Stop, wherever you are. Yes, YOU! Stop walking about or watching your TV and just imagine with us for a moment.

You’re sitting in a large, indoor space and can hear the fires crackling in nearby pizza ovens and staff talking and walking about. In front of you is a giant plate of cheeses and salty meats. Then your main course comes in — you hear the crunchy crust as you take a bite, smell that melted cheese, and taste that amazing truffle. It’s just a dream for now. But it can be your reality if you go to one special spot and we’re about to let you in on the secret.

Ready to know where to go for this delicious experience? Well, there’s one spot that seems to be the undisputed KING of pizza and an overall popular destination in Disney World — Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria in EPCOT. It’s earned our love and devotion in the past, but is the restaurant still as knock-your-socks-off delicious as we remember? We recently stopped by to put it to the test.

Atmosphere

Via Napoli is located in (you guessed it!) the Italy Pavilion in EPCOT. It definitely has that classic Italian vibe going on!

There are dozens of intricate light fixtures in this place, and it gives the whole room a very warm glow. In general, it feels cozy and inviting, like we could sit in here and chat with a friend for ages.

In terms of seating, you’ll find some standard tables and chairs, booths, some outdoor seating (not in use when we visited), and shared tables where multiple parties may be placed at one big table. There is a main dining room, a room off of that main space, outdoor seating (again, not in use while we were there), and an indoor patio, too.

And one of our favorite details? The pizza ovens, of course! You may not have noticed before, but they’re all named after volcanos. (Get it? Cause they’re on fire!)

Another detail to look for? There’s a chandelier in the entryway that is made of handmade Venetian glass. You can actually find the blueprints for it by the restroom.

When we sat down at our table, we had a little placard with the QR code to scan for the menu. This looks a little different than the paper you’re handed at other Disney World dining spots because this restaurant (and some others around Disney World) are operated by an outside group, The Patina Group.

And now it’s time to check out what all there is to offer!

Menu

The menu is littered with Italian favorites, starting with the Antipasti and Insalate (appetizers and salads). They’ve got everything from calamari to Caesar salad and charcuterie plates.

Up next, you can choose from a selection of pasta and “Secondi Piatti.” For pasta, they’ve got ravioli, tortellini, and spaghetti, and on the menu of second plates, you’ll find your non-pizza entrees.

For sides, the menu is short and sweet: just fingerling potatoes and green beans. But after that, we’ve got a glorious selection of pizzas to choose from — some as big as half a meter! (For all the non maths peoples — these pizzas can be BIG, very BIG!)

There’s a lot here that you can easily share. With toppings like sausage, veggies, cantaloupe(!), and half a dozen different kinds of cheese, we’re basically in pizza paradise.

Got a palette that craves those more classic tastes? They’ve got you covered with things like the classic Margherita in three different sizes. If you’ve still got room after a whole pizza pie, you can go ahead and order dessert!

They didn’t forget about the kiddos either! Your little ones will have their own selection of appetizers, entrees, and desserts to choose from.

So now that we’ve had some time to look at the menu and make our decisions, let’s dive right into the eating!

Eats & Drinks

Let’s start with a beverage! We ordered the Negroni for $19, which is made with Monkey 47 gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. With this one, we got a really strong bitter taste from all three ingredients, and the Campari was especially evident.

If you’re a sweet drink kind of person, this will likely NOT be your cup of tea (err, glass of gin?), but those who appreciate a bitter drink will probably love it.

Now, let’s chow down! For a starter, we ordered the Tagliere, which is basically a charcuterie board made for two people. It’s a Chef’s selection of cured meats, cheeses, jam, olives, grapes, and grissini bread (those are the thin Italian breadsticks you see in the photo below!).

Our board came with 3 cheeses: Cruccolo, Fontina, and Burrata; 3 meats: Prosciutto, Salami, and Mortadella; fig jam, green olives; grapes; and some of that grissini bread. 

The board itself was absolutely fabulous! The meats were just the right amount of salty and had plenty of rich flavor.

All of the cheeses were excellent, but the Burrata was our favorite! It was wonderfully creamy, which paired well with the meats and crackers. The Fontina was softer and milder than the Cruccolo, which was nuttier and a bit harder.

All in all, it was a very good charcuterie board. But, should you spend the money on it? Maybe, maybe not. First, we wish that there were a few more crackers and breadsticks! We really would have loved to have those to pair with the cheeses and meats.

Second, in truth, we’d probably just as soon save the stomach space to get more unique snacks around the World Showcase. It’s a great charcuterie board if that’s what you’re after, but it’s nothing exceptional or particularly unique. And at $38, it’s pretty pricey. But if you’re a charcuterie lover or you’re craving something like this, it’ll be right up your alley.

