Pizzeria Salvy

Knocked this review one point for the location and difficulty of finding it! I helped plan an event for the University of Pittsburgh at Pizzeria Salvy, and since it was a reception style event, I did not get to order individually. Salvy was a perfect location since during the day, students were touring the Comcast Center. However, being a non-Comcast employee, I had a hard time navigating my way to the restaurant, finding that signage was quite poor in the other levels of the Comcast Center. Since it is in more of a business area, Salvy isn't necessarily in a go-to location for most people, but since it is Marc Vetri, I'd be willing to travel, even without this event as an excuse.Nevertheless! I stumbled my way to the restaurant, and even though it's odd in the basement of the Comcast Center, the ambience is fun. The pizza oven is front and center, brightly adorned with colorful tiles, and the large bar surrounding it as well as the minimalistic yet modern decor makes for a welcoming environment. I love the featuring of all of Marc's cookbooks, and I love the heavy emphasis on his dad Salvy's glasses throughout the spot. Our menu was preselected for us, but I did get to enjoy a variety of menu items. For apps, I particularly enjoyed the broccolini with hot honey and pecorino and Sal's meatballs which incorporated ricotta for some lightness. For pizza, the zucchini was my favorite - the mint alongside the zucchini and stractiatella created a very fresh and seasonal dish. I stuck to water since we were with students, but colleagues enjoyed their spritzes.Overall, Salvy perfectly hosted our group given the location, and the food was solid, as one would expect as a product of Marc. They were easy to work with and hospitable to our relatively large group! I 100% need to revisit to experience the typical ambience and order my own selection from the menu. While I wish the location were different, at least I know how to make it there now!

My friends and I came here today for lunch as we actually had a time where we could eat here together and had wanted to for some time. I'd go for 4 1/2 stars and rounded up today. The hours of operation are a bit off as there's only minimal hours for lunch and then they close and reopen for limited dinner hours on select days. They are closed on the weekends and Mondays.We started off with an outstanding Manhattan, Sal's Spritz, and Papagallo. We then bought for sharing the meatball appetizer. We were told it only came with two meatballs but could purchase a third for $7 so we did so we could each have one. Each of us enjoyed our meatball, but also thought that we could make better ones from our Mama's recipe and that they were not worth $7 each. However, our Fiorella (see my review!) sausage and roasted pepper pizza was excellent. The mozzarella and consistency of the dough with the right amount of crunch really hit the spot. The pizzas are sold as 12" individual sized but today all pizzas were available also as 18" family size which is what we did. It's definitely better than most pizzas I've had but not the "run a marathon to must have this pizza" pizza. For dessert, we went with a chocolate sorbetto which was the hit of the day with so much rich chocolate flavor, and a gelati fior de latte - orange creamsicle, which was like an ice milk. We finished off with some cappuccino and black decaf which is LaColombe (?) brand and was quite tasty.For a "higher end" restaurant situated in the Comcast Center pining for the business lunch crowd, I felt our server in his blue jeans server outfit did not match the level desired of the restaurant. However, he was very attentive and quick to answer our questions. Prices are on the high side but it's Center City. The restaurant seems to be fitted into an open space with planters and string lights designating the boundaries of the place. They take reservations but my friends and I were able to walk up for a table.$168 including tax and tip for three guests. Three cocktails, meatball appetizer + $7 for an additional meatball, one 18" pizza, two desserts to share, a cappuccino and one decaf. Great conversation and good time for all!

Very solid flavors and pizza. The salads are quite large and flavorful to me. The onion pie was the one that stood out just like the onion crepe at Vetri. Location is in the basement, but still has a nice ambience. Service was quick and efficient.

Off the beaten path in the lower level of the Comcast building . We had a great meal here . We were so torn to order pizzas there were so many great options. We wanted to try literally the entire menu. We started with some great craft cocktails the ol fashioned and the Sal's spritz both booze forward and delicious. We started with meatballs which were so good a nod to Sal. They also had an amazing cheese steak Stromboli special. We had to get this. It was so so good. The shaved steak caramelized onions and the perfect ratio of cheese baked inside the Stromboli. We also got the standard Margherita pizza as we wanted a classic pie for our first visit. We also had the salad special. The food came out hot and delicious service was excellent. Definitely go here. Worth the trip .... Not your typical restaurant look but well worth it. All in 162.02 for two entrees 2 apps and 2 drinks.

