Pizza Vinoteca

Go to Pizza Vinoteca for their pizzas /​flatbreads! The pizzas are grilled, which gives the crust a nice crunch. They are also super thin — which is how I love my pizzas.
Get the Nduja Meatball and the Jowlciale if you love meat. Both had great flavor. The Jowlciale was pretty spicy.
The small sizes are more of a flatbread size. The medium pizzas are round but not very big. However, I like the smaller sizes, which allows me to try different ones.
Don’t get the salads, especially the arugula one. The arugula was old and bitter. The dressing and the three shaved slices of Parmesan cheese did not take away the bitterness.
For dessert, try the bombolini which are donuts filled with different flavored fillings. We got the Mexican chocolate and the dulce de leche. They were delish!
Service was attentive and the place was huge and airy. I liked the modern feel of it. Great for lunch and dinner.

I have now been to Pizza Vinoteca twice and both times I have had a very pleasant experience. For me the location is unbeatable, it is right outside my apartment building, but it is also very close to Ballston Metro (4 or so blocks).
The first time we went was during a big snow storm and it was the only place still open, perfect time to try out a new place. The décor is modern and upscale, fits in very well with the architecture of the area. The first time we went we got the brusselsprout pizza and the Hawaiian pizza. Both were excellent and seemed like ingredients were quality and preparation was careful. We also tried the homemade sodas but weren’t really wow’d.
The second time we went was for happy hour (M-​F 4 – 7 at the bar only). All small pizza was half price and there were slight discounts on drinks. We tried the mushroom pizza and a custom pizza with pepperoni and sausage. Again very delicious.
Overall I think this is a great restaurant and will definitely return. I haven’t seen the place really busy so I hope more people try it out. It’s refreshing to have something that doesn’t feel like a chain here in Ballston.

So I’ve only ordered delivery from here and was majorly bummed. Let me preface this review by stating that when we ordered (what we thought was) pizza, we had been day drinking and were drunk and starving. We didn’t bother to read anything in depth or Unilocal this place, so we happily ordered a medium pizza… Well, as other reviewers have stated, Pizza Vinoteca serves flat breads, not pizzas. And a medium was quite small, and quite flat, and quite sauce-​less, and honestly relatively flavorless. The meatball app was the highlight of this meal — good tasting marinara sauce and flavorful meat. We dipped the flat bread pieces in whatever marinara was left to gain some flavor.
If you’re looking for a nice, light, flat bread perhaps try this place out. But if you’re on a pizza hunt, opt for an actual pizza place instead.
Plus side to everything: the delivery was very fast! And everything was still warm when it arrived. Can’t hate on that aspect.

New to DC (from NJ/​NYC area), thought I had found my go-​to Italian delivery place. Feeling excited to try this new place out (did not set high expectations). I order an eggplant parm dinner and a spring onion pizza. The pizza was good, the eggplant was terrible, and here are the details:
1) I specifically asked for some bread on the side of my eggplant parm. (don’t care if I was charged extra or not). Bread never came.
2) Delivery took 1 hour and 15minutes, ok not a big deal. Maybe the place was just busy.
3) This is what really blew me away– the eggplant parm dinner (which comes in a container of about 4“x3″) was not even breaded! Being an eggplant parm fan (having authentic jersey, new york, long island egg plant, I have NEVER had raw/​slightly cooked eggplant just slapped around in marinara sauce. On top of this fiasco, they gave me a side of crushed bread crumbs? Was this to sprinkle on top of my slightly cooked eggplant? I am simply dumbfounded by this.
All in all, I was really hoping this could be my new delivery spot, and the pizza was actually pretty good (although on the pricey end). Unfortunately, I won’t be coming back.
*update: a couple hours after posting this review, the restaurant reached out to me to solve the problem. Now that’s what you call customer service. I didn’t even reach out to them, and I wasn’t expecting anything in return. +1 star for the attentiveness. I will give them another shot and update this review accordingly.

