pizza vesuvio

nice little italian restaurant hidden away at the tygerwaterfalls.

was craving pizza so i went on zomato to look for great pizza places around the northern subs. i found the pizza vesuvio who was 1st on my list and was rated a 4.1. i decided to go there and the place looks like a very small intimate restaurant.

overall experience the pizza was good i enjoyed it not the best pizza i have had but was nice having a pure italian pizza without having too much stuff on like these take away pizza places. i’ve read a lot of the reviews about how great they pasta is. so i will definitely comebackto try that and maybe then i will give them a higher score.

so if you want to enjoy a pure italian night out try pizza vesuvio the place screams italian. italian owners, italian waiters, italian food, and italian wine.

ps make a booking before you go there. it gets booked out on weekends. looks like it's a very popular place.

we found this lovely italian style ristorante in the heart of tygervalley, lovely decor, we were seated at a small table, bit uncomfortable, service was slow and not attentive, but we loved the food, starter, insulata caprese salad soft, delicious mozzarella cheese, my companion had the mushroom risotto, loved it, lamb shanks average, but pizza was simply delicious, mouthwatering, highly recommended, but booking essential if you want good seating...good experience all in all, will bebackindeed...

focaccia was crispy, and the dough recipe was beyond amazing. i’m definitely comingbackto try the pizzas.

could not find any fault with the cannelloni or the filled calamari. calamari was fresh, portions generous and freshly made pasta was to die for.

tiramisu was light yet flavorful. will definitely be back!

avoid this restaurant!!! it is very expensive with mediocre food and shocking service, only surpassed by the unprofessional attitude from our waitress (the daughter of the owner), her boyfriend server(who unceremoniously told us that our qualms with the food "is how they make their food") and questionably qualified kitchen staff(except for the front of house manager who did his best and acted professionally to address our bad experience).

sadly, this restaurant has not lived up to its reputation when we had dinner there tonight. one person in our group ordered gnocchi was given the extra chicken which another person ordered for his pizza (which the waitress noticed after the food had been standing under the warmer for almost 10 minutes-which was quite evident when i tasted my almost luke warm soggy pizza). they had to prepare a new pizza with the chicken whilst we waited for the food still standing under the warmer. my wife's super expensive r 140 wild boar burger was also not hot anymore. i specifically asked for a pizza to be brought straight from the oven (thinking that, like any good restaurant, they would not simply pop itbackin the oven but remake it fresh seeing that it costs r 120). my wife's burger, unsurprisingly, was also heated up in stead of being re-prepared fresh. it was a forgettable over seasoned patty. fortunately the gnocchi with the gratuitously non-ordered added chicken was edible. the other pizza, now with its extra chicken (at r 140!) was up to the usual standard because it succeeded in escaping the extensive warmer treatment to which the other food was subjected. we ordered three cups of cappucino and one caffe latte. two were cold when they arrived, one the right strength and the other just coloured milk and badly weak. intent on not disappointing us with the the lack of professionalism, the two cold coffees were simply heated up in the frother (proudly proclaimed by our argumentative waitress when i questioned the reason for heating it up in the microwave-the point escaping her that the mechanism of heating it up not being the issue). i requested fresh cappucino to be prepared. the two cups of weak cappucino were whisked away and replaced by the bill (with the two whisked away cups of cappucino never seen again still added to the bill-admittedly removed when pointed out to the front of house manager).

delicious pizza, it does justice to original italian neapolitan pizza! definitely come back, already been there twice now and still enjoying the crust and sauce of the marghareta pizza.

btw, try to book before hand specially if you go in the evening coz you might end up goingbackhome without a pizza, as they just have certain quantity of dough for the shift. better book!

◾good/average service
◾great pizza

stop reading this review right now. get in your car, drive over to pizza vesuvio and taste the best pizza known to humankind.
 

i’m not kidding. i’ve never had pizza that’s as good as theirs, and i eat a lot of pizza.
this place is an italian gem. the owner and staff are italian, so you know you’re getting proper, authentic italian food. the service is also very good. 

the vibe is very relaxed and intimate during the week, but over the weekends it can get quite rowdy. you have been warned. 

now, i went there literally twice in one week i was so impressed. on the first visit i had the pappardelle pomodoro pasta. you can really taste the home-cooked love and the fact that everything is prepared from scratch.

upon the second visit, i had the pizza napolitana and that is the pizza that changed my life. it’s a ‘simple’ pizza that showcases the classic flavour combination of (proper) mozzarella, tomato and basil. it’s my favourite pizza and their rendition is my favourite.

i will gobacksoon and try very hard not to just order my favourite, but rather some of the other amazing sounding dishes on their menu.

in conclusion, i hereby officially declare pizza vesuvio’s pizza the best in the cape. well done!

this place is absolutely perfect. run by authentic italians and yes maybe they need and extra waiter on busy nights but maybe you just need to actually spend time with your loved ones in the super cosy restaurant. i have comebackto this place countless times and referred all my friends because i have yet to taste such amazing italian food (even after being to rome).