Excellent meatballs! Very good pizza (especially the onion pie and the sausage pie) and salad (though the lovely tongs aren't functional for serving salad except teeny piece at a time). Solid cocktails (loved the spritz), excellent budino, and kind service. But the ambiance is...off. This place is sitting in the middle of what looks like a painfully white shiny shopping mall hallway, with some effort to carve out a little space for a restaurant but really no meaningful separation. The result is an airport restaurant feel, and a jarring sense - maybe worse at dinner time- that something is off... It starts when you try to find the restaurant, as there aren't any signs (at least none we could find) at street level - inside or outside! You go into the Comcast Center and see nothing but security and escalators. Take a sharp left and go down that escalator and you're in a hallway that looks like a bad shopping mall or airport- and around the corner is Salvy's. There are severe looking security posted out front and a host trying to appear welcoming. Yes there's a lovely pizza oven and a dining room aimed at feeling like an Italian living room-- the banquettes and family photos are nice and elsewhere would help. But it's just not enough, especially if seated facing the blindingly white shiny "airport." Music ricochets off those walls making it hard to hear and the security guards just ... watch. We went for dinner because Craig LaBan called this is a hidden gem, and we don't work downtown. The food was good but not worth the hassle of parking downtown, and definitely undermined by the setting.My take is that this place should be revised to serve as Vetri's airport concept. It's perfect for that setting. And if it's working in Comcast, stay there too and just do lunch. OR-- engage a designer to use curtains or something else to separate the restaurant and make it feel cozy and add proper signage to help people get there.Fiorella is about 100 times better than Salvy, I'd go almost any distance to be there, and I hope it expands so it's easier to get into. Love Vetri's food- this place just needs work.

Have been following this place for a while now, watching them create this great place. Once I saw reservations were open, I booked for four of us. We arrived and were immediately taken care of. We asked to grab some photos first, and then we were seated. Asparagus and meatballs were ordered with the Ode to Sweet Onion Crepe and Fiorella Sausage + Peppers. I also went with the Calabrian Margarita with a fantastic salt/red pepper rim. Meatballs came out first (without bread, but it looks like it is coming out with bread now... It needed bread to mop up that goodness). The meatballs were so good, and I saw them say to try the asparagus on social media, so we did. Chilled asparagus was just perfect. The Fiorella Sausage pizza came out first, and you could hear the crunch as you pulled a slice. After one bite, we decided to order two more pizzas. The Kennet Square Maitake and the Clam Pie. The crust was thinner than I like but by far the best thin crust I've ever had. I usually prefer a thicker dough, almost pan pizza style, but I was not disappointed. The chew was great, and the combinations of flavors were familiar. We love Fiorella, and on our anniversary one year, we had the sweet onion crepe with truffle fondue. I think my two favorites were the Clam pie and the Kennet Square Maitake. The garlic hit me first on the clam pie, served with a lemon to squeeze as you wish. Just possibly the best bite of the night. Loved the Kennet Square too, great mushroom flavor. The staff said the clam pie was their favorite. Strawberry Almond Gelati and Italian Rainbow Cake were our desserts. We took some slices home, enjoyed the ending, and we were then off. A great night out and definitely worth it. Get the clam pie. I'm wondering if they will switch flavors out every now and then, would be curious to see if something else makes me drive into the city again so soon. Best of luck to all of the staff here. Everyone was friendly. Dan King seated us and chatted with us after the meal. Made us feel very welcome and can't wait to be back!

Enjoyed a weeknight dinner with a group of friends at Pizzeria Salvy, which is tucked away on the basement-level of the Comcast II building. Light filters down to the restaurant through the atrium and the hallways are wide, white, and well-lit.We started with a sip of complimentary gazpacho and an order and a half of Sal's Meatballs (meatballs, tomato sauce, whipped ricotta di bufala, basil), which was one of the group's favorite dishes of the night--those were some great meatballs!We went pizza all the way, sharing the South Philly Margherita (mozzarella, basil, tomato sauce), Clam Pie (clams, garlic, provolone, parsley, roasted peppers, lemon), Fiorella Sausage + Peppers (Fiorella sausage, roasted peppers, mozzarella, locatelli), and the Kennett Square Maitake (Maitake mushrooms, mozzarella, fontina, scallion oil). Everyone had different opinions about their favorite pie, which I think means that they were all equally delicious. The one that had the most discussion was the clam pie, as it was all of our first time having clams on pizza--I, for one, enjoyed it greatly (I am also the person who almost always orders clam linguini if it's offered). It also had the most topping per square inch over the other pies (many wished the pies had an increased topping ratio).We shared a Butterscotch Budino, which was small, but tasty. We did wish that it had another textural element (e.g., a crunchy bottom).Service was terrific. The prices are a bit high, but overall it was a nice meal!

First floor of Comcast building, open to the lobbyFriend made a reservation and is a big fan of the owner.Meatballs were delicious, clam pizza was also tasty. Italian dessert was incredibly dense.Service was great.Next time I'd try other items

Great place for lunch, many of the local folks talk highly of this place. Really enjoyed the pizza!

My friend and I came here for lunch on a Thursday afternoon and had a great time! We got there right when it opened and were seated at the counter - it was fun to see the pizzas being made and cooked right in front of us.My friend ordered the special pizza which had zucchini and straciatella. I ordered the Ode to Sweet Onion Crepe (onion, gruyere, truffle, and parmigiano fonduta). We swapped slices and both pizzas were amazing! They were a nice portion size too so we were both able to take home leftovers.I can't wait to come back and try some of the other pies!