Two hours later, we already had a snack at Memphis Blues and a couple beers from Biercraft. It was close to 9 pm when we headed back to Via Tevere, and although the line ups had gone down, our table was still not ready! It was not until almost half an hour later that we were actually seated. Had we stayed around, we would've sat there and waited over 2 hours for dinner. I would've starved and my temper would've flared. It wouldn't be a pleasant scene for anybody.
We already had our drinks and appies, so once we sat down, we just went straight to business. Authentic Neopolitan pizza was what we came for, so we ordered 5 kinds; prociutto e funghi, capricciosa, prociutto e rucola, vesuvio, and quatro formaggi. The prices were more than reasonable, ranging from $16-19 per pizza with quality ingredients. That's around the same price as many less-than-mediocre places serving frozen pizzas (but caling them "gourmet"), the kind I would never set foot back in again. I haven't had a pizza this good since Chef Daniel Costa, now infamous for his Corso32 restaurant, at a humble Italian cafe, Cafe de Copa back in Edmonton in 2007.
I had a chance to try them all, and aside from the quatro formagi, the components on all the pizzas were all similar. All tasty, nonetheless. The features that make Via Tevere's pizzas more amazing than most Neopolitan pizza joints out there are:
1. the dough, which they import the double zero flour directly from Italy. It's got a great texture with the right amount of air in the dough. It also only takes 60 to 90 s on average to fire in the oven, which was also imported from Italy.
2. the tomato sauce. It's freshly made and not processed out of a can from Costco.
3. Their fior di latte mozzarella that melt beautifully and creates this nice, chewy, gooey texture when you take that first bite.
4. the fact that they fill up their toppings. I've had many great pizzas which had a sparse wasteland of toppings at the centre, and that's a real deal breaker for me. Via Tevere is generous with their portions. They don't cheap out and that, my friend, is integrity.
It's near impossible to choose a favourite pizza here, but the fresh arugula really gives the pizza a refreshing kick. The quatro formaggi was also really something special that you wouldn't find at any other pizzeria. It had all the famous Italian cheeses, all with different flavours; fior di latte, ricotta, smoked provolone, and parmigiano. Cheese lovers won't be disappointed.
Whether you have trouble deciding, or you want to try all their desserts, the nice folks have figured that out for you. Tris di dolci is their dessert trio sampler that let you try all 3 desserts; flour-less almond and walnut chocolate cake, fritter topped with Nuttella, and tiramisu. I'm a huge fan of tiramisu and this one was really light, creamy and not too sweet. The fritter was melt-in-your-mouth amazing and it reminded me of churros when they're done right. The torta caprese would be perfect if you're on gluten-free diet.
It's been over a week since I dined at Via Tevere and I still dream about their pizzas everyday. One of the best pizzeria in Vancouver, by far. I will not wait another 2 hours, though. Going when they first open, or around 9:30 pm after drinking and snacking would be best for quick seating.
