Pizza Vesuvio — Restaurant in Bellville

We have been regulars at Pizza Vesuvio for years, but I'm afraid that's over. Our Mother's Day experience there was very poor. Yes, we had a big table, but it was a set menu. It took 2 hours to get our starters - and then mine was cold on arrival.

The food was mixed at best. They can still cook a good pizza, but nothing was spectacular, and some was pretty bad. When my main arrived, I told my wife I would wait for hers to arrive, she said no, go ahead. I had long finished mine before hers finally arrived. In fact, the two moms at the table got their food absolutely last. And the final blow was the dessert - most ordered tiramisu, which came out slightly warm. How can you have warm tiramisu? It was nice they offered a free glass of wine to moms, but my wife had to request hers, and the waiter looked at her skeptically and said "it's only for moms". She was the mom of 4 of the people at the table! But she had to convince him to get her free wine. Good grief.

Something has definitely changed. New ownership? Their new logo is tacky and looks like a cheap Italian takeaway place, so maybe that's the direction they are heading. The service is atrocious, and that used to be a strong point. (We miss our waiter, Alex, so much!) Even the music has changed - they used to play a sort of jazzy music that really fit the restaurant. Now it's beats and pop and ... No. Just no.

Time to look for another regular...

Pizza Vesuvio tygerwaterfront – Where Your Taste Buds Go on a Roman Holiday (and Never Come Back)

If you're looking for a slice of Italy without renewing your passport, Pizza Vesuvio at Tygerwaterfront is your new carb-filled happy place. The service? Friendlier than your nonna on a Sunday. The food? Let’s just say I blacked out halfway through the unconventional jelly and custard—no photo evidence, just pure dessert amnesia.

The pizza? Top notch. Like, actual Italian flavors—none of that “cardboard base with mystery cheese” nonsense. You can taste the freshness in every bite, as if the ingredients were handpicked by a charming Italian farmer named Giuseppe.

Oh, and the chilli? Absolute fire—in the best, most tongue-tingling way possible. Flavorful, not just hot. I’d put it in a bottle and carry it around like hot sauce perfume.

Bonus points for having gluten-free options, so no one has to miss out on the joy (and cheese).

Now here’s the kicker: Buy One Get One Free every Monday. That’s right—your wallet can breathe easy while your stomach lives its best life. We’ve officially claimed this spot as our new go-to pizza place (sorry, other pizzas, it’s not you... it’s Vesuvio).

Go hungry. Leave happy. And maybe, just maybe, remember to take a photo before inhaling dessert.

P.s. The watermelon thingy...

I took my partner here a couple months ago as it was a recommendation from a family member. It was great, the food was good and the atmosphere was very pleasant. We left satisfied and wanted to return. On our recent return we were surprisingly disappointed. We arrived to a completely different atmosphere. People were drinking, loud and generally inconsiderate. Which is not the restaurant's fault but it is up to management to regulate the type of reservations and its impact on the rest of the customers. The waiters were accommodating regarding the clear disturbance, which I appreciate. Regarding the food, my partner and I were extremely disappointed. I had the Involtini pasta dish. The food was very bland and not exciting in any way. The calamari was rubbery and only consisted of the small tenticles and no tubes, and the prawn was overcooked. My partner had the Cinghiale gnocchi dish. It was bland yet over salted. The mushrooms where mushy, there was no parmesan flavour and the mince was overcooked. The gnocchi itself was great.

I expressed to her that I felt the food was prepared without love and I saw a similar review about it. We had a certain expectation based on our last visit and we were severely let down. It is probably better to order more popular and simple dishes than the more extravagant ones...