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Today, I will review Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria. This is a restaurant in the Italy Pavilion of Epcot’s World Showcase at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
If you read this blog regularly, you know my family really likes the World Showcase restaurants, such as the other Italian restaurant, Tutto Italia, and Biergarten at the Germany Pavilion. We also really like Via Napoli, as you’ll see from the review, though we do have a complaint about a recent change to the restaurant (and one thing they have changed which we really liked).
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you more about Via Napoli. Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria has classic Southern Italian dishes and wood-fired pizzas. They are also famous for their Sangria. We’ve been to this restaurant multiple times in the past.
The service here has always been great. They are nice right away. Last time we were there, when we checked in, they immediately offered booster seats and coloring pages. So the restaurant (as you would hope from Disney World) is very kid-friendly.
Speaking of checking in, they have a great lobby with comfortable seating. I really love the chandelier in the lobby.
Restaurant Atmosphere & Overall Impressions
The lobby isn’t the only beautiful part of Via Napoli. I really love the decor in the entire restaurant.
It is very upscale while at the same time being accessible. I also love the Italian feel of the restaurant. And as I mentioned earlier, it is kid-friendly. But at the same time, it is definitely adult enough that you could have a romantic evening here, too.
Another feature of this restaurant is, depending on where you are sitting, you can watch them cook the wood-fired pizzas.
I think this is a really neat feature.
Also, as I mentioned earlier, the service is great. For example, they did not have any menus but when I asked if they had any paper copies for my parents, they brought them.
Food Review
But the main reason you go to a restaurant is the food, right? Well, luckily I have good things to say about the food!
The bread here is really delicious.
They bring out Olive Oil for you to dip the bread in, too.
The bread was delicious both with the Olive Oil and plain, as well.
For main entrees, Via Napoli has a lot of pizza options and some Italian dishes as well. Now in the past, they did not have pepperoni pizza. This can be bad if you have anyone in your family who always expects to get pepperoni pizza at a pizza place. But luckily, now you can get pepperoni as part of a specialty pizza. So that is the change that we like.
But pizza isn’t the only thing that is great at this restaurant. For example, the Chicken Parmesan is great.
The chicken, breading, Spaghetti, and especially the Parmesan cheese on top are really good. They even bring out extra Parmesan cheese you can add on top, which I like since I really like cheese. The sauce is really good, too. More flavorful than spicy. And it’s a very generous serving of chicken. This is great if you are really hungry or are hoping to have leftovers.
As good as that was, though, I shared a pizza with two other family members.
We got a large Margherita for three adults. I was really hungry, but the pizza ended up being more filling than I was expecting. We ended up having a couple of slices left over at the end, which we brought back to our room since we were staying nearby at Disney’s Boardwalk.
In addition to being filling, the pizza was really good. We could add Parmesan cheese onto the pizza as well, which we liked.
Now, in the past, my family liked ordering a Margherita from Via Napoli and sharing it. We would save a lot of money that way.
But – and here is the development we don’t like – the price has gone up. A large Margherita Pizza now costs $36. So you do save a little money if, say, you share it between four people versus what you would spend if you all ordered individual meals. But the saving isn’t as great as what it used to be.
If I had another complaint about the pizza, it would be that a few pieces were burnt at the bottom and therefore a bit harder to eat. But there were lots of soft pieces as well. If you think you might have pieces leftover and don’t want to bring leftovers back to your room, consider checking the pieces before you eat them to make sure you eat the softest pieces and throw out the hardest pieces.
But overall, the pizza was really delicious and, even with the price increase, I would order it again.
Overall Thoughts
My family definitely loves coming to Via Napoli for dinner. We love the atmosphere, service, and most importantly, the food. It is everything we think a World Showcase restaurant should be: it fits the theming and is full of delicious cuisine from its country!
And because you can share a pizza with other family members, it can actually be a bit more affordable than other sit-down restaurants at the World Showcase in Epcot (but not as affordable as it used to be).
So next time you are taking a trip to Disney World, we recommend you eat here. We think your family will enjoy it.
Especially if you are staying at one of the hotels with an easy entrance to the World Showcase of Epcot. You can learn more about these hotels in our Epcot Hotel Guide.