Taverna Vesuvio Pizzeria & Ristorante

I was reluctant to come here as I did not want to be let down by another subpar Italian restaurant in Fremont. After some persuading, I gave it a shot...I came as a party of 3 on a Friday at around 6pm-ish. Upon arrival, there was one person seated at an outdoor table and 2 people inside at another table. We were greeted by a gentleman, whom I will mention more about later in the review. My guests and I were offered sparkling water or regular, I chose the latter. If I remember correctly, we were informed of the daily special(s). Being that I'm a devout Vegetarian, I didn't find too many options for a full-meal and a salad was not going to suffice. I asked the waiter if they could make something completely Vegetarian for me, to which he assured me that they could.Shortly after placing our orders, some complimentary bread was placed on the table. It was very "doughy" pita-style bread that I wasn't a fan of, but that wasn't a deal-breaker for me. The other 2 members of my table and I received our drinks in a decent amount of time, so not much to complain about there. However, it was a bit slow for them to get their salad, which was a very basic salad...mind you, it was listed as one of their signature salads. After what I feel was way too long (I'll expound on that later), our main dishes finally arrived. The other 2 members of my party shared a pizza. I won't lie about what one the specific toppings was as I do not remember, but it wasn't on the pizza. The gentleman offered to make a new one, but they didn't oblige as they didn't want to wait any longer. They said that the pizza was "ok", but we're used to real New York pizza. As for myself, my special dish was pasta (I believe penne) with tomato sauce, Greek olives (a bit odd choice to have in a pasta dish, but it wasn't bad) and a few more different vegetables. The dish was tasty, but nothing extraordinary. My biggest issue with the dish was the amount; it was a shallow dish which did not fill me up and was not worth the price. My guests didn't allow me to pick up the tab, so I don't recall the exact price, but it was somewhere in the ballpark of $25-ish.To backtrack a bit, the restaurant filled up quite significantly during our visit; far more than they can handle. Now, for my explanation of some of the aforementioned allusions...The gentleman that greeted us earlier, whom was nice and a VERY hard-worker, was the host, order-taker/server, busser and cashier. I forgot to mention: those were his roles for EVERY table inside and outside of the restaurant. This is not how a business can operate and be successful. There are plenty of people looking for jobs and the owner needs to stop penny-pinching, hire more employees and assign designated roles to the employees. Although there were 2 young ladies working in the kitchen, they couldn't assist the gentleman as they themselves were overworked trying to get each guest their food.Quite frankly, I hate having to do this to a small business as Yelp reviews can make or break a person's livelihood. However, I tell it like it is.The 2 stars are for the man working extremely hard. Although I won't be returning, I really hope they can improve.

The service here was spot on. They forgot our stuff once, but, besides that, they got our stuff here in a good time. Booking a table via phone was easy enough, they even reserved a place nearer to the air conditioning because it was so hot.The bread was good and made to eat with the EVOO. The frittura gamberi e calamari was great. The whole table went through it really quickly. The parmigiana melanzane was seasoned correctly but was just alright. The lasagna was not good at all. The pasta was overcooked and oversalted. It was really tragic. The pizza was great, not too greasy. The affogato al caffe was good but melts quickly. The cannolis were nice but not very flavorful. The tiramisu was enjoyed by everyone. Very light and fluffy.

Our group of 8 stopped in here for lunch after hiking in Sunol. We called ahead and the table was set up for us before we arrived. The staff was super friendly and welcoming. The prices are a bit higher than I expected (~$24 for 12" pizza) for the location in a small shopping center between Starbucks and a sushi place, but the pizzas were delicious. I had the Campagnola pizza. The delicious crust was paper thin so best to eat it NY style, folded in half. Definitely worth a return trip when in the area.

The dough is fresh and the pizza taste authentic! Definitely different from your fast food blaze pizza. The owner is Friendly and we will definitely come again!

