Vita Nova Pizza & Pasta Bar

Over priced, poor quality pizza made carelessly by employees who could care less about their job.
The branding of Vita Nova and the sign make you think its a high quality pizzeria but it’s very, very below average.
Mozzarella wasn’t fully melted, but somehow it was still tasted burnt on the bottom?
Not good burnt either, like it picked up prior remnants of previously burnt slices from a dirty oven. I don’t mind a little burnt, or crispy crust, I’m not picky, I chose a pizza spot of all places on the mall. but damn. This was very gross pizza. How do you mess up pizza, when you’re a pizza joint.
Any one who charges for refills, and also has «customer only bathroom» and $ 4 slices is struggling. trying to nickel and dime and rip people off. Poor business, won’t be open long term. Sounds like the owner is a jerk too. Highly recommend you avoid.
The guy who commented on the «ambience» not being welcoming nailed it. I suffered through the meal and was very anxious to leave and get back onto the mall. Employee was lacking enthusiasm or positive attitude. Not outright bad service, but not service with a smile. And they don’t know when mozzarella is melted and tasty. Calzone was VERY mediocre too.
I very rarely Unilocal but this place is AWFUL. avoid.

While it’s reminiscent of Christians, I find it to be better. Maybe because I wasn’t inebriated, not too sure why. I ordered a BBQ chicken slice and an order of spaghetti, both well priced for its size. The spaghetti had LARGE delicious meatballs and the sauce wasn’t watery. The workers were very friendly and courteous.

Best pizza on the downtown mall. Yes, better than Christian’s. Excellent place to grab a slice or two at lunch and service is fast and pleasant. If you have time for dinner, sit down and have a pasta dish. The fettuccine Alfredo is amazing!

Would really like to give this place another try but today I had half plain cheese which was nothing to write home about and the other half portebello, caramelized onion and olives. Sounds good right? Well it all was dry and taste the same, like cardboard without sauce. The ‘other’ pizza place is where it’s at. Sorry guys.

Same as Christians, reheated mediocre pizza. Maybe if you get a whole pizza made fresh it would be good but I won’t come back again for lunch and get slices.

If you haven’t had the Grilled Portebello Mushrooms and Goat Cheese
(Marinated grilled Portebello mushrooms, goat cheese, sweet basil and balsamic caramelized onions.) then you are missing out. I dreamed about this pizza while living abroad more times than I care to admit.

THE WORST PIZZA I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. EW. The pizza was not cooked all the way so the toppings or cheese weren’t melted on top yet it somehow managed to taste both soggy and cardboard-​like/​stale. GROSS! Avoid it!

I feel and for Vita Nova. The pizza is great, just as good as Christians. But Christians is the go-​to pizza shop on the downtown mall. If you’re reading this to see whether or not you should try Vita, I’d tell you to go for it. It’s almost identical.

Best pizza by the slice on the Downtown Mall. Great crust and the cheese and pepperoni are not greasy. Sauce is good and the size of the slices are generous. Perfect for a quick and inexpensive meal.

I’ve been to this place a couple of times and think the pizza is pretty good. I do prefer Christian’s but when Christian’s is packed but I still really want a slice, I pop into this place. The prices are good, the staff is friendly and they usually have a nice variety of pizzas to choose from. I once decided to be adventurous and order their spaghetti and meatballs-​while it wasn’t terrible I’ll definitely be sticking to their pizza from now on.

This wasn’t a pretty experience for a pizza place. Pizza places should be simple and the best part should be, well, the pizza. The pizza was okay here, but everything else was bad.
Upon entering, I was hit with the feeling that this place was just tired. The ambience was not good at all, and I was kind of disappointed to even be there. I ordered a cheese slice and a barbecue chicken slice. I was given (and charged for) a pepperoni and barbecue. When I pointed this out, he fixed the slice but didn’t change the price (my dad noticed this but didn’t want to make a big deal about it). Really though? Trying to pull a fast one is not okay. What also disturbed me was that he touched my pizza with his bare hands after working the register. Disgusting.
The pizza was okay, nothing really special, though. I would offer an elaborate explanation, but everything about it was just average.
This place was a big letdown and I would definitely go back to Christian’s before I go back here. Thumbs down.

Great selection of pizza varieties and wonderful lunch spot

Great pizza! Christian’s comes highly recommended from everyone I talk to, but I tried Vita and was not disappointed. Their pizza is delicious and inexpensive and fast!

I loved this place when I worked on the mall. Always good quality, always good service, and reasonably priced. They’ve got the usual varieties plus some gourmet choices, good variety for vegetarian diets.

This is our favorite pizza place in town. It isn’t as crowded as the other pizza by the slice place (which isn’t as good and I have witnessed the help getting yelled at, which turned me off.)
I try to go around lunch time or dinner time to make sure it’s fresh… and it almost always is… the people who work there have been there for years and are very friendly.
We love the spinach feta mushroom combo… and fresh mozz and tomato. YUM! They will cut it in halfsies if you want to share. :)
We love it! It’s very family-​friendly, too.

Better than Christens pizza!!!

Great pizza — the by the slice options are good, but for a real treat, order a fresh pie. You won’t be disappointed.

This is really good, not too heavy, medium/​thin crust pizza.
The veggie options are great and they’re always piled high and fresh.
My friends and I did a blind taste test vs. Christian’s for a slice of pepperoni pizza. Vita Nova won.

I’ve only been to Vita Nova once, but I’m not about to return to offer more detail.
I love pizza by the slice. Rise Pizzaworks, Christian’s and, before that, Sylvia’s has been the source of hundreds of by-​the-​slice lunches and dinners for me over the past fifteen years. Vita Nova (in the old Sylvia’s location, and perhaps even with the same post-​Christian Tamm owner) seemed like it was worth checking out, and I went there for a quick dinner about a year ago, consisting of a salad and a couple of slices. It was just awful. The greens were wilted, the tomatoes watery and flavorless. The slices were anemic, looking and tasting as if they’d been sitting for hours before their cursory reheating on my behalf. Even the checkout process was awkward.
A few people have told me how much they like Vita Nova, and I just don’t understand. Maybe my experience was an aberration, but I’m not going to try again to find out.

I hesitate to write this review because I don’t want people to visit and be disappointed, but Vita Nova is one of my favorite restaurants in Charlottesville.
I don’t know what sorcery they do to it, but the Mediterranean has this amazing blend of ingredients that create so much flavor on top of thin, crispy crust. I wish I had found this place earlier – I remember taking the trolley (ugh!) a couple months ago right after a final just to reward myself with a slice and I was not disappointed.
Their chicken calzones are also really good and the cheese has a great taste without being overwhelming.
I took my friends here, and they weren’t as big of fans as me but I think my non-​stop raving about Vita Nova set their expectations too high (or they just have bad taste :)). Avoid the crowds and overrated bland slices of Christian’s/Mellow Mushroom and try this quiet, little gem.