I really wanted to like Pizza Vinoteca.
The smoked salmon breakfast pizza piqued my interest, so I went for brunch one Sunday. They were out of that pizza, which was a bummer, but it happens. So I opted for the crock signora instead. It was described as «brioche, bechamel, fontina, prosciutto, arugula, fried egg.» Sounds amazing. And I would have probably loved it, except for one big problem.
In addition to all of those ingredients, it also had a LOT of horseradish (or some kind of horseradish sauce or flavor). That’s an incredibly polarizing ingredient. It needs to be listed on the menu if it’s going to be such a strong flavor in a dish. My boyfriend actually had to send his back. I tried to scrape most of the sauce off, but definitely was not able to get rid of the flavor.
Between that and our inattentive waitress, I probably won’t be back to try the dinner menu. Just overall was not very impressed – and I really did want to like it.

We ordered delivery for lunch at our hotel from Pizza Vinoteca yesterday. And we have already been back today. :D I think that says it all!
Delivery was so fast. And everything fresh, warm and delicious.
The pizza’s were long, the bread was different and the toppings were distributed in small clusters on top, so at first sight we didn’t really know what to think. But our worries were quickly put to shame — it was absolutely delicious!
We had two House pizza’s with extra topping of potato and meatballs respectively. They were great. Today we ordered the Ndjuja Meatball pizza as well. It wasn’t as great as the others.
To top the pizza experience off though. The most delicious thing as well, was the tuscan-​style «Bomboloni» doughnuts — they are definitely not healthy. But oh so delicious! I had to contain myself not ordering more today.
All in all, highly recommended delivery place (I obviously don’t know how it looks like at the establishment)!

*** 3.5 stars ***
I came on Pi day for their supposed $ 3.14 pizzas which was kind of false advertising. I got a grilled chicken with peppers which was much better than the flambee tarte and also hot which was nice. However, the «discounted» pizza was still $ 12. The pizza is pretty decently good but it isn’t wowing to deserve the prices. Parmesan Cheese costs $ 3!!! Last time I came to happy hour, I think the «discounted» liquor drinks were like $ 7 or something. I hate to see what regular price is.
All in all, I wouldn’t go out of my way for this place. Decent happy hour place for beer and I guess pizza if you’re splurging. Just too many cheaper places around with better pizza like Valentino’s in Alexandria, Wiseguy’s in DC, or &Pizza which is wayyyyy cheaper.

I ordered delivery (via Seamless), after arriving home from a 4 hour road trip. I’m starving. I ordered the grilled BROCCOLI.
Well, the last time I checked, broccoli didn’t turn white upon grilling. I hate cauliflower. I’m disappointed.

First time on a Friday. Very clean, cool atmosphere. Good food, good alcohol selection. Pizza was great and some good topping selections. Def will go back.

I ordered delivery from Pizza Vinoteca, and was disappointed. Delivery was actually quite fast and my food was still warm, so that was appreciated. But the overall, the food was not good.
We ordered the orechiette and cheese, house pizza, and Mexican chocolate bomboloni. The orechiette and cheese had no cheese, too much oil, and some of the pasta was underdone. I wish I had taken a picture, but I didn’t. The pizza is, as others have stated, a grilled flatbread. Nothing wrong with that. However, the whole dish was flavorless and oily. The crust was grilled well, but it was too hard. It was as though someone had taken a crisp cracker bread and slathered some cheese and sauce on it. The bomboloni was the highlight. It’s a small donut with a chocolate filling. I ordered Mexican chocolate, but am fairly sure that I got milk chocolate, because there was no spice to it. However, it was delicious and I could see myself visiting the place (because I work in Ballston) for one of those. But that would be it.