My family and I came here for our first time on Saturday night for dinner. The ambiance was nice and the service was great! The owner also came out to help us with items and he was very friendly. I tried to do the yelp checkin and it offered a free non alcoholic sparkling wine, but they didn't have that (a bit disappointing) so they offered to give us a free special item which was potato croquettes with a sauce and it was really good. They also gave us bread which was delicious, but they didn't end up giving us more even though we asked for it. We ordered two pastas and a pizza to all share and it was good portions (we had leftovers too!). Everything tasted so delicious and had a good amount of flavoring - we loved the pizza most. We decided on panna cotta for dessert and they gave us another one on the house - it was so yummy! It definitely was a bit pricey, but since that's usually standard for Italian we still enjoyed.

And yet again they did not disappoint! Lunch was delicious! Can't wait to come back... dinner too soon? The service is alway on point. Literally the taste of Naples right here in Fremont.

Food was delicious. The raviolis are all homemade and have a nice spring to their bite. The pizza reminded me of a classic magharita pizza from Italy. The bread was saucy and wet on the bottom. The service was very friendly and the restaurant had a very cozy vibe to it. Would definitely come here to try their other items.

Taverna Vesuvio was a really great lunch for me! We tried their ravioli from the restaurant week menu, arancini, and panna cotta. Also had bread with olive oil and vinegar while waiting for our food. The sauce for the spinach and cheese ravioli was excellent, "fall asleep after" excellent. And there was onion and mushrooms in the sauce, making it a whole meal. The arancini was great, it felt very authentic and I enjoyed the sauce and peas inside them. The outside was nice and crispy, and the sauce that came with them had a satisfying roasted tomato flavor. Now for the BREAD -- They make their own bread in house here, and it was delightfully warm and soft, with a thin crispy crust. They nailed it. I could have eaten it with olive oil and vinegar for my whole meal. .The panna cotta is a nice sister as well. It was soft and sweet and had sweet blueberry and syrup on top of it.The service here was kind and friendly, and pretty fast. We never had to wait long for anything, on a Sunday at lunchtime. It was a medium-busy day. Levy, who served us, was wonderful and made sure our food came out at the same time (he asked us if we wanted same-time or appetizers first), and fresh. Francesco, the chef, served up some amazing lunch. Thank you, Taverna Vesuvio team! Next time I go, I am going to have to try their pizza! It looked and smelled so good when I saw it being ordered at the restaurant. It looks like the real Italian style pizza as well.

I'm not in the Niles area often, but hey... some good Italian food could convince me to make a trip out of it. After visiting Rome, Italy (in 2017) I was really turned off by pasta in California... So keep that in mind when reading this review. The food here is decent, but I'm not sure about authentic. Wouldn't go out of my way to come here. FYI, no drink menu yet either.Here is what I tried during Fremont Restaurant Week:+ Arancini Siciliana (3/5): I was pretty shocked one order only came with 2 balls... These had great texture, but didn't have enough rice or meat to me. The addition of tomato paste was good, but overall - not worth the price.+ Mare In Tavola (3/5): Seafood and ravioli swimming in a creamy pastel blue sauce? That's why it's the Ocean in the Table! The sauce had good flavor, but I wish it had a thicker consistent. It didn't cling to the pasta well enough. The seafood in this dish was cooked perfectly though! The octopus was tender. However, I wish it came with more than just 3-4 ravioli...+ Fettucine Allo Scoglio (3/5): Good portions and the tomato sauce was well balanced. The pasta was clearly handmade, which is appreciated... but wow, it had a gritty texture to it. Not very enjoyable. The seafood was also quite overcooked and chewy.

As a descendant of an Italian family, I highly recommend Taverna vesuvio pizzeria Restaurant. Their food brings me back to the authentic flavors of my nonna's kitchen, with rich sauces, perfectly cooked pasta, and traditional recipes that feel like home.Beyond the food, the warm and welcoming atmosphere makes it a great place for a cozy dinner, a family meal, or a special occasion. If you're looking for a true taste of Italy, Vesubio is a place worth visiting!"*