Via Napoli : A VERY un-Disney moment

[tinkrebell]

As probably the only restaurant cook on these forums, I felt it was time for me to jump in.

It's easy -- annoying, but easy -- to make changes. I don't like doing them, because it puts me in an awkward position if we've run out of something that you're requesting, but I've worked several busy dinner services WHILE opening a restaurant (for the latest Iron Chef America, if you care), and we were never given the choice by management NOT to do removals/substitutions if it was at all possible that we could. Most often, with dessert, it's switching out the ice cream, but removing the ice cream entirely takes only a minute to realize what's going on, and if I screw it up by accidentally putting it on anyways, I'm usually doing enough plates that I can switch it out with one that is going to go out a minute later. Seriously, when you have orders, it's just as easy to see that someone ordered a pizza without melon as it is to see that someone ordered the pizza that should have melon.

I hate accommodations myself, but it IS the name of the business. I don't do it for myself, I do it because we were opening and really needed positive buzz about the restaurant so that people came back. Even a place in Disney should remember that - especially one that is coming in with outside management.

 

[Ava]

I think the real issue here, is who the heck came up with the bright idea of putting melon on a pizza in the first place?
Did they run out of good ideas for toppings?
Seriously!

Proscuitto w/ melon is a pretty common combination, usually as an appetizer of melon balls wrapped in proscuitto. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to put those two things on a pizza. Lots of places offer a "Hawaiian pizza" with ham & pineapple; proscuitto & melon is no weirder than ham & pineapple, IMO.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

That would lead me to believe that the pizzas are premade and then just cooked when ordered. I guess we'll skip this one!

 

[LilyWDW]

That would lead me to believe that the pizzas are premade and then just cooked when ordered. I guess we'll skip this one!

They are not premade. They have an open kitchen where you can physically watch them make the pizza's, put them in the ovens, and then take them out.

This was discussed earlier in the thread...

 

[GoofysNCCrew]

This link should end the "premade"/"preconstructed" debate...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViFbXR55ipw

 

[LilyWDW]

This link should end the "premade"/"preconstructed" debate...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViFbXR55ipw

Well, it SHOULD... but knowing these boards...

 

[Minnie]

Okay, really not trying to be mean, but I don't get it.

Why do so many people think it is a right to ask for things to be made differently then the menu says? Even allergies. Why not just find something you like or can eat? This is how my family has always dealt with allergies.

Really, not trying to be rude, but I just don't understand the whole thing.

Because in many cases for those with allergies there is nothing on the menu that can be safely eaten - it can be very tough trying to eat out at all. Just today DF and I had to leave a restaurant (asked before we were seated) as there was nothing safe on the menu.

At WDW I feel very safe if I stick to Disney owned restaurants.

OP - Bummer as my DS loves pizza and we were going to try this restaurant next time - with that type of attitude there is no way we'll even try.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

This link should end the "premade"/"preconstructed" debate...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViFbXR55ipw

Well, it SHOULD... but knowing these boards...

Thanks for posting this!

I agree with Lily....it should, but the pictures of the chefs making the pizzas appeared not to be enough either

 

[tony67]

It amazing me that people will defend anything in Disney till the end.

There is no excuse for not being able to make the pizza with prosciutto, especially since we know they make the pizza fresh.
If they had to charge you for a more expensive pizza than fine, prosciutto is more expensive.

To say, well they were trying to be like Italy, having been to Italy several times I can't recall a time when I asked for some kind of change and was told no we can’t do that.
For example my wife hates mushrooms so we always have had to ask for no mushrooms, not just in Italy, but all over Europe including France.

 

[DOOM1001]

I assume the reason they aren't making changes to the menu items is that since the restaurant is in soft opening the cooks are learning to make the pizzas and before they start removing the ingredients they need to learn what actually goes on pizzas and how to make them.I work in a restaurant where when new items are debuted you aren't allowed to make changes to them since the cooks are learning how to make them.I would assume that eventually changes will be able to be made to the pizzas,if they don't then that's just not normal.

 

[kathie859]

I assume the reason they aren't making changes to the menu items is that since the restaurant is in soft opening the cooks are learning to make the pizzas and before they start removing the ingredients they need to learn what actually goes on pizzas and how to make them.I work in a restaurant where when new items are debuted you aren't allowed to make changes to them since the cooks are learning how to make them.I would assume that eventually changes will be able to be made to the pizzas,if they don't then that's just not normal.

OP...I'm with you. I think it's just nuts that your request wasn't honored. The post above simply stuns me!! Are cooks/chefs really that dull witted that by removing one item from a pizza, their learning curve will be set back months????

 

[DOOM1001]

OP...I'm with you. I think it's just nuts that your request wasn't honored. The post above simply stuns me!! Are cooks/chefs really that dull witted that by removing one item from a pizza, their learning curve will be set back months????

It's simply how many restaurants work,they figure they need to get their cooks to make the food correctly first before making changes.When I say my restaurant doesn't allow changes for new items that is for menu items that have dozens of ingredients and could be items that are not ordered constantly,however a simple pizza with just a couple of ingredients at a Disney theme park you would think they should be able to do it,pizzas are not that difficult an item to make.Also the amount of time that they won't make changes might be a few days or a week,as far as I know Via Napoli has been opened for longer than that,maybe they just don't make changes at all.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Like the manager told you, it's the soft opening. When my cousin opened up his restaurant and had a soft opening, there were NO substitutions either. The kitchen and staff are still trying to learn the ropes. You couldn't just pick off the cantaloupe yourself?

