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Since opening in Bellevue in 1991, and then reopening on White Bridge Road in 2008, Porta Via Ristorante e Bar has been a staple for Belle Meaders in search of traditional, red sauce pasta dishes. But after going through the paces of becoming certified by the Naples, Italy-based L'Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN), which doles out designations to restaurants that adhere to strict pizza-making guidelines, the restaurant stopped taking the rigorous codes seriously. Until, that is, a diner reported back to the VPN, calling Porta Via out on their lack of standards.
So, this summer, the restaurant took bold steps to get back to the arduous standards, while also undergoing a cosmetic makeover. With a revamped look and now a strict adherence to pizza-making traditions, as well as a new sous chef and expanded bar, the restaurant is ripe for a revisit. According to the certification, the restaurant must use imported flour for the dough and tomatoes for the sauce, plus the pizzas must be cooked within a dome oven that's hot enough to singe the dough into a crust within 90 seconds. The pizzas can be topped with every imaginable combination.
There's also a new Sunday brunch menu, as well as an amaro-tasting flight, which shows off the finer points of the Italian digestif.
For a revisit, get to know those new flights, as well as their version of the traditional VPN pizzas (which they can also make gluten-free), or split a few of the traditional pastas for the table, like the house specialty, lobster ravioli, or the casarecci, which can be customized with the addition of vegetables and proteins. Wrap things up with another house special, the affogato, which is an espresso poured over one of their freshly made ice creams. You can't go wrong with the salted caramel.
21 White Bridge Rd., Ste. 104, 615-356-0001; eatatportavia.com