This review is for their «pizza and bombolini cooking class» that was advertised on Living Social.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a great experience! I arrived a little early, so we were seated at the bar and had a drink while the staff prepped the food in the back of the house. Each couple was staggered into the kitchen to prepare your own individual pizza and bonbolini. They had us wash our hands, put on aprons, then get to work. We were allowed to not only get whichever toppings we chose for our pizza, but also to taste each ingredient before committing to our selections. Each pizza was then placed into an 800 degree grill for a few minutes then additional toppings such as parm, basil and arugula were added. It was delicious — I’ve never been here before, so I was surprised their pizzas are more like flatbreads that are quite crusty and thin. Fortunately, that is just the type of crust I favor. The dough is made with red wine and it was the perfect vehicle for the quality ingredients which are all made in-​house. While the pizza was delicious, the tuscan style donuts were the real winner here. They are similar to elephant ears, except filled with custard and rolled in various types of sugar. The mexican chocolate bonboloni is to die for. Rich, bittersweet chocolate, with a touch of spice.
Lastly, because my friend is a nut for ice cream floats, we chose to order a creamsicle gelato float with an added shot of rum. The rum and soda were served separately so we could mix it into our gelato at our discretion. Because the sodas are all made with such creative thought, our creamsicle gelato float was much more than orange soda and vanilla ice cream. The citrus soda is comprised of yuzu, ginger, and blood orange flavors and was divine.
Before we left, my friend and I were already thinking about what other pizza to order when we come back again. Loved the staff attentiveness and the quality of the foods (and drinks!) served. We’ll be back!

Four of us had dinner on a Friday night. I was so very pleasantly surprised at this place.
My friend started with a bourbon based drink I will order next time!
Salads were great. Three people got the beet salad which consisted of quarters of both golden and red beets on top of slices of persimmons. I had the Caesar with anchovies. They gave me a lot of anchovies. Lettuce was fresh and crisp. The grated cheese on top was of a high quality.
The pizza was delicious. Each one tasted very different. I loved the crust and shape. I had a classic pizza with arugula. One friend ordered the eggplant parm but they were out of it. One friend was able to get Gluten free crust.
And who in the world has a $ 2 dessert?!! Seriously, no saying no to that! I got the dulce de lece filled bombolini; I did not share. I want to try the chocolate one next time.
Service was v good. Loved the open airy feeling of the place too. I’ll be back!

Ok I want to give this place 3.5, but since I cannot, and I wanna leave room for improvement, I give 3.
The ambience is 3.5 for winters and probably more for summers. That’s because it’s very modern and black n white which makes it feel even colder. I like trendy places but lack of color kills me. That can actually add on some touches to make it warmer, though.
The food was great, We ordered flatbread pizza and got the one with chili pesto, and one pepperoni sausage. Tastes really good and the crust was flaky. And the price was reasonable because it was happy hour and half price.
The service was unbalanced. Really nice and friendly staff but a bit slow. Or maybe because they just opened up. I asked for a cup of hot water which I never got. So we were a group of +10 at the bar, so I dont blame them much. I will def go back to try more food and looking forward to modify my rating and bump it up :)

I was pretty excited to watch this new pizza joint go up across the street from us. (many weeks of jackhammering, but when you see the extremely moderne interior you’ll know why!).
Husband and I have been by a few times now, so I feel justified in writing my review. In the short time it has been open, they have made a number of improvements — including speeding up the frequency of when a server checks in with you, and adding a «build-​your-​own» option for pizza. Hey, this is America, right?
I’ve been eating my way around the pre-​set pizza menu, to get an idea of the different flavors they created. I have to say that they’ve taken a very creative tack to traditional pizza flavors, and paired them with flavorful sides and simple salads.
You can watch the pizza being cooked through the large glass windows separating the dining room from the kitchen. The pizza oven itself looks like a gigantic toaster oven, which explains why the pizza crust is consistently thin-​crispy and delicious! The Hawaiian pizza is amazing, swapping out canadian bacon for wispy prosciutto and the canned pineapple with some sort of booze-​roasted fresh pineapple (as explained by our server). Those tiny little peppers will sneak up on ya if you are a spice wimp such as myself. On other trips, I tried the meatball pizza (savory and good), the tarte flambee (good but VERY rich with creamy sauce and BACON), and the mushroom pizza which was just okay. I should know myself better than to order something vegetarian though.
Husband is not a pizza guy, so he’s tried various salads and entrees. The roast chicken entrée appears to be the winner, and comes with a little side salad of arugula. The salads themselves are simple and good, no frills. The radicchio and orange salad is a giant pile of radicchio and orange. The arugula salad is a giant pile of arugula with shaved salty cheese and a very light dressing. Sometimes simple is good.
Finally, the wine list is global and comes dispensed out of a high-​tech wine contraption in the center of the restaurant. I’ve tried the two rieslings they have on tap. Oddly, they have the wine list separated out by «style» (light, medium, bold, sparkling, unusual) rather than by varietal.
We can see this place from our house. Just like Sarah Palin can see Russia. (heh heh) So, I think we are going to put it in our regular rotation!

