Not impressed with Via Napoli

[OKW Lover]

I feel like I'm the only one who was not at all impressed with Via Napoli. Is it me?

No doubt there are other people who would agree with you but I think is a pretty small minority. Our experiences there, and everybody else that we talk to all rate VN very high.

 

[pixie08]

Sorry I can't agree. I also live in NYC and have pizza in Naples Italy and this is as close as it gets in our opinion.

I guess the service would depend on the server and the day and poor service is possible anywhere.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Oh gosh, that's too bad! We are huge fans. This is the one restaurant all five of us consider a "must do" when we go to WDW. Actually I was telling my 13-year-old earlier today about the ADRs I booked for our October trip and other than Sci Fi, this was the one he was most excited about. "Oh, that's the place with the really good pizza, right?" (And we are pizza snobs...I make our own with imported Tipo 00 Italian flour because we're so picky, LOL.) We've only ever ordered pizza though, and we always get wine, so maybe that's partly why we love it?

 

[bwang123]

bland pizza but people like it because its the best pizza on property. but compare it to real wood fired pizza outside of disney and its just sub par. i'd much rather overpay for other food items at disney than a pizza.

 

[laura_<3]

We've been twice and we love the food. The first time, our visit was perfect but the second time we were put off by how rushed the meal was. We had just started tucking into our starter when our pizza was brought out.

 

[Pepper pots]

All you lucky American folk from Chicago to New York to the Southern States have so many awesome pizza restaurant choices, however here on my little island we are still searching for the ultimate pizza, tho a recent establishment called Papa Rabs are serving up some classic ones...So when we arrive at WDW we appreciate VN for what it's worth....P.S. ..The best pizza in the world was served to us in a trattoria in the hills of Sorento, Italy, many years ago...Bellisimmo....( excuse my Italian, it's like my old bones, a little rusty )

 

[Eastern]

It's not that great.

 

[Mickeymouse1171]

Everyone has different tastes and experiences. We have never eaten here, but are looking forward to trying it for ourselves in December. For those of you who are repeat customers, which pizza do you recommend? Has anyone eaten the Prosciutto e Melone? This sounds very intriguing to me.

 

[Minnesota!]

We enjoyed it when we went, but I can see how the service would be the deal breaker, too. I would have had some words if that was the service we received (from the get-go..).

What I loved most about it was being able to get arugula on my pizza...one of my favorite toppings and it hasn't caught on with MN establishments, yet...

 

[addiln]

We went here on our last trip and thought the same thing about it. I thought it was overrated and not worth coming back. This was the worst meal we had on our trip. I will say that even though the food was not good we did get excellent service so that was the one saving grace.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

My family love Via Napoli, we've had great service there, and enjoyed the food.
I have to say, though, service trumps food for me, I can be quickly soured on a restaurant if the service is bad. No matter how good the food is, if I have bad service, I will not be able to enjoy my meal, and will be unlikely to return.
OP, I'm sorry you had such bad service. When I was there last, two of us had pasta and two had pizza, and though they came out separately, it was only a difference of about 5 minutes, so no one was left sitting hungry while others ate. Thirty minutes is unacceptable for a separation in entree delivery.

 

[Pepper pots]

Everyone has different tastes and experiences. We have never eaten here, but are looking forward to trying it for ourselves in December. For those of you who are repeat customers, which pizza do you recommend? Has anyone eaten the Prosciutto e Melone? This sounds very intriguing to me.

.....We live the Mezzo Metro which is half a metre in size, and it feeds the three of us..In fact we struggle to finish it off..We get half pepperoni and half spicy with jalapeños ...

 

[MegMac]

So glad I am not the only one! My sister LOVES Via, but I do not. Usually I will sit with her here, and she returns the favor for me at Tutto Gusto!

 

[gorkt]

Yeah, I was also underwhelmed, mostly because I can get a better pizza near my house. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't out of this world awesome either.

 

[L&Lfan]

Never had a desire to go there because we have great Italian where I live (New Jersey). Nothing against Via Napoli but we prefer to eat other cuisines when at WDW.

 

[need2travel]

DH & I are from NY as well & we love Via Napoli, it's a must do every trip. We love to sit outside, order a bottle of prosecco, eat our pizza & people watch. Makes for a great meal & reminds us of the pizzas we've had in Italy. Yum!

 

[JoWilly]

I feel like I'm the only one who was not at all impressed with Via Napoli. Is it me?

We had an ADR there in April at 7 pm. We arrived and the line to check-in was full of people asking if they could eat despite not having a reservation. They told everyone who asked yes, despite the overflowing lobby of people waiting to be seated. I was particularly annoyed when a group of 4 girls ahead of us who didn't have a reservation were called 15 minutes ahead of us.

When we sat, the waitress was nice enough. I ordered the individual Carciofi pizza, my sister ordered an individual pizza (can't remember which in particular) and my boyfriend ordered the spaghetti e popettine. She warned us his food may come out 5-10 minutes before ours because they come from different kitchens. His pasta was literally served 5 minutes later and when a half hour went by we inquired how much longer it would be for the pizzas. She said, "Well I did say they came from different kitchens" and that it was busy so it was delayed. We said we understood that it was busy but why couldn't they have kept his food in the kitchen so it wasn't sitting on the table getting cold and she said "Well that's not something we do". Ok.

Another 10 minutes went by and still no pizza. So she came to the table and said "Would you like some bread to pass the time?" We took her up on the offer but it would've been much nicer a half hour ago.

I would have been able to accept that maybe it was an off night for the service if the food was as amazing as I've read. Our pizza finally came and while we both enjoyed it, I simply didn't find it to be anything special. And my boyfriend's pasta sauce tasted like Ragu. I'm not sure if it was because we're from NYC and have excellent pizza at our fingertips but I simply can't understand how so many people raved about it and I feel the exact opposite.

Anyone else agree or am I alone?

WE tried it in March and were not fans.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I'm sure you'll find someone to agree with you...but it won't be me! We make sure to go to Via Napoli on every visit and always have a hard time deciding between the pizza and the pasta. And, while we don't live in NYC, we have fine pizza and Italian restaurants available to us as well...

To each his own...

Same here!! I have to visit every trip! Its my fave. I also have a VERY hard time deciding between the candele pasta dish or the pizza. Candele usually wins. Oh my, its good!!

Too bad you didnt enjoy it, but to each his own.

 

[dnw25]

We have been in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Planning our December trip now and honestly think I want to pass. The first three times we went the food was outstanding. Loved our FOOD. The service was just fine - nothing particularly good or bad.

However, in 2015 the food was definitely not as good. The pizzas were just okay and the service was AWFUL. I always assume it's because we're on the dining plan. I actually wanted to say something to the manger but I let it go. We joked that either they work 24/7 and/or been partying too much. Regardless, they didn't want to be there, were clearly exhausted and everyone was in a sour mood.

In May we tried again and this time were OOP. Same thing. Service was awful and the pizza was just not the same. We saw the waiter a total of 30 seconds the entire meal, the busboy and drink servers were sour, and are drinks were empty almost our entire meal. Really debating whether to return.

 

[jon18uk]

If you were waiting half an hour for your pizza after your boyfriend got his pasta, thats the time to ask for a manager!