Via Napoli Review

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Via Napoli is located in Epcot’s World Showcase at Walt Disney World in the Italy pavilion. Via Napoli is lauded as Walt Disney World’s best pizza place, and it participates in the Disney Dining Plan. It also accepts the Tables in Wonderland card for a 20% discount. We have always paid out of pocket at Via Napoli, as it’s not a good value on the Disney Dining Plan on the Disney Dining Plan if ordering large pizzas. If ordering personal entrees, it’s a much better value.

Opening in the Summer of 2010, Via Napoli is one of the newest World Showcase restaurants. According to many, it serves the best pizza “pies” in all of Walt Disney World. The first day we dined at Via Napoli (author’s note: this review was originally written in June 2011 and was updated in March 2012 after two additional visits to Via Napoli), the waiting area was packed! Apparently word traveled quickly that the place served such good pizza.

Most of the people, it appeared, were walkups being turned away after pleading for availability for a few minutes. If there is no availability for a given restaurant, I wish Disney would put out a sign, or have a separate check-in for guests with ADRs. We waited in line for roughly 10 minutes to check-in, and I believe only one other party checked-in before us in the line.

After checking in, we waited for about 15 minutes to be seated. Crowds and waits like these make me wonder why Disney doesn’t keep building more restaurants. I think as long as the DDP exists, Disney can keep building restaurants in all of the parks and have them constantly booked. With how popular the EPCOT restaurants are, I’m shocked MK doesn’t have more table service restaurants.

While waiting to be seated, I wandered around the restaurant. Disney had gone all out with this one. The inside was beautiful, with wonderful details, lighting fixtures, and craftsmanship. By far my favorite feature of the restaurant was the open-air cooking area, including the three-ovens.

Even though the pizzas are quite expensive, the true question is whether it costs more to eat a meal here than at most restaurants. If paying out of pocket and eating pizza, I would answer with a resounding “no.” The largest pizzas on the Via Napoli menu run approximately $36. That would be a fairly high price if these pizzas could only feed one. However, they can feed 4-6 people, depending upon appetites. $6-9 per person for an entree at a table service restaurant, especially one of the better World Showcase restaurants, isn’t that bad. Add in appetizers and drinks, and the total is around $15-20 per person, which is still quite reasonable given the alternatives. It’s still quite a bit for pizza, but in Disney, you pay for the ambiance and location. It’s not the best-value in the EPCOT area (a crown that goes to the gem, Beaches in Cream, in the EPCOT-resort, All in all, it’s not that bad. We didn’t use the Disney Dining Plan for our trip to Via Napoli, so I can’t speak to whether it’s a good use of credits.

For an appetizer, we ordered the Calamari Fritti. I’ve never encountered calamari I didn’t like, and this was no exception. The sauce was rich and fairly well-flavored (not the best I’ve ever had, not the worst), and the calamari itself were perfectly breaded. I definitely have a weakness for calamari, and this really hit the spot. I probably would have been fine with two orders of calamari for myself, for my entree.

For our pizza, we got a Wood Fired Authentic Pizza Napoletana with spicy Italian sausage. There was a calamari pizza on the menu, but it seemed no one else was interested in that option. After disastrous results with seafood pizza at another Italian restaurant (my favorite Italian restaurant, actually), no one else dared mix the two again.

Overall, the pizza was good, but nothing that knocked my socks off the first time we dined at Via Napoli. It probably is the best pizza in Walt Disney World, as many claim, but there isn’t much in the way of competition (it’s certainly better than Pizza Planet and Pizzafari). After eating there the first time, I didn’t think it came close to most pizza places in Chicago. Since, we’ve eaten at Via Napoli twice, and both times, the meals have been incredible. Not just the pizza or the appetizers, but both.

