Via Napoli

Picture Reviews:

Lunch review.

Lunch review 2.

Food Type: Italian with an emphasis on pizza.

Location: Back of Italy Pavilion.

Dining Plan: One Table Service.  For your “entrée entitlement,” you can order a non-pizza entrée like a pasta dish or salad or you can order any of the pizzas in the individual size. Two people can also pool their credits and order a large pizza and four people can pool their credits and order a family-size half-meter pizza.

Cost:  Appetizers: $8-$26; Entree Salads: $18 – $24;  Pasta Entrées are $21-$30.  Pizzas come in three sizes. Individual pizzas are $17-$21+, large pizzas are $28-$31+, and family-size “half-meter” pizzas are $39-$41+.  Kids: No complete meals; $6 appetizers, $10 entrees, $10 desserts.

Discounts: 20% Tables in Wonderland; 10% Annual Pass lunch for Monday – Friday only; 15% Disney Vacation Club.

Menu:

One menu (11:30am – Park Close): https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/via-napoli/menus/

Bar: None. When it’s extremely crowded and during Festivals, Via Napoli may offer a pizza window to the left of the main entrance. Don’t be fooled. This is not Via Napoli’s ordinary pizza. Instead, it’s more of a French bread crust and baked elsewhere.

Setting:  Via Napoli is very much contemporary in design, while still maintaining the feeling that you’ve entered a rustic Neapolitan pizzeria in Orlando, Florida.  The exterior is reminiscent of Gusteau’s, the French restaurant currently under the ownership of everyone’s favorite rat, Chef Remy from Ratatouille. The interior is well-lit and airy, which is a welcome feature considering the dark interiors you’ll find at other Epcot restaurants like San Angel Inn, Teppan Edo, Le Cellier, and others. The focal point is the show-kitchen with three authentic wood-burning ovens named after three active volcanoes in Italy. I would imagine they will have to rename the ovens if one of those volcanoes erupts and destroys the country, but at the moment your pizza will be baked in Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius or Stromboli. The majority of the restaurant is painted beige, which allows the colorful frescos, paintings, chandeliers, and other bursts of color to pop even more. Unfortunately, the restaurant is almost always slammed and it’s extremely loud and impersonal.

Advantages:

• The menu is inviting and familiar with unique twists and authentic flavors. By far, the best pizza available at Walt Disney World.
• Pizza pricing may seem high, but a family of four hungry adults can easily share one of the $41 mezzo metro family-size pie, bringing per-person costs in line with quick service food.
• Casual, air-conditioned seating. Prompt service.

Disadvantages:

• Appetizer portions are small and expensive. Desserts are gigantic and expensive.
• Not an outstanding value on the Dining Plan unless the more expensive entrees are ordered.
• Extremely loud most of the time with tables close together. This is one of the least intimate restaurants at Epcot, but some do enjoy the hustle and bustle.

Tips: Request a table on the patio if it isn’t too hot. It’s much quieter and affords a nice view of the Pavilion.

Value: Above average to excellent. This is one of the more difficult restaurants to quantify because the value depends on what’s ordered. If a family of four shares a half-meter pizza for $41, the cost per person would only be about $10 for an entrée. Even if you added two appetizers and two desserts, the meal would still be considerably less than many other Epcot restaurants. Even at $18 for each individual pizza, the cost is still less than many of the other Epcot restaurants.

Reputation: Via Napoli opened in August 2010 and quickly became one of the most popular restaurants and most sought after reservations. Service is less sincere than Tutto Italia, but it shouldn’t negatively impact the overall experience.