INVITALY Piazzetta — Restaurant in Prague

God I hope no one I know reads this review, because they're gonna have a good laugh at my expense. Why you say? Well I spent 10 days in Italy and the best pizza I had was...in Prague, at a place that called itself invitaly. Is it a pun on 'vital'? probably not, the world doesn't revolve around us anglophones.

Well so a classic margherita was ordered, expecting something routine, it's a pie I've had countless times around the world. If you search my camera roll for pizza, you'll get endless variations of it and the occasional diavola.

It came out large, the bright red sauce in the middle steaming, not overburdened with a layer of cheese. Why must pizza be served with a white canopy all over it anyway? Let the pomodoro shine through.

I had to eat it with a fork and knife, it wasn't made to be grabbed. Over the next few bites I realized I could finish the whole thing in one meal, it was light, gently caressing my mouth with fresh tomato and light mozzarella flavors. The crust was fantastic and I didn't bother leaving parts of it like I usually do, it felt criminal to left any part of this uneaten. The smattering of olives lended excellent flavor to each bite as well, the basil seemed to be added as an afterthought but that was the last of my worries.

A delicious glass of accompanying red wine was served by our very sweet server (lanky lady whose name is escaping me).

How did I manage to not have better pizza in italy you ask? Idk frankly, maybe I needed to reserve a fancy roman spot few days in advance. I was in Florence which was more tuscany cuisine, and then venice was all about seafood. I was under the impression that I could roll up to any shop and get served fresh pizza with tomato sauce that was pulped just a few minutes ago, sprinkled with basil grown in-house, dollops of buffalo mozzarella milked that morning. That romantic image didn't quite materialize, and I ended up with pizza that felt...fast foody. But hey, I'm not giving up on it yet,...

An Italian gem in the center of Prague

When you have already experienced Svíčková on your vacation, I recommend the invitaly restaurant located next to Franz Kafka's rotating head. First you will be welcomed by the very friendly staff. The menu has a great collection of Italian delicacies. First time...yes...you will go to invitaly many times again...you should have pizza! I've eaten an insane amount of pizza in my life and I can honestly say that the pizza at this place is an incredible taste experience. I already unsuccessfully tried to ask the head chef of the place which organs I should donate in order to get the pizza dough recipe :) There is also a wide variety of pasta, antipasti, soups, main dishes, etc. and the quality is naturally excellent and delicious. Prague is a beer city, but it's good to choose a quality Italian wine for dinner. The staff will help you in every matter, even those that you didn't necessarily come up with yourself. They know their food. When you get to dessert, you are faced with a really difficult challenge....how to choose from all those delicacies. I can say that no matter what you choose, your evening will be a memorable one. This time, with the help of the staff, I found the mango-raspberry-prosecco sorbet...well, twice actually, because it was so good. When you leave invitaly, you feel as if you were in their home, the whole family is saying goodbye to you and will soon welcome you back to delicious experiences. Thank you and...

UPDATED REVIEW: Now you've earned your 1 star after your reply ;) I couldn't care less regarding correct spelling of that piece of dough which you've served as a "pizza" and you have audacity to be proud of this "authentic masterpiece". And I have booked online - so no, I didn't see your "genius" tables arrangement

Old review BEFORE THE REPLY OF OWNER: The service was very fast. No question here.

Atmosphere 3 - 4... It's crowded and tables/chairs are very small and not comfortable at all. Tables are positioned very close to each other, no privacy whatsoever.

Food... The menu is not very variable to start with. We have ordered Caprichiosa(or whatever is the correct spelling) and it was plain awful. I can't use any other word for that unfortunately. It was as bad as it can be. Extremely sour and very cheap tomato paste as a base - it felt like it was solved in vinegar, that strong sour tsate was. Meat and cheese were so rarely scattered across, that you wouldn't even notice them while eating. The dough was good though, that I have to admit.

The beer was average, not impressed.

Conclusion: neither the pizza nor atmosphere are worth the visit. And the prices are WAY too high for what they...