via Marina Wood Fired Pizza & Italian Cafe — Restaurant in Des Moines

I want to start out by saying that I am not a fan of bad reviews unless they are truly warranted. Sometimes your experience can be a product of a bad/off day for the person or the restaurant however, sometimes it is just bad and therefor necessary so the business understands and can adjust if they wish. With that being said, this was one of the worst dining experiences we have had in some time when describing the food. Aside from the service, which was good, I had a tough time processing how someone (owner/cooks/servers) could allow food like this to be served. The lasagna tasted manufactured (probably Cisco), the Cesar Salad tasted a hint like blue cheese (moldy) and the butter noodles were either old and stale or they were undercooked significantly (either is unacceptable). Aside from those issues which made it already a 5/10 this review will focus on our pizza. I truly cannot believe this was served (see pic below). The sauce was lite pink from what looked to be basically watered-down crushed tomatoes and as I picked up a piece the toppings fell right off, including the cheese. The crust was beyond floppy (see pic below) and extremely soggy from what I believe is the watered-down tomato water/sauce. The cheese tasted old and all around this was the worst pizza I have had in recent memory. I was appalled and we did not even eat it aside from the one piece my daughter had before giving a literal thumbs down. Again, I say this so the owner/cooks/servers who read this can maybe take another look at the recipe process and get things headed in a better direction. With this hope, I personally cannot find it in myself to return since there are other options and won't risk having this bad of a meal for $25-$35 a person. Good luck Via Marina and hope you can get it...

The food was amazing and the drinks were good. The service, however, was way lacking. On the way to our table to drop off the waters. The server stopped at another table, meltdown and put our water glasses on the table. They were talking to with an older lady talking to her and our water glasses right underneath the other ladies’s mouth, I thought to myself for sure the server will not bring those water glasses to our table. When she’s done talking to them she’s just gonna leave those there. Boy was I wrong she didn’t bring them to us. Instead of. I said like some New water glasses please replaced at another table in front of another customer while she talk to you. The server looked annoyed at that point and walked away and brought us more water after they bring us our food. She waited almost 20 minutes to come and check on us to see how the food was. The food was great and there’s nothing wrong with it, but if there was an issue. We had to wait 20 minutes for her to come and talk to us and find out what was wrong?? It actually would’ve been nice to get some Parmesan cheese to put with the pasta but at that point it was too late. We order dessert and it took an extremely long time to get there. The restaurant was not that busy so I don’t understand why it took so long. The one issue I would give the food is that the tiramisu was garnished with a typical store-bought aerosol whipped cream. Not some fresh homemade fluffy...

I enjoyed the experience. Will be back again.

Both the interior and exterior are aesthetically pleasing, and the store itself was homey. My initial impression of the store was that you could smell the food as soon as you stepped in, and the authentic oven was a major plus.

I had the Margherita pizza with Bacon bits on top, and it was delicious. While it was a bit moist for my personal liking, the flavor was definitely prominent. The sizing was approximately the size of a large plate. The pricing was on the higher side, but the experience was of a higher caliber, so I wasn't upset about it. The meal was filling, with both my friend and I satisfied off just one pizza.

The service, while a bit slow, was kind and I felt comfortable in this establishment, like I was part of the family. (Though there was a time I was met with rough service from an older woman one time when I called. :,( ) The COVID-19 accommodations included social distancing and masks, and I felt safe, especially with the hosts, who were very warm and quick with their service.

New Addition I visited again to try the Diavola, the Carbonara, and one of the pastas: much better this time despite being to-go. Thanks guys. I recommend exploring menu items outside of just their pizzas, there...