Cafe Viva

Upon entering Café Viva, there is this appeal of a traditional, New York style pizza-​spot. After further assessment I learned, to my delight, they specialize in Vegan/​Vegetarian meals.
Because their menu is being revamped to include more zesty flavors, there are some items (for example the Napoletana) which the staff was more than happy to clarify and distinguish. The only thing warmer than the pizza was the compassion I received from Caffi, an excellent and devoted member to their diverse team.
I ordered a slice of the Nomaggio with Soy Bacon, and Broccoli, and instantly regretted not ordering an entire pie! I will definitely try out their other options on my next visit. Already looking forward to what other delicious creations they come up with.

One of the best thin crust pizza slices around. No joke. The penne alle vodka is also delicious. Been eating here for almost 10 years. Rarely disappointed.

Café Viva makes solid NYC pizza with a multitude of vegan options, as well as alternative crust options such as whole wheat, spelt, etc. I have never visited the UWS location, but have ordered delivery dozens of times and am never disappointed.
My favorite pizzas are the Sicilian, Picante, and Santa Rosa, all vegan. Their tomato sauce is really excellent here-​perfect level of spice. I am not a huge fan of the amount of daiya cheese they load on top of it, but it makes for a delicious occasional treat. Delivery is consistently fast and friendly.

It is such a treat to order from Café Viva. It is not the best pizza on the planet, after all we are in New York City. However, for a health conscious vegetarian, the pizza is delicious, the crust options are plenty, and the delivery service is great. Above all, pizza is a very tactile, handmade food, and I am very queasy about chefs handling meat and non-​meat, pizza cutters that slice through pepperoni and vegetarian pizzas alike, and all of that. I generally have to ask for pizza cutters and spatulas to be washed prior to handling my pizza pie, but I know that there is a general vat of cheese and there really is no way to guarantee cross-​contamination. More so in restaurants where you can’t watch the chefs prepare the meals.
I really commend Viva Pizza for committing to a non-​meat environment and offering vegan and gluten free Options. I know that in a place with such heavy competition and businesses’ ability to try and be all things to all people, I really appreciate their values, and I try to support this business whenever I can. Thank you, Café Viva! I feel so lucky to live in your delivery zone!

My new fav pizzeria. A big feat by Café Viva as I grew up in an Italian family with a brick oven in their backyard (it’s an Italian thing). I was skeptical about trying the vegan pizzas but happy I did because they are out of this world. So far I’ve tried the Mother Nature (my favorite, it’s super saucy with great texture from the broccoli and vegan meatballs), the pesto pizza and the zen (which are currently tied at second even though the zen gets bonus points for being beautiful). Totally delicious. I’m excited to try their vodka grandma which looks heavenly because let’s face it everything doused in vodka sauce must taste good. The place is really cute and quaint and perfect for a lunch that leaves you happily full. I feel less guilty eating here too because they use organic ingredients and because of all the veggies.
Great pick for vegetarians (meat free location) and non vegetarians (even papa was impressed and he loves his baby back ribs). Hidden gem of the neighborhood. Highly recommend it.

I love Café Viva I have been coming here for several years and never really had any issues, their Azteca Slice is quite the bite if you like corn and peppers, and anytime I need some real time chow down I go for that Ziti Slice with penne and vodka sauce, the prices are not what you expect from any typical pizza joint but this pizza joint isn’t the same from everyone else everything is always fresh and the finest ingredients and they keep the place neat and clean if I could give it 6 star rating I would, don’t forget the pasta and all natural Brewed Crème soda

Best pizza on the upper west side. Once you get below Patsy’s pizza on 119^th, this is the 1^st stop on the good pizza express going downtown. Ayyyyy The fact that its made by Mexicans in an Israeli owned business would make my Sicilian grandpa’s heart deflate but heyyy… good pizza is good pizza!!!

I’ve been looking for a pizza joint around the 90s, and I think I found my weekly to-​go spot. I’ve walked past this place a bunch and finally decided to grab a slice.
First of all, they have a TON of different options. The plain cheese slices are 2 something and special ones are 4 something. I love a good slice of pizza, and a plain slice of cheese here didn’t disappoint (I can’t speak for the vegan, etc slices). They also have different types of crust like whole wheat, so I’m pretty impressed with their selection and quality of ingredients!

I’ll tell you what. I give out a lot of five star reviews. Like, a lot. Even if a place is just sort of good I’ll give it five stars because I always think: if you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all. So I’ll just leave three little measly stars here and never return again. Bye.

