We were driving back from Norman when pizza turned from “what sounds good?” into “what would actually help right now?”
My wife’s brother had recently gotten out of the hospital after a car accident. He had just woken up, still felt rough, and we figured bringing food was one of the few useful things we could do. Pizza travels well. Pizza reheats well. Pizza does not require a lot of emotional processing from anybody involved.
I wanted something local, not one of the usual chains. I don’t have a moral objection to chain pizza, but a lot of it tastes like cardboard to me, and this seemed like a good time to find a better option.
That search put us at Bella’s Pizzeria in Moore.
Bella’s is on NW 12th Street, between Santa Fe Avenue and Western Avenue, serving Moore and the South OKC side with the kind of menu you expect from a neighborhood Italian pizza place: hand-tossed pizzas, pastas, calzones, subs, wings, salads, garlic knots, mozzarella sticks, cannoli, tiramisu, and the other good decision-making hazards.
The plan was simple. Grab enough pizza for several people, drop it off, and keep moving.
Then I saw the price.
At the time of our visit, a large pizza was around $14. I assumed that meant “large” in the modest, modern sense. The kind of large where you order one, immediately regret it, and then start negotiating over slices like it’s land in Oklahoma Territory.
So we ordered two.
That was the wrong math, in the best possible way.
The pizzas were much bigger than I expected for the price. Not “technically large.” Actually large. The kind of pizza box that makes you pause for a second when it hits the counter.
We had more food than our group could finish, which would normally be a planning failure. In this case, it was exactly what we needed. My wife’s brother had enough leftovers to get him through a couple more meals while he recovered, and that made the whole stop feel even more worthwhile.
There’s also something I liked about the room itself. Bella’s had that old-school neighborhood pizzeria feeling, not polished into sameness and not trying too hard to be trendy. Just a local pizza place that seemed to know what it was doing.
While we waited, I told the employee I was planning to make a social media video about the restaurant. I don’t know for sure whether he was the owner, though a photograph inside made me wonder. Either way, he lit up when I mentioned it.
That part stuck with me.
I like making videos for local places where the people behind the counter are proud of what they’ve built. You can feel the difference between a business that is just selling you dinner and a business that is genuinely happy somebody noticed. Bella’s felt like the second kind.
The menu goes beyond pizza, too. Their official menu includes specialty pies like Supreme, Meat Lovers, Veggie Lovers, Buffalo Chicken, BBQ, Greek, Alfredo Garlic, and Mooney’s Alfredo. They also serve pasta dinners like baked ziti, ravioli, manicotti, chicken parmesan, spaghetti with meatballs, and chicken alfredo. If you’re feeding a house, especially one with mixed opinions, that helps.
But for me, the story here is still the large pizza.
I went in trying to avoid chain pizza and bring something decent to family after a bad week. I left with more food than expected, a better impression than expected, and another Moore spot I’ll remember when I’m on that Norman-to-OKC path and need dinner that doesn’t feel phoned in.
If you’re ordering from Bella’s Pizzeria in Moore, just know this: their large pizzas really are large. Plan accordingly, or don’t. Leftover pizza has solved worse problems.
Details
- Address: 1200 NW 12th St Suite 1210, Moore, OK 73170
- Phone: (405) 676-8436
- Hours: Daily, 11:00 AM to 8:30 PM
- Website: https://www.bellaspizzaok.com/
