Bella Napoli is an institution, already several years past its first decade in Shanghai. It is busy almost every night of the week, in every type of weather, from cold and rainy Tuesday evenings to hot summer weekend nights. The crowds are here for simple and straightforward pizzas and pastas, which the restaurant does reliably but no more. Italians are divided on the place, with many singing its praises, but just as many griping about the quality and prices. Clearly, it's good enough for the masses, judging by the all people in seats, but at this point in their long life, quality doesn't seem to be their first priority, with the food rarely rising above the level of your standard red-sauce joint. Also, annoyingly, the staff pretends to accept only cash and local cards, but when pressed, will secretly bring out a QR code to scan, hidden in a folding bill so that other customers won't get the same idea.