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Via Napoli Restaurant

Via Napoli โ€“ Bringing Pizza Perfection to Epcotยฎ

by Magic Makerยฎย Joe DeFazio

Via NapoliFor all the wonderful culinary treats you can experience at theย Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort, the one thing that always seemed to be missing was top-notch pizza.ย  While Disney pizza wasnโ€™t bad, it also wasnโ€™t on many peopleโ€™s must do dining lists.ย  That all changed with the opening of Via Napoli inย Epcotโ€™sยฎย Italy Pavilion.

Via Napoli serves authentic Neapolitan style pizza and Italian cuisine in an expansive dining room situated in the back of the Italian pavilion.ย  ย The open design of Via Napoli captures a buzz from the visible kitchen and itโ€™s large brick ovens and the hum of conversation and dining that makes you feel like you have been transported to an busy square in Naples for your meal.

The highlight here is the food, and the pizza is the star.ย  The pizza is made with imported flour from Naples, San Marzano tomatoes, hand-made mozzarella and water that is identical to that used in Naples.ย  The result is a wonderful, crispy, chewy and airy crust baked to perfection with a wonderful selection of options.ย  Via Napoliโ€™s twist on a traditional Italian appetizer is even made into a meal with Prosciutto e Melone pizza topped with- fontina, mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula and cantelope โ€“ a perfect blend of salty, sweet, creamy and crispy.

While the pizza is the star, the supporting cast of traditional Italian favorites including pasta dishes, chicken, eggplant and veal parmigian, lasagna and a wonderful selection of antipasti and appetizers to get you started.ย  Nia Napoli has a nice selection of Italain wines, dry and sweet, a flavorful sangria and a selection of Italian beer, including a restaurant exclusive, LaRossa โ€“ a double malt lager.ย  Save room for desert and you will be treated with affine selection of traditional Italian sweet treats.

The wonderful atmosphere is made complete by the wait staff, all from Italy and all seemingly with a permanent smile.ย  The language, conversation and insights into cast memberโ€™s culture along with wonderfulย  food and drink make Via Napoli an outstanding place to share a meal atย Epcotยฎ.

Are you ready to experience the many flavors the
restaurants ofย Epcot’sยฎ World Showcase has to offer?

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Via Napoli Now Open in Epcot

The lively, 300-seat restaurant that is operated by Patina Restaurant Group is full of energy with an open kitchen and three wood-burning pizza ovens thatEpcot's Via Napoli's Pizza Ovensrepresent Italyโ€™s three active volcanoes: Etna, Vesuvius and Stromboli. Those ovens are cranked up to 700ยฐF with oak wood, each ornamented with an open-mouthed face, waiting to โ€œswallowโ€ the mouth-watering pizzas.

Everyone is sure to find something on this menu. If youโ€™re hungry or have at least four gathered for lunch or dinner, try the fritto misto, an enormous platter of fried mozzarella, calamari, eggplant, asparagus, zucchini, artichoke hearts and arancini (rice balls) โ€“ delicioso! โ€“ย dipped in the spicy red sauce. Enjoy entrรฉes such as Lasagna Verde, tortino di melanzane (baked eggplant with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses), and of course, the wood-fired margherita pizza. ย And don’t forget to wash it down with an Acqua Frescas, the housemade seasonal fruit juice coolers.

Those pizza pies will quickly become a new favorite and Via Napoli Executive Chef Charlie Restivo shares why. ย The secret combo: the oven, the mixer and the ingredients. The mozzarella is flown in from Italy, the water from a source in the U.S. that is similar to the alkaline of the water in Naples, and San Marzano tomatoes โ€“ absolutely no substitutions for a โ€œcertifiedโ€ย Vera Pizza Napolitana, with specific rules, including hand stretching the dough. The crust is blistered and slightly charred to seal in the flavors, says Chef Restivo. The gargantuan โ€œ1/2 meterโ€ to share is rolled to the table on a stainless steel cart.

