Restaurant Review: Venezia Pizzeria and Restaurant

I’ve eaten at Venezia Pizzeria and Restaurant (1002 E Hillsborough Ave, Tampa, FL 33604,(813) 374-9181) now a few times, as it’s a real bargain especially if you’re looking for a pizza. Across from the Taco Bus on Hillsborough, Venezia has only been open for a couple of months but is starting to attract attention.

The atmosphere is very casual, a bit like the downscale Italian places you’d expect in a college town. There’s little accents of class, such as the flowers in a vase full of rice, but it’s supposed to be a place for a quick casual meal, and it succeeds in that.

Their lunch specials are pretty exceptionally priced. For $3.75, you get two large slices of pizza and a 24 oz drink. I don’t think you can get more food on a value menu, even at the crappiest of fast food places.

So the price is good, but how’s the quality? Surprisingly good. The pizza is better than what I’d expect, being on par with a place like Papa Johns in quality. The ingredients are fresh, the crust is just greasy enough to make you love it and piping hot, providing a great substrate for the mound of cheese, which is plentiful. I’ve had two different kinds of pizzas from here (one supreme and one vegetarian) and both were very good.

One thing I really enjoy about the pizza is how fresh everything tastes. The ingredients are large chunks of meat and vegetables, not this processed diced crap that I’ve seen on pizzas before. The cheese also tastes very fresh and there is a lot of it. When I saw that a large pizza was only $12 with so many toppings, I about fell down. That’s such a good deal, especially when I’m used to paying over $20 for a similar pizza at other local pizza places.

If you don’t like pizza, don’t dismiss Venezia. They also carry standard bar-food item, jamaican meat pies, sandwiches and subs. There’s really a little something for everyone and it won’t break the bank.

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