Via Napoli
On our February trip to Disney World, we decided to try Via Napoli. Brad really wanted some Italian, but I have never loved Tutto Italia. Plus we were planning to have Tony’s Town Square later in the week. So we wanted Italian but not just traditional pasta. We had heard great things about Via Napoli with the exception of using it with the dining plan. That was our only hesitation. But after analyzing all of our meals, we opted to just pay out of pocket for this meal and keep the reservation.
FYI, there is a smoking section right across from Tutto Italia. And you basically walk right through it to get to Via Napoli. It may not be bad all the time, but on this evening it was pretty awful. I can’t figure out why they have some smoking sections in such obviously open spaces.
We arrived about 15 minutes prior to our reservation time and went ahead and checked in. We didn’t wait long at all after checking in before they called our name. We were seated at a 4 person table/booth. The restaurant is really large which was unexpected to me. We sat in a very open area. There were very, very high ceilings, ornate light fixtures, high arches, and murals on the walls. There were also other rooms off of this large dining room that were much smaller. I only visited one because we had to make multiple bathroom stops…
So here is the menu during our visit (including the kid’s menu). It is not the same as what was on the Disney website before going. We were torn between paying out of pocket for this meal or Beaches and Cream. But when I saw the menu did not include any sort of ravioli, I opted to just order off the kid’s menu which made our decision to pay out of pocket here easy.
As with most of our meals, we brought Melody a peanut butter sandwich and Pringles. She is under 3, so she does not get the dining plan, and she literally doesn’t eat much beyond peanut butter these days anyhow.
After ordering our food, we were brought bread and olive oil. It was really good. I limited myself to only one piece though. I could have eaten it all though. I love dipping it in oil vs butter. It would have been better had they added some spices to the oil though.
So for my dinner, I ordered an appetizer from the kid’s menu…bocconcini. So basically mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce. From everything I had read before going, I knew they would be great, and they can only be found on the kid’s menu. It came with 4 “sticks” and a large amount of marinara sauce. The mozzarella sticks were amazing. The cheese really did melt, and unlike fast food mozzarella sticks, they really stuck to the breading…all of the cheese didn't come out in one bite. And for $6 it is a steal! I was still slightly hungry after only four, but I had one slice of Brad’s pizza (below), and we did partake in some of the food around the Festival of Arts.
Brad ordered the individual size Margherita pizza. We were both unsure of the size and if it would be large enough, but it was plenty. I had one piece and Brad had the rest. Brad loved the pizza. It did taste really good and I love the style of pizza. I would have ordered a different type of pizza personally, but it was still really great. The crust was amazing, and it was great dipped in my marinara sauce, ha!
And then for dessert, Brad ordered the tiramisu. He loves tiramisu so it was a must have from an Italian restaurant. And he loved it. I didn’t try any because I am not really a fan, but he did offer a bite ha.
Overall, we really loved eating here. It isn’t a must have every trip, but if we have the space for it, we would definitely go back. I would try one of their other pizzas, and I would have the mozzarella sticks as an appetizer :)