Wow the flavor!
+Atmosphere
+High Quality Ingredients
+Unique Ingredients
+Friendly Staff
+Local Beers
-$ 15 a pizza is a bit steep (hit up ½ price happy hour for sure)
Walking into Pizza Vinoteca, it is a modern fancy looking pizza place. My friend and I were extremely underdressed but they were happy to seat us anyway. Starting off with a beer, it was nice to see some local beers on tap, like Port City (local Belgian style beer). After looking at the menu for a bit, there were ingredients and cheeses I haven’t even heard of before. Some of the combinations are strange, but after getting the Jowlciale* (JOWL-​CHAL-​LAY) as the server pronounced and recommended, I was hooked and eager to come back and order more!
TIP: if you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably good.
*jowlciale — spicy chili pesto, fontina cheese, pistachios, and honey
The flavors were amazing, a nice salty sweetness with a late heat. It seems like an instant classic.
We finished the meal, and saw a small fancy looking dessert pass buy us on the way to another customer. We found out that it was a Tuscan style donut called a Bombolini. At $ 2 a pop it is a must have after a great meal.
All and all, for 2 beers, a pizza, and a small donut ended up being 20 bucks. We happened to receive the «half off pizza Super Bowl discount» happening later in the day. 20 bucks is a great deal for all that we got, but without that, pushing close to $ 30 seems a bit steep. (This is the part where you find out that I’m cheap…). Definitely stop by for happy hour to get full food and wallet enjoyment! M-​F 4 – 7 at the bar!

I give it 2 ½ stars.
Stopped by for lunch w/​a friend. We sat down at the bar and ordered the warm olive app, 2 pizzas and 2 beers (wish it was a better selection of micro drafts). Anyway, olive dish was ok, served warm, my friend liked it more then me. My pizza was the House pie w/​tom sauce, fresh mozz and basil. Good quality toppings and the crust was very thin and crisp. My friend got the 4 cheese pie, again he liked it alot more then me. I have no real complaint about the food exactly, my problem is the way it’s presented.
It is served on some kind of slate tile, that was not heated (maybe not possible), so the pizza only remained hot for about 7min… i wasn’t watching the clock, but my 3^rd piece was not hot by the time i got to it. Maybe this isn’t a deal breaker for most, but when i order a pizza to go in a box it holds the heat in or eat in and it usually is served on an aluminum pan that also holds the heat, well it does kinda matter. Service was over the top, which i expect from a new place, so no complaint there.
This place looks very expensive inside, i wish them luck.