The calamari was crisp, perfectly cooked, and not over-salted. The Salami e Provolone was flavorful without being overly greasy, and even the Eggplant Caponata–something I wouldn’t normally sample–was delicious. And that’s just the appetizers. The pizza? The pizza was incredible, with the cheese pizza soft, perfectly cooked, and with excellent and flavorful crust. Likewise, the pepperoni pizza was also stellar. It went from being “nothing that knocks my socks off” as I called it at one point, to being an excellent pizza, and a worthy competitor to many real-world pizza places at which we’ve eaten. (Even though we favor Chicago-style deep dish pies, we loved these thin ones!)

Countless individuals in the Disney community have indicated what makes Via Napoli so special is the water. The team at Via Napoli sought out to find water-wells in Florida similar to those in Naples. Consequently, Via Napoli uses water nearly identical in chemical composition to the water of Naples, Italy. Purportedly, this produces the best density for the dough, which in turn makes the pizza better. It seems to me to be more marketing fodder than anything else, but the dough on the pizzas we’ve had on our recent two visits has been really good. I wonder how many people who have gone to Via Napoli without knowledge of the dough-water have thought, “wow, this is some amazing dough!!!” Not many, I’d imagine.

Another thing that has been heavily advertised is the varying hot spots that frequently change in Etna, Vesuvio and Stromboli (Via Napoli’s three ovens), which greatly affect the cooking. I have noticed some unevenness in our pizza, namely on the underside of the crust, and this has added to the taste. Also to Via Napoli’s credit, the ingredients tasted very fresh and the sausage was excellent!

When I first wrote this review, it ended with the following conclusion: “We had read some pretty positive reviews of Via Napoli prior to the trip, so we were fairly excited about the meal. However, I think with any new Disney restaurant, there is a bit of “inflation” that occurs in the Disney fan community. People so want the restaurant to be the next Le Cellier that, psychologically, it seems better than it actually is (as Mulder from the X-Files would say, “I WANT to believe.”). I’m not saying Via Napoli wasn’t good–it was very good–it just didn’t match the hype I had read about the place. I would not place it in the “must do every trip” realm. Still, it was very good, well worth a visit, and definitely not as expensive as some reported, assuming you get one of the larger pizzas and share it.”

I can no longer say that this is accurate. We’ve now eaten at Via Napoli three times, and it’s no longer a matter of “wanting” to believe. I DO BELIEVE. Via Napoli is one of the best World Showcase restaurants, and a great value, to boot, if you split a pizza. It’s a really fun restaurant, and it lives up to the hype. We highly recommend giving it a shot.

Overall Score on the Disney Dining Brick-o-meter: 9.5/10

14 Responses to “Via Napoli Review”

1. Gabriel says:

   June 29, 2011 at 10:35 am

   Thanks for the review and photos Tom!
   I do believe that Via Napoli offers the best pizza in WDW.
   I’ve only enjoyed the small individual size pies but they have been fantastic each and every time.
   The flavors and textures were spot on and it had a fresh taste overall.
   If you prefer a thick to medium crust and/or softer texture then this pie will not make the top of your list.
   Give the strawberry fresca a try as they are quite delicious albeit pricey.

   Love the blog.

   Reply
2. MIke Sperduto says:

   June 29, 2011 at 10:39 am

   We managed to get a walk up table for 4 adults and a baby on a Friday afternoon in late February. We lucked out and just happened to show up at the perfect time. We got the 1/2 meter with pepperoni and loved it. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was the best pizza I have ever had but i would say it is up on the top of my list. I noticed and could taste the difference in the dough, but I also knew about the place before hand. Definitively better than any pizza I have had down here in South Florida but may compare more to some good pizza in NYC. We didn’t try anything else so I cant say anything about the rest of the food but I would still recommend trying it at least once.

   Reply
   • MIke Sperduto says:

     June 29, 2011 at 10:59 am

     Also they have a walk up counter that is to the left of the front entrance to the restaurant but rumor is that its not the same pizza that they serve at the sit down portion, not sure how true that is though.

