This recent dinner was my third trip to Porta Bella.  The first experience we had I was actually quite impressed and we really enjoyed our meal.  This was about 6 years ago.  Then we visited again about 2 years ago and had a mediocre experience.\n\nThis past Friday, we were looking for a place to have a romantic dinner and Porta Bella definitely provides an atmosphere and secluded seating which provides this.  From the romantic/private standpoint, we got exactly what we were looking for, a booth for two in a secluded area.\n\nThe food is where I have really struggled over the past two visits.  First off, keeping in mind this is an Italian restaurant, they are very limited in their ability to accommodate any alteration to their meal .  They have a pasta combo, which by default comes with lasagna and chicken tetrazzini.  My wife, not being a fan of cream sauces, asked if she could simply get Spaghetti Bolognese instead of the tetrazzini.  She was told that everything is pre-portioned so that you could not swap.  Ok, whatever...she ordered the Bigoli Bolognese.  Because she's pregnant, she can't eat cold cut meats and asked if they could \""hold\"" the meat on her salad.  We were again told this was not possible, because the salads are all pre-made.  This seems crazy for an Italian restaurant, to essentially have everything pre-made up.  As if pasta and sauce are hard to prepare.  Clearly they are not doing anything too special in the kitchen to prepare our meals.\n\nIn the end, the quality of the meal spoke to their effort in preparation.  The bolognese sauce was rather flavorless and my seafood tetrazzini was even less flavorful and nearly dry.  At an avg of around $15 per entree, I don't expect 5 star quality, but to be honest I could have gotten a better meal at an Italian chain restaurant and they would have been more accommodating in the meal preparation.\n\nI would recommend looking at many of the other Italian restaurants in Madison.