From time to time, I’ll be reviewing some sites and restaurants. Most of them will be in Orange County, CA.
If you’re ever traveling to Orange County, you’ll find that there are a wealth of restaurants that propose to be elegant by simply listing food items with high-end prices. You want to avoid these places. They are dramatically overpriced and the food is overrated.
There are a wealth of underground hot spots in Orange County that have wonderful food, and they have modest prices. These places are authentic, high-end spots that have a special feel to them. They’re timeless.
Pizza e Vino is one of them. Located in the heart of Santa Margarita, CA on the rural, gorgeous lake, Pizza e Vino brings authentic, neopolatan Italian pizza to the heart of South Orange County.
The menu is filled predominantly with pizza and wine. They focus on quality, not quantity, which is refreshing. Their pizza is baked at 900 degrees in a wood burning oven imported from Italy. The crust is hand-formed from dough, which is made daily from Italian flour. The sauce is made from tomatoes grown only in the San Marzano valley of Italy. Toppings include Mozzarella di Bufala and a variety of meats & vegetables.
For the non-pizza people, the wine alone is worth a trip. Additionally, they have handcrafted salads & appetizers including Artichoke Arugula Salad and Caprese Made with Fresh Local and Organic Produce.
They have a quaint wine bar, where you can sip Italian & California wines and select beer from Italy and American Microbrews.
Here’s a quote from the OC Register that puts the environment together very nicely:
Pizza e Vino, tucked into a shopping center anchored by a Ralphs, isn’t only a shining star for the city, it’s a shining star in Orange County where finding a crispy-thin Neapolitan pizza – baked in an imported, wood-burning oven – is a nearly impossible feat.
And oh what a pizza it is . . . .
Maybe it’s something they put in their pizzas, well duh, it totally is (great ingredients, but you got the joke right?), but I was seriously craving a return visit the night after we went.
I’ll also give credit to the setting – a dim wine bar (there’s wine, I didn’t drink any) with classical Italian music – as another reason to return for more.
Thoughts from locals:
Finally, RSM has a delicious restaurant with all the fixins! I checked it out after a friend told me how yummy it is. I had family in town and decided this would be a great place to take them. It was better than I ever imagined. The garlic bread is to die for, the pizza toppings are so fresh and the crust is perfect. I loved it so much I took my husband the following week and keep in mind he is picky about his pizza. He loved it and as soon as we picked up his mom from the airport the following week, we headed straight to PIzza E Vino. Of course she fell in love too. The atmosphere is cozy, the service is great and the food is simply delicious and perfect.
- OC Community Member
Authenic Naples-style pizza, wood-fired, thin crust with delectable toppings, fresh mozzerella and herbs. My favorite pizza is the Stefano, which is a white pizza with olive oil, wild shrimp, toasted garlic, and fresh basil. The antipasto salad is excellent too – light and refreshing! The atmosphere is relaxing and there is a charming lilttle area to dine on the outside patio – great for a date.
- OC Community Member
My wife just back from Italy and this place is authentic. The Napoletana style pizza is great, perfect crust, yummy sauce, just the right amount of toppings. They cook the pizza in a real wood burning oven and it cooks fast. I like to bring my own wine and the corkage is reasonable. Friendly staff.
If you like American style pizza with too much cheese and heavy crust this place is not for you.
- OC Community Member
This place has great ambiance and great attention to detail by the chef/owner/employees. From the cozy decor to the music this quaint Italian eatery has it all. Great pizza, wine, appetizers, desserts! If you have visited Italy it will make you nostalgic. If you are from NY it will make you think you are home. This place is as authentic as it gets. This is not Pizza Hut kind of pizza. This place lives and breaths Italy. The attention to quality food and ingredients is obvious in every dish.
This is a great addition to Rancho Santa Margarita (land of the chain restaurants and strip malls).
Great for dates, families, everyday type of food, a night out on the town. It fits the bill for every mood. Thank you for bringing a bit of the Italy to RSM!!!
- OC Community Member
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Would just like to say there are certainly a lot of interesting things being said here i will definately get back in a short while to participate actively.
Without a doubt, the rudest, crudest service ever. Nick, the manager, brags that he’s best friends with the owner, and that he can say anything to patrons. We were guilty of not ordering fast enough and he literally sits down at our table to berate us for not having ordered yet, not looking him in the eye when we were ordering, and so on. He then prattles on about how busy they are, etc. and ask me why I don’t understand that? (sample dialog: “I’m TRYING to communicate to you as one HUMAN to another HUMAN! You’re not welcome at MY restaurant!” That’s fine – we ended up driving to a lovely place in Laguna where the menu was better and the service was impeccable.
Steve Dickus, I hope you’re reading this. With employees like this, you don’t need any enemies. You should see what they’re saying about service at your restaurant on Urbanspoon and other sites. I called your restaurant repeatedly to discuss this with you, but your hostess just connected me to Nick.