Via Napoli : A VERY un-Disney moment

[Iri920]

Sorry you didn't have a good experience OP. We went there last week and made a substitution and they had no problem with it. And for what it's worth my husband had the prosciutto and melon pizza and he said it was good.

 

[Grog]

We had the same thing happen to us at Yek an Yeti. My DH ordered the burger (btw the most amazing burger we have ever had), when they asked which we wanted: shiitake mushroom & scallion compote or Asian slaw, he said neither just plain. They told him there were no substitutes. He said he didn't want a substitute just wanted it plain. They told him unless he was allergic to something on the burger, he had to have one of the toppings. I thought this was the craziest thing I have ever heard. Of course if it was me I would just get one and take it off but he is super picky and HATES onions. So he told them he was allergic to onions. The chef actually came out of the kitchen to talk to him about his allergy. He said I just want a plain burger and he finally got one.

Wow. That's just insane. How hard is it to leave something off a burger as opposed to adding something. Do they have trained chimps in the kitchen working an assembly line where the same toppings are put on every burger or pizza and the chimps can't do it any other way? If not, then they have no excuse.

 

[ickeynickey]

Sorry but there's no way that's true. I'm sitting in Via Napoli's sister restaurant right now (Naples 45 in Manhattan). The chef from here went down to Florida to open Via, and obviously the owners are the same.

Here, the waiter actually suggested that we can leave unwanted toppings off of the pizza, which I happily did. So Via's policy is either a soft opening thing, or a very bizarre policy in a tourist destination with such picky eaters.

I said in Italy, not Manhattan. Once again, Italian American not true Italian

 

[ickeynickey]

That's all fine and well in a cafe in Tuscany or Venice, or even a local mom-and-pop Italian restaurant (I love Italian restaurants that don't even really have a menu -- dinner is what the chef decides to serve for a variety of courses). This is a pizza joint in a theme park that caters to children and picky eaters.

Like I said, this is the Italian pavillion. The restaurants are supposed to be a representation of the food here and the other countries in Epcot. That what makes it fun, trying what you wouldn't normally get in your local restaurants. True Italian food, true Mexican, true French and so on. If you are going to get the same as you get at home, why would you go. Walt's original idea was a Worlds Fair.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I said in Italy, not Manhattan. Once again, Italian American not true Italian

My point was that the owners of this restaurant have no issue in not serving real Italian cuisine (in response to your statement about the owners trying to create an authentic Italian experience). If the owners of Via Napoli aren't striving for full authenticity in one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities (where lots of foodies are probably looking for authentic, exciting meals), they aren't going to enforce it in a tourist destination with some of the world's pickiest eaters.

Like I said, this is the Italian pavillion. The restaurants are supposed to be a representation of the food here and the other countries in Epcot. That what makes it fun, trying what you wouldn't normally get in your local restaurants. True Italian food, true Mexican, true French and so on. If you are going to get the same as you get at home, why would you go. Walt's original idea was a Worlds Fair.

Again, disagree here. The pavilions are clearly idealized representations of places, and most of them are exactly what an American would expect when they think of that country (if they know what the country is). Just look at Japan and China. Nine Dragons is like any other Chinese food restaurant in the US. Japan has teppanyaki dining (cook-in-front-of-you) because it's been a huge trend in the US. UK's main seller is fish and chips because it's a dish that people associate with England, not because everyone eats it there all the time. US pavilion has burgers and funnel cake. Morocco's food is all quite mild - almost every dish has couscous or a tomato-based sauce. And everything in Le Cellier is difficult to call 'Canadian cuisine' (although they do make an effort with the bread to tie it in with the theme). Even Italy could do a much better job - from what I know of Italian cuisine, pasta is traditionally a primo piatto in Italy, although everywhere in Epcot's Italy it is a heavy entree. Chicken parmesan is a very popular dish in the US, as is spaghetti and meatballs, and the pizza flavors are primarily geared toward American tastes (I'd be willing to bet margherita and pepperoni are most the most popular flavors, just because they're the most Americanized). So again, the dishes being served are primarily what Americans think Italian food is. I've never seen World Showcase as very authentic (and I mean that as a complement to Italy - the cuisine is so much more diverse and exciting than Epcot's pavilion implies). Even France, which probably has the most authentic food, has been toned down with the increase of sensitive palates due to the DDP (although at least it has a bakery, a wine stand, a crepe stand, and 2 restaurants with different but uniquely French atmospheres, one of which is still considered a fine dining experience - Via Napoli feels like an Italian American chain restaurant...because it basically is).

