These are reviews of Uncle Vito's Slice of N.Y. from 2009. For more current reviews, visit the entry.
2009-01-01 12:38:47 Uncle Vito, I grew up with N.Y. pizza. I know N.Y Pizza. N.Y. pizza is a friend of mine. Uncle Vito, you’re no N.Y. pizza.
The pie looked pretty, with veggie toppings fresh and nicely arranged, but it was basically flavorless. The crust was overly floury ("dusty," if you know what I mean), the cheese also had no flavor, and the sauce was only marginally better. Even with red peppers and parmesan cheese, it was still barely edible. There are better places to go in Davis for pizza; if you want a slice to go, head to Village Bakery. —CovertProfessor
2009-01-15 18:28:26 I've been to this place on more than one occasion to watch a game, have a slice and beer for happy hour....a beer and a slice for $5 bucks is a pretty decent deal. The service is fantastic, both time I've been there the bartender has been more than willing to put a game or turn off the music and turn on the sound for the game. Little things like this make a big difference for a sports fan. You won't find a more frozen mug than this place, the foam that over runs the glass actually freezes to the glass itself....YUMMY!!! Good selection of taps, hot pizza, and good service! —JasonA
2009-01-16 14:24:33 I was excited to try this place, given the obvious care that went into the external design and interior modeling. If you haven't seen it, they've painted a nice black and white mural on the outside, and designed the space so that the front of the seating area can be opened to the street. They have nice, big, red-cushioned booths. So, for look and feel, the place is nice. But the pizza is very, very mediocre. For just under five bucks, I got one slice of "combo" pizza - sausage, pepperoni, red onions, etc. The slice was large, the sausage in particular was good, but the crust was straight-up grocery store frozen pizza. Just terrible. I could see enjoying a beer at Vito's, but I won't be back for the pie. —JamesShearer
2009-01-17 21:43:00 I was mildly frightened on my first trip to Uncle Vito's to get immediately carded at the front door (before going inside) - I now understand that it's "grown-ups only" after 9 or 10 at night. Luckily, take out was fast, bartenders were nice, and the pizza was pizza. Being from a Fat Slice/Blondies background, the pizza was subpar, but I'd be willing to go back for $5 beer and pizza hour. —caitlinpolly
2009-01-18 14:18:52 This place ROCKS MY SOCKS!! Everyone should try this place...the pizza is really really good and its not bad for the large slice that you get....its about 4 bucks a slice but it will fill you up :) I will definitely go back there again, and say goodbye to woodstocks! —beabeck22
2009-01-21 10:05:05 My husband was walking by last night (1/20) and swears he saw Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild) in Uncle Vito's. Anyone else see this? —AmLin
2009-01-24 18:12:05 I am from New York. I spent my first 20 years of life there and I can tell you that this does not taste like New York pizza. Please do not mistake it as such. Its too expensive and the pizza is just not very good. Its worse than Woodstocks or Steve's, which are both awful. If you are interested, Napoli pizza in Vacaville is the closest to the real thing that I have found. Its not an exact match, but its the closest available. —Mortemer7
2009-01-26 11:54:08 I stopped in with a couple friends around 11:30 on a Thursday, and the music was so loud we left before we even ordered beer or pizza. The volume was like a dance club, but people were sitting around trying to talk to each other, so everyone was yelling over the music. Is it always like this? (while not all this bad, why does it seem so hard to find a place to get a drink and talk to friends in Davis after 11pm? Almost every place in town either turns into a club with loud music or closes down) —MattCzarnowski
2009-02-08 13:06:04 I, too, was excited at the prospect of "NY" pizza coming to Davis, I grew up in NJ loving the thin crust of NY-style pizza. Uncle Vito's is not NY style as a result of the cardboard-esque crust. It's awful, I wish there were some way to regulate the use of geographical adjectives, Vito's is guilty of deceptive advertising. Also, as a former c ook, do the kitchen staff really need to wear chef's jackets and hats? Music too loud, another disappointing Davis dining/drinking experience. —briankennedy
2009-03-27 10:40:47 The pizza is decent, but try the buffalo fries with ranch instead of blue cheese. Have Corbin (nicest bartender in davis) make you either a watermelon lemonade or blueberry lemonade and vitos will definitely win you over. —yas
2009-04-08 16:35:45 The pizza is really similar to the cheapest microwave brands like Celeste. Just about every restaurant on E street is a better lunch option. I've had two types of pizza slices, the philly cheesesteak, and the fries. I'd only recommend the fries, but the fries next door at Hotdogger are far superior. —GreezySweezy
- Dude, that's a pretty tough description of the pizza. I mean, it's not the best pizza I've ever had, but to say it's similar to microwave pizza is a bit of an exaggeration isn't it? I think it's pretty good. BTW: I'm from Philly and I refuse to order a cheesesteak from places that call it a "Philly Cheesesteak." Now, you may call me a snob about this, but there is a very specific set of properties that belong to a "Philly Cheesesteak" - NOT including they be made in Philly - and never have I found that that's the way the place makes them. Just call them "Cheesesteaks." There's nothing wrong with a friggin' cheesesteak. But that's what it is. A "Philly Cheesesteak" shares at a minimum the following qualities:
- fresh bread similar to Amoroso's, and made fresh "that day."
