Orange County is packed with Italian restaurants, and I’m not talking about the seemingly endless supply of pizza joints or faux Italian such as Olive Garden, whose products are usually as far from authentic as you can get.

Newport Beach has a handful of quality Italian bistros, including three of my favorites: Il Barone, Sapori and Andrea at Pelican Hill (more than a bistro but still a sensational culinary journey to Italy). Now, I can add one more to the list: Bello by Sandro Nardone, which opened two weeks ago at the Newport North shopping center where Pita Jungle closed earlier this year.