Menu released for Epcot's new pizzeria - Via Napoli

Disney has announced more details about Via Napoli, a new 300-seat pizzeria set to open at Epcot's Italy pavilion later this summer.

While the original opening date was assumed to be September, it seems that Via Napoli may be ahead of schedule as the DisneyParks Blog has announced an August opening (actual opening date still unconfirmed).

The menu will feature items such as pastas, wood-fired pizzas and scoops of sweet gelato!

The restaurant was created by the Patina Restaurant Group and the menu is inspired by authentic tastes of Southern Italy. The team from the Patina Restaurant Group studied the art of dough, crust, sauce and oven temperatures at the famous pizzerias Da Michele and Trianon. In fact, the wood-burning ovens at Via Napoli are named after three active volcanoes in Italy – Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli.

Below you will find samples of items to be featured on the opening menu:

Appetizers:
- Sicilian eggplant with olives and raisins
- Salad of lettuce, fagiolini (string beans), fennel and tomatoes
- Arancini (fried saffron risotto balls) with meat ragù, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce
- Corn-crusted fried calamari
- Minestrone with basil pesto
- A plate to share - arancini, mozzarella, calamari, portobella mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini and carciofi (artichokes).

Main Course Salads:
- Manzo (filet of beef) with greens, red onion, gorgonzola, apple and cucumber with a red wine-mustard vinaigrette
- Chopped salad with lemon chicken, greens, cantaloupe, cucumber, red pepper, green beans, onions, almonds and pasta crisps with honey-citrus vinaigrette
- Calamari with arugula, carrots and fennel with orange vinaigrette.

Pastas:
- Candele (long, tube-shaped pasta) with sausage ragù
- Linguine with seafood
- Malfadine (ribbon pasta) with guanciale (unsmoked Italian bacon) and pomodoro sauce
- Lasagna verde.

Piatti alla Parmigiana (topped with Parmesan and mozzarella gratinée):
- Veal
- Chicken
- Eggplant.

Wood-fired pizzas (made with caputo flour imported from Southern Italy, San Marzano tomatoes, handmade mozzarella and water from a local spring just like in Italy’s Campania region) – 10-inch, 20-inch or 1/2 meter to share:
- A dozen choices, including:
- Margherita with tomato, mozzarella and basil
- Carciofi with artichoke, potato, pecorino cheese
- Prosciutto and cantaloupe.

Sweets:
- Tiramisù
- Zeppole di ricotta (ricotta cheese-fried dough, whipped cream and chocolate sauce)
- Apple cake with almond sorbetti
- Gelatie
- Vanilla gelato with almond cookies and amarena cherries.