- three choices of cheese: provolone, american or whiz (but all must be offered)
- sliced rib-eye or USDA choice top round western steer beef
- grilled peppers and onions (offered, but you don't have to have them on your steak if you don't like them)
- I guarantee you any place you order from that isn't in Philly or associated with a Philly Cheesesteak shop will not have all these. Usually, the problem is the bread or the steak. Restaurants like to use cheap steak and don't want to go through the trouble of getting fresh bread every day. I'm sorry if this is a rant, but I'm tired of places offering "Philly Cheesesteaks" and then people who have one coming up to me going "Dude, that sucked." Yeah, it sucked because you got one in Davis! —condemned2bfree
2009-04-10 05:56:00 I agree with you, and I prefer the whiz on my cheeseteaks. Vito prefers Aioli on his cheesesteaks. —GreezySweezy
2009-04-17 15:49:01 I heard from industry folk in Davis that the pizza they serve here is frozen pizza (perhaps trucked in from their Sac branch?). It sort of tastes like it. Is this true? —KaiSmart
2009-04-17 17:14:05 You can see them making the pizza fresh if you look in the side window or stand by the counter... —IDoNotExist
2009-04-19 20:47:31 Whatever you may be able to see the cooks doing through the window, I doubt it's making fresh pizza. I'm going to side with "frozen". Also, unless the bartender was really bad at basic arithmetic (and they're usually not), they charge $9.00 for a shot of Jameson! It seems like "Slice of N.Y." actually means "You'll pay the same prices you would in New York." Although I'm pretty sure I could still find a $5.00 Jameson in Manhattan. Seriously. Get a grip. —myklehoban
2009-04-26 21:58:02 I've been to Vito's several times and like the food and staff. Bethany and Corbin are friendly and give great service. I wasn't familiar with the menu when I first started going there. Andrew, the cashier, suggested several dishes that I really liked. Andrew also told me to ask for a "double cut" when ordering a slice of pizza because the slices are much larger than the ones served at other pizza joints. —nowhereman
2009-05-03 20:33:40 I appreciate and love the fact that they serve the pizza on environmentally-friendly, paper plates. That said, the pizza tasted a lot like the plates themselves. i think this is the first pizza I've ever had that was not very good. Cheese was tasteless, crust was bland, sandwiches are ok. They need to produce a better product if thy are going to charge $4 a slice. —dgirl
2009-05-18 00:13:02 I like this place, particularly for the atmosphere. I've had a few different slices of their pizza. Their bartenders and the waitress were cool. The beers on tap are nice. I like the happy hour beer and slice of pizza deal. Free soda refills. Like that as well. I can get fat if I go there too often. I agree the music is sometimes too loud and the pizza quality could be improved.—RonB
2009-05-20 14:53:45 This stuff is gross. Dont eat it. Especially if you are hungry. —RealComputers
2009-06-08 23:21:46 Tonight was the first time I tried Uncle Vito's pizza and I have to say, not bad. A good half of my family is from the city so I've had NYC pizza many times and while this is not up to New York standards, it's a good imitation. The crust struck me as slightly crispier than what I'd pick up off the street, and instead of easily folding in half, the crust snapped and became unwieldy to handle. The flavor overall was good but it wasn't nearly as robust as I'd like for this style. In short, if you're a New Yorker and you're looking for a West Coast version of Lombardi's you will be very much let down, but if you're looking for a decent slice of pizza this isn't a bad place to go. —davisreviewer
2009-07-19 14:18:36 I dig it well enough. It isn't true NY, but it is as close as I can get in Davis. Plain cheese is my fav. Great Happy Hour deal and ice cold beer. I would choose this place over Woodstocks in a heartbeat. —lemurific
2009-08-11 14:19:26 LOVED it, great atmosphere and the bartenders are super friendly. The Wii that they offer is fun. Had a great experience! Too bad the got rid of the bruchetta (sp?). —PinkLadie
2009-08-12 17:02:18 Delicious salads are important to me and Uncle Vito's delivers decent ones to the table every time. What I find especially splurgeworthy, however, is the Sicilian pizza. It's out of this world and worth a long run the next day....and the next.....you get the picture. —MrsC
2009-08-16 14:55:53 it is not up to par with real New York Pizzeria's —lajolla4joya
2009-09-05 18:16:59 My favorite bar in Davis!!! The staff is awesome and the food is great. Corbin, Bobby, Bethany, Adam, Matt and the rest of the crew are always there to greet a familar face. Wii Wednesdays are always a fun night to hangout with friends and drink good beer for cheap. Happy hour specials are a great value! —AndyMartinez
2009-09-14 10:08:53 hmm... I overestimated this place when I first went there. I went at a slow time, and the reheated slices I got were flavorless and had a really dry crust. The cheese seems pretty low quality. —CraigBrozinsky
2009-10-17 01:32:21 If this place is similar to the Midtown location, then the pizza is horrible, but great if you're drunk. I mean, it still tastes bad when you're drunk, but you don't really care. —SeatonTsai
2009-11-02 09:59:20 Their pizza always gives me gas :( —mydiaz
2009-11-19 23:51:17 I go there often during weekday afternoons from 11:30am when they open, to 4pm. This is the best time to go becuase it is laid back and 20% student discount with reg card during those hours. —BryceH
2009-12-03 15:53:32 Best happy hour special ever. IPA + Pepperoni Pizza = nomnomnom —MatthewHadick
2009-12-07 15:17:55 Tasty and authentic. I lived in NYC and grew up on the East Coast so I can vouch - this is the way pizza is supposed to be. It is overpriced though. —dizzyditz