Café Viva serves up perfectly adequate vegan pizza. It’s not great, but it’s good, mostly in terms of variety and inventiveness. It’s rare for a regular pizza place to offer vegan slices, let alone a dedicated section of them on the menu. A lot seem to use daiya cheese, but there are some more unique options as well.
I’ve stopped by twice for a zen slice, which comes with green tea herbed miso-​tofu, green tea basil pesto, shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, and garlic on a spelt crust. I think this is the most inventive *description* of a vegan pizza I’ve stumbled across, but the execution isn’t quite on par with the menu description. For starters, the pizza was served lukewarm rather than hot, which detracted a bit from my overall experience. The crust is too flimsy to support the toppings, which probably has more to do with the spelt aspect than anything else — my slice of pizza fell apart shortly after I picked it up. Overall, the taste was there, but it all fell just short of my expectations!
The space is unassuming and relaxed and the service is quick. I definitely feel like I overpaid for my one slice of pizza, taking portion and quality into consideration. $ 6.80 for one slice of pizza is kind of insane, even if it’s a big slice. Still, this is one of the only spots with vegan pizza in the UWS and I very much appreciate what they do. I feel like it may be hit or miss depending on the day you come in, so I will probably be back to try a different slice next time.

It’s not clear to me how a pizza place like this averages 3.5 stars. Are the standards on the UWS that low?
While they have a nice selection of different slices of pizza (from full-​meat to cheese to vegetarian) the slices I got were completely burned — and it’s only due to my drunken self and the late hour that I didn’t bother complaining about it. What’s ridiculous though is to charge you for two regular slices and then ask for another $ 4.50 because apparently the slices I picked were not «regular». Way to overcharge your customers.

Stopped in for a quick slice but no one acknowledged us. Walked up to the cashier and asked do we order here and she was like sure. Ok. Ordered some of the pizza sitting behind the glass. 10 minutes I asked where it was, she said she forgot to tell them. Wait another 5 and it’s the wrong order.

Was craving angel hair Bolognese, found it here and although it was vegan I figured it’d be similar to a meat option enough. They have healthy pasta choices but they are almost 4 dollars extra, so Vegan Bolognese costed me almost $ 17.00. They were unable to answer my questions about the ingredients in the artichoke angel hair, but I get it a try. The Bolognese was gross– small white chunks of tasteless strange smelling ‘Bolognese’ with a regular angel hair pasta. The container wasn’t sealed and was half spilling out when i got home. It was too unsettling to eat, $ 16:50 in the trash. Pizza there looked good, but would not recommend the pasta if you are seeking a meat alternative.

Best! Healthiest! Yummiest! Most delicious feel good pizza in all of New York City! When I lived on the Upper West Side this was my first choice for dinner. But since you can’t go to the same place every night for dinner I now tend to go maybe once per week :-) My favorite is the vegetarian pizza topped off with soy cheese, broccoli and onions. But then again its rival is definitely a fresh slice of pesto. I will let you decide. Enjoy! Highly recommend. You will feel good about yourself after eating this pizza. Not like any other pizza store anywhere!

This is my go to pizza spot in the city. Café Viva has a great selection of slices that are actually healthy. They use fresh ingredients as well – when I was there last, the ‘Bella’ pie was being prepared and fresh spinach leaves were being cleaned and then boiled. Many other pizza joints usually toss frozen spinach on a pie and pop it in the oven.
The main reason why I always come back to Café Viva is their selection of vegan pizza pies AND vegan cookies and cake slices.
Additionally, some slices are on a whole wheat crust, the garlic knots are whole wheat too (which helps me feel a little bit better about my carb binge). Slices are huge, so one usually hits the spot and fills you up.

Five stars because… well…honestly what more could you ask for in a pizza joint that you pick out your slices and pay at the register before eating.
They have variety. Huge variety. Catering toward anyone and everyone. (Think people that like plain pie, loaded up pie, thin pie, crazy veggie toppings pie, no dairy pie, etc… you get the picture)
Slices were good. They looked healthy from the window if that means anything. And it even was 11 at night.
4 star legit… bumped to 5 based on variety and authenticity of the inside nyc pizza parlor design.

Delecious!!! I would recommend the white pizza. It was awesome! There are so many great pizza shops in this area, but this one has verity and healthy food as well.

I really enjoyed the pizza and Greek salad, very filling and the flavor was perfect.
One star rating because after I finished my meal, I spent the rest of the evening in the bathroom… No additional details needed.
I’ve always ordered and had it delivered, but last night I was walking by and decided to stop in.
One red flag should have been the people taking money and answering the phone were also making the salads, gloves on only part of the time. I also noticed very long fingernails that never should be allowed in food preparation. Sorry to have to write this, but as my stomach still rumbles, not so much!

Day 1
they got everything right this time; nothing negative to say. pizza had no oven flake wasn’t burnt. the cookie was supper soft. the garlic knots were good.
day 2
I worked at fast food I know the drill. but john is someone who like to overcharge to make daily quota. why would I pay $ 17 for a small pizza; when I know it’s 13. his attitude is not the best. but thank «god» the pizza is good

I went to this spot for the vegan options (I’m fasting) Anyhoo all of the vegan slices don’t use the soy cheese; what’s pizza without cheese!?! A tomato-​ey mess on bread! Be aware; I’m sure if you’d like cheese (soy or moz) all you’d have to do is ask. I also would not advise eating vegan slices in your vehicle… The fold & bite method is not going to work due to the heavy volumes of sauce & other ingredients (non cheesy). If I go back I’ll try another option probably non vegan & if I «go vegan» they may have to build my slice/​pie from scratch; light on the messy!