Sweet endings are not an afterthought. Indulge with the hot, crispย zeppole di Catarina, ricotta cheese fritters with chocolate sauce and whipped cream; traditional tiramisรน; pistachio gelato; and the over-the-topย coppa di brutti ma buoni, a vanilla gelato with Amarena cherries and โ€œugly but goodโ€ cookies. Worth an extra lap around World Showcase.

The same menu is for lunch and dinner. Table service only, one meal point on theย Disney Dining Plan. Contact your Magic Makerยฎย to request a quote and to make your dining reservations.

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Via Napoli opens August 5

The new restaurant at theย Italy Pavilion of the World Showcase atย Epcotยฎ, Via Napoli, will begin taking reservations August 6 forย September 10, the official opening day. A Grand Opening celebration will be Aug. 5, but the restaurant will be in a โ€œsoft openingโ€ walk-in phase with no reservations between then and Sept. 10.

A few quick tidbits:

  • The restaurant is table service only, no quick service.
  • Disney Dining Plan is accepted (one point per person per meal).
  • The hottest menu item is the wood-fired pizza, and it comes in three sizes: individual; large with eight slices; and a โ€œmezzo metro,โ€ or half meter, that is 12 slices.
  • There is one menu for both lunch and dinner. Average check is around $23.
  • There are several vegetarian options, including the pizza Margherita, fusilli pasta in a Southern Italian-style pesto, salads, minestrone and more.

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Via Napoli Opens Next Month

Take a look at the menu for the newย Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria. Opening next month the 300-seat restaurant expands dining choices in the Epcot Italy Pavilion in the World Showcase. Created by the Patina Restaurant Groupโ€™s CEO Nick Valenti, the menu is based on his travels in Southern Italy and his time developing and overseeing the successful Naples 45 Ristorante e Pizzeria in New York. Valenti spent time in Naples studying the art of dough, crust, sauce and oven temperatures at the famous pizzerias Da Michele and Trianon. A feature at Via Napoli is its wood-burning ovens, cleverly named after the three active volcanoes in Italy โ€“ Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli.

Appetizers: Sicilian eggplant with olives and raisins; salad of lettuce,ย fagiolini (string beans), fennel and tomatoes;ย arancini (fried saffron risotto balls) with meat ragรน, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce; corn-crusted fried calamari; and minestrone with basil pesto. Or share a plate ofย arancini, mozzarella, calamari, portobella mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini andย carciofi (artichokes).

Main course salads: Manzo (filet of beef) with greens, red onion, gorgonzola, apple and cucumber with a red wine-mustard vinaigrette; chopped salad with lemon chicken, greens, cantaloupe, cucumber, red pepper, green beans, onions, almonds and pasta crisps with honey-citrus vinaigrette; calamari with arugula, carrots and fennel with orange vinaigrette.

Pastas: candele (long, tube-shaped pasta) with sausage ragรน; linguine with seafood;ย malfadine (ribbon pasta) withย guanciale (unsmoked Italian bacon) and pomodoro sauce; lasagna verde.

Piatti alla Parmigiana: (dishes topped with Parmesan and mozzarella gratinรฉe): veal, chicken and eggplant.

Wood-fired pizzas: made with caputo flour imported from Southern Italy, San Marzano tomatoes, handmade mozzarella and water from a local spring just like in Italyโ€™s Campania region โ€“ 10-inch, 20-inch or 1/2 meter to share: a dozen choices, from a simple pizza Margherita with tomato, mozzarella and basil toย carciofi with artichoke, potato, pecorino cheese, prosciutto and cantaloupe.

Sweets: tiramisรน,ย zeppole di ricotta (ricotta cheese-fried dough, whipped cream and chocolate sauce); apple cake with almond sorbetti; gelatie; and vanilla gelato with almond cookies and amarena cherries.

Hungry yet? ย Click here to request your quote to try this great new restaurant!
Going this fall? ย There are a few select dates available for Free Dining!

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