Moving on to our main course, we ordered the 1/2 Meter Mezzo Metro for $54. It’s made to serve between three and four people, and we ordered ours half Prosciutto e Melone and half Carciofi. 

The Prosciutto e Melone side is a white pizza made with fontina, mozzarella, prosciutto, cantaloupe, and arugula. We found it to be the perfect blend of sweet and salty. Plus there was a wonderful bit of fresh bitterness from the arugula. (It may sound weird, but we think it’s fabulous!)

The Carciofi half comes topped with artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, and truffle oil. Talk about fancy! It has a strong truffle flavor (but in a good way!), and we really enjoyed the BIG chunks of artichoke. No skimpy toppings here!

The best way to describe this pizza as a whole? SO GOOD. Like, SOOOO good. Like our reporter literally wrote this to us: “it’s just soooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooooooooooooood.” Literally. That many letter “o’s.” That is a direct quote. And to quote Lizzie McGuire we say “this is what dreeeaaaammmmsss are made of” (pizza dreams that is).

The crust of the pizza overall is perfectly crunchy but still has a good chew to it (as a good pizza should have), and you can tell with the taste that the cheeses are high quality.

We’re not sure what could top that (if anything), but we have to move on to dessert! DUTY CALLS! For this trip, we ordered the Torta Della Nonna for $13. It’s described as a grandmother cake with cream, pinoli, and almond. (And in case you’re wondering pinoli is Italian for pine nut!)

After the pizza, we weren’t sure that we could possibly be impressed again (it was THAT good), but this dessert was surprisingly tasty! It had a strong lemon/citrus flavor in the cream. Our fantastic reporter that reviewed it actually loves lemon, so they gave this one a big thumbs up!

However, if you’re not into creamy textures, this probably isn’t for you. And even though it was good, on the whole, we think there are better treats to be found around the World Showcase for dessert. Like we’ve said before, we typically recommend you skip dessert at most table service restaurants and instead hop around the snack stands and quick service spots for those signature and more unique sweet treats!

So what are our final thoughts on Via Napoli?

Nosh or Not?

Stop by Via Napoli during your trip around the “World” if…

• You’re a diehard fan of pizza, cheese, or a combination of both. This restaurant will definitely check those boxes for you!
• You want a table service meal to break up your typical EPCOT festival eats or snacking around World Showcase. But be warned that you could fill up here. If you want to keep snacking, consider just ordering a pizza and skipping on the appetizer and dessert.
• You have a larger party looking for a meal you can share. You can order a seriously LARGE pizza here, making it a great sharable meal for the whole gang.

Keep on strolling around the Showcase if…

• You’re in a hurry. Though much of our food came out relatively quickly, it did still take about an hour or a little more than that, just like many table service restaurants in Disney World. If you’re a go-go-go type of person and you’ve got a list a mile long of the things you need to do in the park, sitting down for a while here might not be ideal.
• You’re on a tight budget. This isn’t at the very tippy top of Disney’s high price range, but it is pricer than your average pizza or quick service meal. If you’re watching every penny, then you’ll want to opt to eat somewhere else.
• You’re not a pizza & pasta fan. This one might seem obvious but the menu here is fairly limited. If you don’t love pizza & pasta, there won’t be too many other options here — though there is a chicken parmesan, a beef fillet, and a sea bass. Still, we highly recommend you review the menu to make sure everyone in your party can find something there to enjoy.

Overall

Overall, this was a phenomenal meal, but the pizza was definitely the highlight. We’d probably skip the appetizer and dessert next time to save stomach space and budget for other more unique EPCOT snacks. But, in our opinion, the pizza is a can’t-miss! There are several options for different tastes, so even if you don’t like the flavors we chose, you’ll probably find something you like.

The meal itself took about an hour or a little more than an hour, so this is definitely something you’ll want to budget time for within your schedule. Though we will note that strangely some of our food came out really quickly (a bit too fast for us actually). For example, our appetizer and pizza came out basically at the same time, which isn’t ideal when you’ve got a LOT to eat.

This spot can be incredibly popular, so you’ll need to make those dining reservations 60 days (or more if you’re staying onsite) in advance.

The atmosphere here really can’t be beat, with the stunning architecture and handmade Venetian glass chandeliers. By the time you’re done with your meal, you’ll feel like you’ve had the full Italian pizzeria experience, and isn’t that the goal of World Showcase?! Props to you, Via Napoli!

What do you think of Via Napoli? Tell us in the comments! And check back with us for more EPCOT restaurant reviews!

Click Here to See Our Review of Another World Showcase Restaurant!

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