A strong scent of aged Italian cheese and simmering tomato sauce coddles the senses immediately upon entering Trattoria Bella Vita, an ultra-cozy Sicilian-run gem hidden away on the southern residential slope of Mount Soledad in the tiny Windemere Village Center.

Bella Vita, which translates to “beautiful life,” indeed depicts some of the most charming Sicilian and regional Italian food San Diego has to offer. Yes, the cooking is tailored somewhat to American palates, but it escapes the failures and generic quality of Italian fare that Southern California seems to inflict.

Its owners, Chef Giuseppe Trinca and wife Caterina Bassallo, opened the restaurant a year ago after tying the knot in their native Sicily. Many of the dishes originate from Trinca’s family recipe box, which reveal sturdy red sauces, a proficient use of herbs and fresh cuts of meat and fish draped in capers and white wine sauces. If you’re looking for copious measures of garlic and melted mozzarella, then check the Yellow Pages for the nearest Fillippi’s instead.

The restaurant’s modest dining room features only 10 tables amid scattered bric-a-brac and textured yellow walls. The outside patio is larger, though less cute in comparison. Sharing plaza space with only a few other businesses, you’d never guess when driving into the neighborhood that any commercial real estate exists here.

My companion made a decent red wine pick – a bottle of Lacrima di Morro d’Alba offering hints of violets woven into its light and balanced structure. Lacrima ranks among a few of the obscure Italian varietals seen on Belle Vita’s short wine list, with reds outnumbering the whites. Its versatility carried us through our entire dinner, marrying especially well with red sauce and a parsley-infused Mediterranean salad.

The salad was a pretty creation, comprised of green and red lettuces, as well as thickly shredded carrots, red onions, capers, tomatoes and cubed mozzarella. And the satiny house-made balsamic vinaigrette struck a rare symmetry of sweet and tangy.

Borrowing from Italy’s mainland fare, the chef gives fettuccine Alfredo an anti-Italian, anti-American spin by toning down the butter and replacing most of it with sweet white wine. The dish looks traditional and contains a standard amount of cream. But the Parmesan cheese is subtly incorporated into the sauce, which gives way to a fair dose of parsley and a pleasant herb that we couldn’t identify – perhaps marjoram. Trinca’s alterations are honorable, although our only complaint was that the dish moaned for a pinch of nutmeg.

Another break from the norm occurs in eggplant Parmesan featuring non-breaded slices of eggplant yanked from the oven before hitting their conventional soft texture. My companion stated that he prefers the mushier, extended-cooked version, which quells some of the vegetable’s alkaline flavor – a point well taken except that the chef’s bright and faintly sweet marinara largely compensates. In addition, the dish comes with only a plop of melted mozzarella that some might consider thrifty. But why feel as though you’ve eaten double-cheese pizza when consuming a vegetable? This version is much lighter and tamer on the stomach.

Chicken Montanara is expectedly richer, but went down effortlessly. The chef dredges a plump boneless-skinless breast in flour, sautés it in olive oil and crowns it with an addicting creamy brown gravy flavored with mushrooms, garlic, white wine and bits of mild Sicilian sausage. Roasted potatoes and buttery zucchini alongside were a primo addition to the scheme.

Sicilians typically like their meatballs big – and grow them bigger once they emigrate to cities like New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Here, the chef forms them into the size of pool balls (a holdout compared to others I’ve seen) and serves them three to an order. They’re made with all ground beef, a sprinkling of breadcrumbs and what so many Italian restaurants sadly overlook – rosemary. The herb’s piney essence is what prevents meatballs from tasting like meatloaf. And if oregano or thyme surface, which I think they did, then more power to you and the chef.

Other menu items include a variety of stone-baked pizzas; gnocchi Gorgonzola; veal or chicken piccata; salmon with tomatoes and basil pesto; and nearly a dozen pasta dishes using various cuts of imported noodles.

We regretfully skipped dessert, realizing in hindsight that we would have likely discovered some darn good cannoli that tastes straight from the Motherland – just one more reason why we’re keeping this kitchen on our radar.