First Glance - Via Tevere - August 2012

1190 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC
V5L 4G5

T: 604 336 1803
www.viateverepizzeria.com

Do you ever get a little bit giddy when you are visiting a restaurant for the first time? I do and I’m sure other foodies can relate to this dorky confession. The giddiness level increases when that restaurant is one that I’ve been hearing rave reviews about, such as Via Tevere. This charming neighbourhood pizzeria, located on Victoria Drive, has only been open for six months (they opened in March 2012) but are the talk of the town. Focused on wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, complete with chewy and slightly charred crusts, Via Tevere joins the growing number of Neapolitan pizza places that are slowly taking over the city (an invasion I am only too happy about).

Having heard that they don’t accept reservations, and that the wait can take up to an hour, my sister and I planned our visit for off-peak and showed up on Tuesday night at about 8pm. Luck would have it that we just strolled in and were seated immediately. This was my first time at Via Tevere so first impressions were:

• Very enticing from the outside, whilst being cute and cozy inside.
• Service was a bit slow but they were aware of this and apologized.
• Food came out really fast.
• Pizza crust was really tasty. Chewy, but with blisters of charring (I liked this although others might not).
• The pizza comes out whole, rather than sliced, making it a bit difficult to cut yourself. I’d prefer if they sliced the pizza for you. (Update: you can ask your server to cut it for you).
• The menu is similar to the other local pizza places that I have frequented, with the usual topping suspects of margherita, marinara, napolentana, capricciosa, and quattro formaggi.
• Personally, I preferred the prosicutto e funghi to the quattro formaggi.

Quattro Formaggi – $15

Proscuitto e Funghi – $15

I am excited to see more neighbourhood restaurants opening up and being enthusiastically accepted by locals. I will definitely be making a return trip to Via Tevere.

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