Honestly, you live in Italy so I'm sure you know this more than I do. Piemonte has some French influences, including heavier use of butter and cream (which probably lends itself to dishes like risotto). Seafood is a huge thing because of Italy's coasts and ports (and no, that's not just limited to fried calamari, a popular dish here). The south is less industrialized than the north, so its farms probably provide some amazing produce (olive oil, citrus fruits, vegetables, etc). Then there's just so much variety between every region: the cheeses, the meats, the signature plates, etc. Maybe the concept at Epcot sounds authentic (antipasto, pasta, meat, vegetables, wine, etc) and the servers come from Italy, but the flavors are designed to appeal to American tourists (even prosciutto and melon is pretty common in Italian restaurants here) more than educate about Italian cuisine.

 

[Sammie]

It is probably a soft opening situation and I think that is to be expected during soft openings, and training.

 

[AJRitz]

It was during soft opening.
Restaurants use their soft opening to focus on perfecting their regular menu and acclimatizing the kitchen staff and servers to the menu and the service process. Soft opening is NOT the time for short orders. It not unusual for restaurants doing a soft open to only offer a specific subset of their menu, or one subset for a couple of days and then another subset for another couple of days.

It's simply unreasonable to make judgments about a restaurant's willingness/ability to customize orders during a soft opening. Dining in a restaurant during soft opening is volunteering to be a guinea pig. Frankly, I'm impressed by the overwhelmingly positive reviews the food and service at Via Napoli received during the soft open. It's a testament to the quality of the food and their staff training program.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

I guess we can agree to disagree.

It was a soft opening, but I only know that from being on Disboards. There was no indication WHATSOEVER that this was a soft opening at all before entering the restaurant or even in the restaurant.

I see no reason during a soft opening to not, for example, hold the canteloupe on one pizza or subsititue prosciuotto for pepperoni on the pepperoni pizza.

Was it a soft opening? Absolutlely. Was there a sign outside saying "This is a soft opening so no changes whatsoever will be allowed on our menu"? No, there was not.

 

[gme6662]

Is this restaurant better than the Ristorante Italiano thatused to be in Epcot

 

[TheTravelingCarters]

I agree with those that say it is because of the soft opening....just like in the hotel industry that I work in, soft openings are not the true representation of the business when it is fully up and running-basically it is a test drive.

Perhaps, they were seeing how many requests they got to make substitutions so that they can tweak the menu. Or which pizzas were not ordered much to take them off the menu, so if they changed the pizzas to every persons desire then there would be no way of knowing what was unpopular. Just a thought.

But there are a lot of restaurants that do not allow substitutions to uphold the original desired taste and presentation of the meal. Whether everyone thinks that is right or wrong it is just the way they do it. I am sure this place will get everything figured out within a few months so that it fits into to feel like a Disney place

 

[gme6662]

Wow. Not even sure where to start with this one as we love WDW (we own at 5 DVC resorts, and go at least twice a year to WDW) but something happened at Via Napoli that defies explanation.

DD and I are in WDW for a Daddy-Daughter vacation and decided to try Via Napoli. I love pizza and I love prosciutto so thought it would be great to try their pizza.

The menu for Via Napoli has a margherita pizza, a pepperoni pizza and a pizza that had prosciutto and cantaloupe. So, I figured, shouldn't be too hard to just make a plain prosciutto pizza. Either take the cantaloupe off the one pizza or add prosciutto to the plain margherita pizza or use prosciutto instead of pepperoni on that pizza.

Nope. No way. No how.

Spoke to the waiter, the waiter's manager and finally the manager of the restaurant overall. Can't do it. Soft opening. Too hard. Everyone will want to create their own pizza. No way can it be done.

