After reading Thrillist’s notice on the newly Brazilian pizzeria joint, Bella Vista offering a special all-you-can-eat pizza at $9.99 for the month of May yesterday morning ($15/person after May), I knew I was going there for lunch. I wished I had waited a week…I don’t think Bella Vista was prepared for the turn out, and the owner’s mother died on Mother’s Day. Awful. Really. My condolences go out to him and his family.
So the way it’s set up is that you grab a table, and the waiter comes to each table with a new pizza. They have over 25 different kinds of pizzas! The problem is that by the time the waiter came to our table, there was no pizza left for the Hungry Hippo. Needless to say, Belle Vista is not a good choice if you have an hour for lunch. Within 20 minutes, I had one slice, the 4 Cheese (mozzarella, catupiry, provolone, and parmesan). It was pretty good, and I liked that the crust is extra thin.
My colleague Rous suggested we ditch the AYCE offer and order our own pizzas, and that was his wisest suggestion ever. We ordered the Calabreza (calabreza smocked sausage, mozzarella, and onions) and the Portuguesa (ham, green peas, egg, black olives, fresh onion and mozzarella).
Rous really liked the Portuguesa. I thought it was ok. The Calabreza was definitely better than the Portuguesa.
We also ordered the Carne Seca (dry beef, mozzarella, leeks, and black olives) and the Picanha (mozzarella, onions, green olives, and top sirloin cap).
The Carne Seca was terribly salty. I couldn’t handle another slice. The Picanha would have been better had they distributed the toppings more evenly…I was disappointed that the crusts weren’t as thin as the AYCE pizzas. The waiter said it was because the pizzas had more toppings…but then when he let us try the Florentine (tuna fish, mushroom, mozzarella, green olives, and onions), its crust was pretty thin as well…
I wasn’t a fan of the Florentine. I hate canned mushrooms. Our waiter let also gave us a slice of the Romeu e Julieta (mozzarella and guava pasta), one of their dessert pizzas. I surprisingly enjoyed it.
Sadly my favorite slice was the 4 cheese. I know it was an off day for Bella Vista and will definitely give them another try—most likely on a non-working day, and when I have a long run the following day…Oh, they have a small parking lot but you easily find parking on the streets.
Address: 10826 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA
Phone#: 310.558.2374
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