Yesterday we had the pleasure of being guests at the lovely restaurant Via Napoli, in the Italy Pavilion at Epcot, to celebrate their milestone of 1 million pizzas served. When eating at Via Napoli most of us know that the famous pizzas are the main event but the restaurant also serve up some other classic Italian cuisine. The man in charge of delivering this delicious food to Epcot guests is chef Charlie Restivo, who’s been throwing pies at Via Napoli since opening day.
“We opened in 2010, and computing the number of pizzas we bake every single day, today someone in the restaurant is enjoying the millionth,” says Restivo, who grew up in a big Italian family in Queens, N.Y. “It might’ve been our prosciutto and melon pizza, every bite crisp and tinged with a smoky char. Or maybe our neighbor’s margherita, or the “affumicata,” a pie with mozzarella, smoked salmon, arugula, pomodorini (tomato sauce), stracchino (cow’s milk cheese).”
For the occassion Via Napoli has decided to release some new delectable menu items that we got to try when we visited yesterday. I’m sure these new menu items will be a hit with guests as they feature some real unique ingredients combined with amazing flavors.
New Salad Insalata di Ceci
Chickpea fritters, arugula, scamorza, cherry tomato, onion, avocado, bacon, mushroom
Limited Time Pasta Special
Truffled fettuccine carbonara with guanciale “italian Bacon” egg noodle and pecorino cheese
New Pizzas
Affumicata
White pizza, smoked salmon, arugula, pomodorini, stracchino
Broccolini
Fresh cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, porchetta robiola, broccoli rabe
Many Via Napoli classics are still on the menu though like the Margherita Pizza and Veal Parmigiana. We got to try a sampling of all of them yesterday and they were as usual fabulous! Chef Restivo himself says that the top pie is the margherita and the all-American pepperoni runs a close second. But you can also get your choice of toppings.
But the menu Via Napoli goes way beyond pizzas. The eggplant Parmesan is a specialty that Charlie learned as a boy from his dad, with paper-thin slices of eggplant lightly dredged in flour, pan fried, then served with fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and a generous ladle of “Sunday gravy,” red sauce. There’s veal, chicken, lasagna and classic spaghetti and meatballs.
And of course you can’t make a visit to Via Napoli without trying their amazing desserts! Just take a look at some of the choices we got to try yesterday, everything from gelato to tiramisu.
For reservations, 407-WDW-DINE. Via Napoli is open for lunch and dinner daily.