     Reply
3. Jeff Hamm says:

   June 30, 2011 at 4:25 pm

   We had an ADR here for the last night of our trip back in March. The ADR was for our large party of nine, and Via Napoli handle our group with ease. We had at times two to three Cast Members tending to our table. We were using the Dining Plan and I myself found it to be a great value. The entree were any of the pizza selections in a personal size, or any other entree on the menu. The desserts were your classic Italian desserts, with none really shining above the rest. All-in-All I think it was a great stop along the trip and a restaurant I will definitely be visiting again. Great post!

   Reply
   • Marlene says:

     August 18, 2011 at 9:04 am

     hi jeff;

     thanks for taking the time to write a review of the via napoli restaurant at epcot; my husband and i (both late 50′s and retired) visited disney last september when via napoli was doing a soft opening and only accepting walk ins; we had planned to eat at via napoli on the last night of our 14 night vacation but had a last minute change of heart and ended up getting into les chef de france instead; we loved the meal at the french restaurant! now we are returning to disney in september of 2011 and have booked ADR at both les chef de france and via napoli; since we are using the dining plan (which is free in september) we will definately get good value for our $$$ and i’m looking forward to trying the pizza as the pizza at pizza planet and pizzafari doesn’t look at that great; we always like to try new places at disney and enjoy the atmosphere as much as the food

     Reply
4. John B says:

   July 1, 2011 at 8:11 am

   As a NY Italian, I feel I am an authority on pizza and all Italian food. Via Napoli is fantastic and blows Tutto Italia (which is mediocre) out of the water. From what I understand, cooking a large pie is different from an individual one (it cooks differently in the over because of its size). Also, I’ve read complaints about Via Napoli pizza being “undercooked” — that’s how it’s supposed to be! Most pizza places overcook their pies.

   I also sampled a pasta dish while there — also excellent. Homemade ricotta cheese, which makes a lot of difference.

   Tom, you compare it to pizza places in Chicago. I hope you’re not comparing Neapolitan style pizza to that awful “deep dish” that Chicago is famous for (along with crooked politicians), are you?

   Reply
   • Boss Tweed says:

     March 23, 2012 at 7:36 am

     Not to start a debate on a subject completely irrelevant to Tom’s excellent review, but, the last time I looked, New York (whose style of pizza I do prefer) wasn’t exactly wanting in the crooked politician department!

     Reply
5. Rose says:

   February 24, 2012 at 8:22 pm

   I agree with you about the price. Yes $30+ for pizza is pricey but if you figure all 3 of us are eating it is only a little over $10 per person. Pretty reasonable. I disagree with Jeff about the desserts. The Zeppolle has been haunting me since I last had them in Nov! Yes I will be eating them in a few days!

   Reply
   • Tom Bricker says:

     February 24, 2012 at 8:36 pm

     We have eaten here twice since this review, and it was MUCH better both times. This review is due for a revision. I’d rate Via Napoli a 9.5/10 now.

     Reply
6. Tracy aka mrsksomeday says:

   March 22, 2012 at 8:17 pm

   Thanks so much for the revision review. I hadn’t read the original. We are headed to Via Napoli in May and honestly I was thinking of cancelling it, we had never been there and we didn’t know whether we would like it. Your review has made me feel much better about our decision to try the restaurant. Thanks for the review.

   Tracy

   Reply
   • Steven says:

     March 23, 2012 at 9:35 am

     it is definitely worth a try! we love it!

     Reply
7. Squidward says:

   March 23, 2012 at 7:33 am

   “I’ve never encountered calamari I didn’t like.” Agreed! Bring me mountains of it!

   Reply
8. Amber says:

   March 23, 2012 at 7:01 pm

   Hmmmm… We’ve got ADRs coming in May for Tutto Italia. I was on the fence as to which Italy restaurant to visit. Now I’m back to “waffle-mode”! Help! XD

   Reply
9. Alexandra says:

   November 10, 2012 at 4:29 am

   Amazing dinner, the food was simply delicious. A special thanks to Nicholas, our server, who made our dinner. Thanks to him, it was the best meal of our lives.

   Reply