Just off the popular U Street / 14th Street corridor is Pizzeria Vetri; a fast-casual, family friendly pizza place that slings out super hot, super fast pies and other treats…but maybe a bit to fast.
Using what I would consider a deli-style assembly line set up, the open restaurant boasts communal tables and a counter seating arrangement where you can watch you pizza being made by hand and cooked in their massive center brick oven. Think of it like watching your sandwich being made at your favorite deli…but it’s pizza, so it’s naturally better. There is also a square shaped bar in the back where patrons can sit.
I call it fast-casual not as a snub, but because that’s what it is. It’s not All Purpose, and it’s not delivery, it’s somewhere in between and I think that works for the area of busy professionals and young families.
The menu has all sorts of yummy carbs, salads, and of course pizzas.
We start with the Rotolo which is pizza dough, mortadella, ricotta, and pistachio pesto. It’s cheesy, gooey, hot, salty, and perfect to rip apart and dunk in sauce. Get this for sure.
The salads were surprisingly awesome! We LOVED the Caesar salad: escarole,bagna cauda, parmigiano, egg, anchovy, pizza croutons. It was salty, fresh, crisp and large.
The special salad had arugula, potatoes, olives, and Parmesan cheese that was good, not great, and eating it along with the Caesar we were quickly over salted.
The pizzas came out hot and fast…too fast. At the small bar counter overlooking the brick oven we were quickly found with a double pizza rack, two salads, two small plates, our rotolo, two wine and two water glasses. The timing is way off and there was no staggering the orders as they were put in. Easy to fix, so hopefully they will.
The pizzas were great! Crispy, hot, cheesy, and the flavors were spot on! We asked for some olive oil as we prefer to drizzle it over the pizza and the crust, which we did, and consumed.
All in all, this place is great for a group, families, and those looking for a fast bite before they hit the bars (or after).