Viva Napoli Restaurant & Pizzeria — Restaurant in Tampa

I just got back from Italy, where I ate at the #6 pizzeria in the world and #62 in Italy. I’ve also eaten at several of the original best pizzerias in Naples, Italy. That being said, this pizza is just as good as those!!! The crust is unbelievably fluffy and flavorful, and the toppings are as good as you can probably buy outside of Italy. The Montepulciano wine is also top notch and less than $10 a glass. The chef is from Naples, so this is truly authentic Neapolitan style pizza! The dining room also features a huge hand-painted mural of Naples that creates an Italian ambiance, if not for the lighting of a strip mall restaurant.

The strange thing is that this restaurant is fairly empty, even for weekend dinners, and I think I know why… The family who owns the restaurant, who are the only people you interact with, seem to be from India or thereabouts, and don’t seem to know anything about the authentic Italian restaurant they bought. For example, the dishes are written on the menu in Italian, but the waitress had to watch me point at the menu multiple times because she didn’t seem understand the spoken names of the dishes or the only wine they offer that even resembles the word "Montepulciano". A server should always know the items on their menu, even if it’s not in their native language. They also play pop music with Indian sounds and provide the kind of awkward service you might expect to get in an authentic Indian restaurant.

The problem is not that they are from a completely different culture, it’s that they’re not even trying to embrace the culture of the restaurant they bought. They've got an authentic Italian pizzaiolo who makes world class Neapolitan pizza in an authentic wood burning pizza oven from Naples. They just need to complete that authentic Italian experience by playing modern Italian (or even American) music and learning how to pronounce the foods on their own menu. These are easy and free changes that could be made tomorrow. Step 2 would be learning how to provide better service and dimmer yellow lighting in the dining room. Step 3 would a trip to Naples to learn the culture of their business and what else would make their restaurant more authentic. I hope they at least make Step 1 changes ASAP because I really don't want the best Neapolitan pizza in Tampa go out...

Pleased to have a bistro, restaurant- pizzeria, (with atmosphere, Vibes that match it's name), arrive in our South Tampa neighborhood! The dim lighting, murals painted surrounding the inside dining area, bistro tables, definitely provided a unique dining experience in this part of Tampa. When we arrived it was difficult to find a parking space. At 6:30ish, the stores that surround it were all closed, every spot taken, so definitely popular already, I ordered a custom for one, Margarita white cream base pizza with spinach tomato, ricotta mozzarella, and it was absolutely delightful, fresh and enough left over for two for lunch the next day! For an appetizer, we had, calamari, everyone at the table said it was some of the best they'd had, cooked to perfection not chewy, not overdone just right. Our second appetizer, bruschetta was some of the freshest I've had. Someone in my party had veal, and said it wasn't bad although he said "my wife makes the best veal!" so maybe he was biased? With the appetizers, shared bottle of wine, and a few other cocktails and entrees we spent about $35 to $40 per person. Viva Napoli restaurant and pizzeria has been mentioned by many friends, was highly recommended, intrigued this made it our chosen spot to try, this weekend, for a family dinner, clearly the word has spread and continues to .. I personally highly recommend their Pizza, the crust was not doughy, or too crispy, and it was just as delicious the next day! Several other signature Italian,...

I don’t understand all the good reviews of this place. I thought it was awful. Our waitress spoke little to no English. We had to point to things on the menu to order. We ordered appetizers first. I wanted calamari, they were out of it and it was only 7:00pm. So we ordered the arancini. Complete salt bombs. Horrible. Then the waitress comes to take our entree order. I gesture to my wife to order first. She takes my wife’s order and leaves. So I have to get up and chase her down so I can order. Then my wife’s order comes out, but nothing for me. So I wait and wait. Finally flag someone down to ask about mine, and I’m told 2 minutes. After about 5 minutes, I ask again and I’m told 4 minutes. Finally, it comes out. I ordered lobster ravioli and it was just mush. No hint of lobster at all. Just pasta and sauce in a big mush. My wife had a pizza that was grossly undercooked, but she said it tasted okay. Nobody came to check on us to see if everything was okay. When we were done, nobody came to ask if we wanted anything else, or even bring our check. I had to go the front and ask for the check. Just a terrible experience. No not go...