gone from my favourite local place to the worst italian place......... except for 2 servers the others are rude.... food is slipping, soggy pizzas (as its left on the hot plate for 15mins - we sat there staring it at) then when telling the waitress she threw a baby fit. her boyfriend server came over and picked a fight with me then claiming “they make their pizzas soggy deal with it.” coffee was terrible, sent itbackand they simply reheated it, told them we expected to have a new cup and they refused saying they will charge us again. asked to speak to the owner and then was simply handed a bill and refused to speak to us.... billed us for the coffee even though they took it away to reheat it. they have also significantly increased their prices..... if you pay 140 bucks for a pizza you expect it to be good not worse than a romans pizza. sayonara and will never bebackeven if i am paid..... save yourself the trip and go somewhere else they obviously don't need your business, especially they way they treat their customers who have legitimate complaints

finally a place that know how to make proper italian pizza!! the pizza base was amazing, and the cheese was properly stringy; just like in italy! be warned - you need to book in advance! went here with my family on a friday night, the restaurant was very busy so quite loud. the music was also very pleasant adding to the italian ambience. service was slightly slow, but otherwise attentive. only criticism was that we were placed at the table closest to the kitchen, so we overheard all the kitchen talk and banter. the waiters and waitresses were having some sort of argument right behind us and one of them lost his temper and was hitting tables and throwing things around - ruined the mood for us and made things rather awkward in the beginning. other than that we will definitely bebackagain, perhaps on a more quiet evening.

best pizza in western cape!
i have been comingbackto this place since 2011, and they never disappoint. the 40 min drive from ct is worth it. it is a weak 5, if only they had a better wine and beer menu, but their pizza is just so good they deserve a top score.

absolutely brilliant food. the dishes we had were all very good. really great quality.

i think we caught the place at that awkward time between lunch and dinner, so it seemed a little disorganised and overly laid back. i'm looking forward to goingbackagain, at a more mainstream time.

updated....

this is the ultimate italian! every time we come, it's better then the time before. brilliant!

i might be biased as my 1st date with my amazing boyfriend was here, but the food was amazing! the combinations of pizza toppings and the whole ambiance and amazing service is refreshing. i love this little gem -i will bebackas much as i can and will recommend it to anyone - #bellissimo

this restaurant brings memoriesbackof our holiday in italy. we had the ossobucco pasta, it was delicious. a bit too much carrots. the mare bosco was very tasty. the flourless chocolate cake for dessert is highly recommended.

i am a zomato foodie meetup veteran by now yet i am constantly surprised by the quality of the food out there. pizza vesuvio touched my special place (my heart you perve) with their sumptuous authentic italian dining. the atmosphere is rustic and homely which i really like. its almost like eating at your fat italian friends house. eyes wide as his mom serves a hub cap sized plate of delicious pasta. mama mia!
the starters were great, the focaccia being my favourite. so simple yet delicious. the muscles are fresh from the sea and you can tell. the ham and smoked mozzarella was incredible. ham and cheese will never be the same! then came giant plates of pasta. mama falco would have been proud. the creamy sauce worthy of the perfectly cooked pasta it embraced. now for the dish they proudly used in their name, the pizza! we were treated to a short display of a pizza being properly hand thrown and the thinking behind the technique. very cool. i love authentic food. things done properly get me going. i smashed the pizza with glee and as i sat waiting to descend into a food coma the highlight of my meetup came out. a dessert tray. it looked good you know but i wasn't that excited because i was pretty full. one dessert caught my eye though, the honey glazed ricotta cheesecake. sweet baby cheesus. all my brain cells fired at once with one message, put more of that in your face hole now. glorius cheesecake, where art though? i've got 73 quid in mybackburner that i was saving for milky bars but i'm gonna wax the lot on this heavenly goodness. this stuff is italian crack. how is it legal? i can't pay my rent now. my friends and family haven't heard from me in weeks. i don't even wash my face in fear of losing one crumb to the dreaded area that is not the inside of my mouth. beware the cheese addled derelict i have become. anyways please excuse me while i go deprave myself in a dark alley to get my next hit. i regret nothing.

to find a good italian restaurant in the northern suburbs can be a challenge, but pizza vesuvio hits the spot with every aspect.
the decor and general feel of the interior is simply amazing. lot's of classic old furniture, and you feel right at home when walking in there. the wood fire pizza oven is visible from almost anywhere you are seated. service is personal and effective.

they have an extensive printed menu, with daily specials written against the wall inside the restaurant. during lunchtime, we were treated with various tapas style menu items to try out. one of them was their seafood platter, with large mussels, prawns, calamari tubes and langoustines. the quality of seafood on this plate was outstanding and you could taste the freshness.
the second platter was the antipasto italiano, with parma ham, salami, roasted butternut and smoked provola. really outstanding and highly recommended.

i also had the opportunity to try out some of their home made pizza and pasta dishes. again fresh and very authentic. i have been to italy before, and this is as good as it gets.
prices are reasonable too and they have items on their menu for pretty much every taste. highly recommended and the perfect spot for a good italian lunch. and i will bebackto try my personal italian favourite, osso bucco.