 

[disneygirlinnj]

I think the real issue here, is who the heck came up with the bright idea of putting melon on a pizza in the first place?
Did they run out of good ideas for toppings?
Seriously!

Obviously you have different taste than the majority of the population that eats prosciutto....

From wikipedia:
Sliced prosciutto crudo in Italian cuisine is often served as an antipasto, wrapped around grissini or, especially in summer, cantaloupe or honeydew

 

[tony67]

For those that say well they are learning the ropes.
It is a pizza, not some complex dish. Make a pepperoni pizza with prosciutto instead of pepperoni.
I imagine everyone they hired has experience making pizzas already.
This is the issue I see with auto tipping and the DDP.
The OP should have walked.

As for taking off the melon, I do not think that is an option.
First it is a white pizza if I am not mistaken, so no sauce.
In addition the melon would leave the melon flavor on the pizza.

For those that say who came up with the bright idea of melon on pizza.
I can recall in the 80s when Ham and Pineapple where quite common in Europe, but not here.
I can recall chicken and barbecue sauce seeming very odd when I was in Australia, but now it is everywhere.

I will try it when I am there. Prosciutto and melon is very tasty.

 

[kaytieeldr]

OP - Bummer as my DS loves pizza and we were going to try this restaurant next time - with that type of attitude there is no way we'll even try.

I don't see why. I read the original post back when it was first written and don't care to go back and reread it, but wasn't the OP told they couldn't/wouldn't accommodate special requests because the restaurant was in 'soft opening' mode?

If that's the case, now that - or when - Via Napoli is officially and fully open for business, they will no longer be in soft opening mode and will VERY likely accommodate special dietary needs, at the very least, within their abilities. Don't write off a restaurant based on one person's pre-opening experience with a special request on one menu item.

 

[catne]

For those that say well they are learning the ropes.
It is a pizza, not some complex dish. Make a pepperoni pizza with prosciutto instead of pepperoni.
I imagine everyone they hired has experience making pizzas already.
This is the issue I see with auto tipping and the DDP.


The OP should have walked.

As for taking off the melon, I do not think that is an option.
First it is a white pizza if I am not mistaken, so no sauce.
In addition the melon would leave the melon flavor on the pizza.

For those that say who came up with the bright idea of melon on pizza.
I can recall in the 80s when Ham and Pineapple where quite common in Europe, but not here.
I can recall chicken and barbecue sauce seeming very odd when I was in Australia, but now it is everywhere.

I will try it when I am there. Prosciutto and melon is very tasty.

Confused by some items on your post...
Apparently you are not very familiar with the DDP: there is NO auto tip on any of the dining plans. The only auto-tip at Disney is for parties of 6 or more, and that is for any party of 6 or more, regardless of cash/credit card/gift card/dining plan, etc.
You say the OP should have walked...The OP actually DID go elsewhere, said so in the original post-they left and went to Germany for counter service.

 

[PHILCT]

If they are having trouble with requests to remove one topping,
I wonder what they would do with a request to:

Please shape my pizza to have Mickey Ears, just like in the VIA NAPOLI OPENING video on Youtube!

They should have not done that, isn't it against their own rules of deviating from what is on the menu? It doesn't say Mickey Ears, it says individual, large, or 1/2 meter pizzas on the menu.

The horror of it !
Wouldn't your children just love a family pizza shaped with Mickey Ears too?
The poor child who would be told, Sorry, No Mickey Ears for You !
(Sorry sounds a little like the Soup Nazi Seinfeld guy's famous quote).

I know the Mickey Ears Pizza was just for the opening party.

I guess I will not be making any requests for substitutions when I go in September, I need a good pizza while at Disney, something until now that has not existed on WDW grounds.

I suspect they will eventually allow some changes from the menu's configurations for pizzas. Hey even Italy changed sides in World War II.
Change can be good !

Okay, throw the melon slices at me now, but not the Prosciutto, keep that on the pizza.

Seriously, I'm not being serious, It is just pizza !

 

[WeRblam]

I could understand the soft-opening bit IF it was something demanding. Substituting pepperoni with prosciutto OR just taking the melon off seems to me to not be demanding at all. Plus, the restaurant wasn't even crowded.

That said, it takes more than that to get me down at Disney. We left and had a great QS in Germany we wouldn't have otherwise had during our trip. And, I have no problem trying Via Napoli later after the soft opening and give them another shot.

Just thought others would like to know what happened. Cheers!

Glad you had a good QS and tried something you would not have done! I agree with you - for goodness sake it was not an out of the ordinary request. AND they charge you $16 for an individual pizza , most certainly they can make it the way you want it!

 

[maggiew]

I asked for no dressing on my salad at Via Napoli and was told "Impossible!". I am not sure if this was considered soft opening. They were taking ADRs at this time, but for dates later than when we went.

However, we loved the pizza so much that we went back a second time. We tried both the margherita and the pepperoni. (The pepperoni is very flavorful!!!)

Maggie