Pizza Vinoteca has the potential to be a four-​start restaurant, but our dinner there on Saturday came up short. It’s a bit puzzling that this NY-​based restaurant chose to open its second location in Ballston, half-​a-​dozen-​metro stops from downtown D.C. The place was nearly empty when we went there at prime Saturday night dinner time.
The pizzas are grilled and look more like flat breads than traditional pizza pies. While they’re a bit small, the crust is excellent and crispy and the toppings are flavorful. We very much enjoyed the eggplant, four cheese, and fall squash pies. We ordered the first two to start and then the third with a orecchiette and cheese side dish when we were still hungry, The side was tasty but way too small for $ 6. It was really just four or five bites of pasta.
Our server told up they have over 30 wines by the glass for under $ 10. We enjoyed the Barbera and Sav Blancs we chose. For dessert we shared a doughnut with chocolate filling – a good deal for $ 2 if you want to end your meal with a sweet bite or two.
Our server was friendlily, but a bit clumsy – almost knocking over my wine twice. There were also long periods of time when he was no where to be seen – unacceptable given he had only one or two tables other than ours. Overall, if they can polish their service a bit and perhaps increase the portion sizes, Vinoteca would be a solid spot. I’m not sure it will ever take off in Ballston though. They really should invest in a new location on 14^th St. or downtown D.C.

Pizza Vinoteca is a brand new pizza restaurant in Ballston next to the Mussel Bar and grille. I must say that my first experience here was very enjoyable and I will definitely be back!
Sure — it has its new-​restaurant quirks such as too many servers, servers training the extra servers, and servers not knowing everything on the menu with full confidence. However, I used to be a server, so those things do not bother me at all because I understand that it’s all part of a new restaurant opening.
What we drank– Under their «Ruby» category, I ordered their Barbera D’Alba wine and I would compare this to a Pinot Noir. Light and smooth, just the way that I like my wine!
What we ordered– We decided on their Brussels sprouts pizza with ricotta, walnuts and lemon. I know this combination might sound interesting, but this was the most delicious pizza I’ve had in a while!!! Their crust is made with red-​wine, so it has a reddish-​tint to it. It was absolutely mouth-​watering and if you love Brussels sprouts then you must order this pizza!!! You will not be disappointed!

The Good: Great (but small) pizza! I had the jowlciale, which had just a bit of bit of heat from the chili pesto and was fantastic, and my girlfriend had the tarte flambee, which was a solid and creative white pizza. They were appropriately priced, but they were not large or filling by any means; if you’re hungry, plan to get an appetizer (we didn’t) or dessert (the Mexican chocolate doughnut was fantastic). The drinks were reasonably priced, with a large selection of smaller pours of wine in the $ 4 – 6 range, and surprisingly good cocktails around $ 10. Given that they’ve only been open a few days, I was very impressed that they suffered from none of the service or logistical issues that often plague new restaurants. Our waitress was friendly and knowledgeable, and the bartender (who designed their cocktail menu herself) stopped by to share her opinions when I asked for cocktail suggestions.
The Bad: The atmosphere is typical of Arlington restaurants: very clean, lots of glass, and not a ton of character. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but this is just another restaurant that makes me feel like I’m eating in a hotel lobby (indeed, it’s in the first floor of an office building). Nothing more than a lost opportunity to stand out.
Bottom line: I don’t think this place will be the death of Pupatella (or will even put a dent in their 45 minute waits on the weekend), as the style is completely different, but it’s the first pizza restaurant in Arlington that I think could give them a run for their money.

Vapiano, good luck. This is based on a preview reception, but if you can serve frenzied masses with food that makes you want to return, then you’re on to something.
Pizzas are like flatbread. Not very saucy. More about bread, good cheese and touches of toppings. Squash, shaved Brussels sprouts, four cheese, meatball in an unexpected form– the simplest pizzas are most flavorful.
Try anything under «Modern“and you won’t be disappointed. Jowciale, what? Finally had to have a server point out what it was on the menu after my third slice because I needed to be sure I knew what to order when I return. Pesto, pistachio, honey, fontina, fantastic. Or try Tarte Flambee, a Simple e Classic pizza with bacon. Mushroom was good, but not as special as the Seasonal Squash or Brussels sprouts with lemon.
Go, sit at the bar, order a Prosseco apéritif, then your pizza, then a good red to accompany meal.
Welcome to Ballston Pizza Vinoteca.