's eat.
PAANO KAMI NAGLULUTO
How we cook
Calamansi, not lime
The marinade is calamansi (Philippine lime — tarter, more floral), annatto oil, tanglad, garlic, and a secret house-salt mix. 12 hours minimum, overnight preferred.
Real charcoal, always
We use lump charcoal, lit fresh each service. No gas, no electric. That smoke is why your inasal tastes like Bacolod and not a rotisserie.
Lechon by reservation
The whole pig is stuffed with lemongrass, scored, salted, and roasted for 4–5 hours over an open fire. Every pig is roasted fresh. That's the 72-hour rule.
Ang aming pangako
What we promise you.
Real Ilonggo food. No "fusion twist," no deconstructed adobo. This is what your titos and titas cook at home.
Family portions. Filipino food is meant to be shared. We serve it that way.
We remember your order. Come in twice and Tita Bella will know your favorite. Come in five times and your favorite is the special.
Catering is not a side hustle. It's half our heart. Your party matters. We'll treat it like it's ours.
salo-salo
A feast meant to be shared