Are you serious? I just wanted to replace pepperoni with prosciutto. Not asking for things not on the menu. Just want a prosciutto pizza. I've been to Italy many times. I know this pizza exists and is not some "crazy" concoction invented just to frustrate restaurants.

Anyways, was very stunned with the "NO" attitude and left to go to Germany and get QS. Again, this doesn't turn me off Disney but was very surprised by the unwillingness to create. Oh, well. Maybe it will get better as they get used to requests.

Surprised at that. Usually WDW will bend over backwards to satisfy its customers. Very unlike WDW.

 

[gme6662]

Kind of reminds me of Jack Nicholson ordering toast - "Now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules."
- "You want me to hold the chicken, huh?"
- "I want you to hold it between your knees."

only - I'll have the prosciutto and melon pizza and just before you cook it take the melon off and set it on the side.

Unless all the pizzas are pre-made and even then to get most of the melon off how hard can it really be?

Great answer. Very funny. Its not like you're asking them to change their entire menu. Its only 1 topping.

 

[TenderDonkey]

When I read this the first thing I thought was that the pizza was pre-made and possibly frozen. Ever try to remove toppings from a frozen pizza? I’ve done soft openings and we typically try to replicate everyday scenarios.

 

[ckent]

We loved the pizza there, but the staff left something to be desired. Certainly not as good service as Tutto.

 

[kaytieeldr]

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!

Prusciutto-wrapped melon is a common appetizer. Putting the combination on a pizza makes perfect sense.

While not defending the decision to not customize/personalize the pizza - removing the melon, even if the diner did have a melon sensitivity (as validly indicated in a previous post), traces of the melon would still be there, the diner would still have a reaction, and Via Napoli/WDW would still be blamed.

 

[ChrisFL]

FYI, I went to Via Napoli yesterday, and didn't order anything customized.

I did, however order the Proscuitto y Melone (proscuitto and Canteloupe) and let me tell you, it was AMAZING!!!

No, it does not have tomato sauce on it, it had a few kinds of cheeses and basil I think. The combination of the flavors is what makes the pizza good, take away one of those flavors and you can throw off the quality of the dish.

However, I can understand wanting everything your way, as this is the U.S. and everyone here expects to have their own choices about everything...it's just not the case in a lot of other countries....which brings me to a wonderful TED video that I have to link here (for anyone who is upset about why you can't have your own choice, this video might be worth watching):

http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing.html

 

[Orleanslady]

I'm so glad I read this post. I had decided to change my reservation from Tuto to Via Napoli. Now, I'm wondering if I should rethink that.

 

[dzneelvr]

I encourage you to KEEP your reservations for Napoli and give their menu selections a chance. With our americanized versions, on paper the combos will look weird but with a taste....yum I know our family makes a conscious decision to be much more open to experimenting with tastes when we are in WDW dining....BOMA is a perfect example. Don't overthink the ingredients (unless you have a medical issue)...just try it. OMG there are so many wonderful dishes there . We've also found that our "Italian" tastes are oversweetened, oversauced, and overcheesed as compared to authentic dishes. That said, it's nice to expand your palate and challenge your mind to accept something new

 

[ChrisFL]

I encourage you to KEEP your reservations for Napoli and give their menu selections a chance. With our americanized versions, on paper the combos will look weird but with a taste....yum I know our family makes a conscious decision to be much more open to experimenting with tastes when we are in WDW dining....BOMA is a perfect example. Don't overthink the ingredients (unless you have a medical issue)...just try it. OMG there are so many wonderful dishes there . We've also found that our "Italian" tastes are oversweetened, oversauced, and overcheesed as compared to authentic dishes. That said, it's nice to expand your palate and challenge your mind to accept something new

Agreed!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I did, however order the Proscuitto y Melone (proscuitto and Canteloupe) and let me tell you, it was AMAZING!!!

I just looked at the menu, to see if they had anything other than pizza - because I can't see eating an entire pizza myself - and that description does sound good, especially since it comes in different sizes!!!