Vecchia Gelato & Cafe

My husband and I stopped in for lunch today and everything was outstanding. We shared the Pistachio Dream Sandwich and Sicilian Arancini, and both were incredible. I was also thrilled to find a non-alcoholic Aperol Spritz, and it was the best I’ve ever had. We already love Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato, so we had no doubt this newest addition to the Vecchia family would be amazing, and it did not disappoint. It was so good that we went back after our event to bring home some of their Italian baked goods. Yes, twice in one day. We can’t wait to make this part of our regular rotation. Highly recommend! 🍋

We ate here this morning, the BEST pastries in town, and GREAT variety. The cappuccino was soooo delicious. Highly recommend Vecchia👍👍👍

I have been so excited about this opening and it was all I had hoped for. My husband and I came for lunch on opening day and then my daughter and I came back the 2nd day for hot chocolate and a pastry. Everything was delicious!

I’ve eaten here over the years and enjoyed it so we tried it again tonight. The food was good but the pricing is ridiculous for the food, service, and amenities. Three people was over $70 for 3 pasta dishes and 3 bottle (no cups or fountain drinks. No table service. You order standing up and they bring your food. I get it, that real estate is pricey but $70+ and I’m drinking a diet Dr. Pepper out of a plastic bottle and using plastic forks and knives. Nope.

Easy parking, quick ordering, great selection of beverages, and true Neapolitan pizza. Indoor and outdoor seating (with fans and heaters). Rather robust menu for a “pizza” place.

In a very nice area, upscale environment and EXCELLENT restaurant, New York style pizza, pasta, Lasagne and service

We always really enjoy pizza from here. It is our favorite. Authentic wood fired pizza with real, fresh ingredients.

We stopped in while traveling and were the only two customers in the restaurant around 3:30pm. We ordered two pizzas…one w added pepperoni and one with a side of balsamic glaze, and an appetizer of meatballs. The cheese pizza came out without pepperoni so they tried to add it after the fact. They then decided to make a new pizza. Meanwhile, my pizza came out, and I had to REMIND them of the balsamic glaze and the meatball order. The bottoms of both pizzas were burned. Upon leaving I asked at the register for a refill of tea and a slice of cake to go. The employee charged us for the cake and proceeded to refill my tea. He then thanked us for the visit. I had to REMIND him of the piece of cake I JUST paid for. There seemed to be a lack of follow through with every employee we encountered. Would not stop in again on our drive through the area. Amy Lewis

The place is nice but the food is not so good, the price is not so expensive but pizza and pasta is not as expected. About service will say that common service.

On July 22, 2022, my sister had placed a to go order on the phone for a total of 5 pizzas, and she had confirmed with the individual on the phone 2 times about the order. When I went to pick up the pizzas, they only had 4 pizzas ready, and they stated that I had only ordered 4 pizzas. I assured them that no, I had actually ordered 5 pizzas because my sister had even sent the order confirmation via text to me of what she had ordered (she had wrote it down). After going back and forth, I just gave in and said can you prepare that 5th pizza, so they told me it would be ready in 20 minutes. So, I waited for 20 or so minutes, while my other pizzas that I had ordered earlier just sat outside getting cold/soggy (literally by the register while I waited). After 20 or so minutes, I went in and got the pizzas and headed home. When I get home and try to prepare the pizzas to give out, I open the boxes to my surprise that the pizzas don’t even look appetizing and they were all soggy. Not only that, one whole pizza had cardboard stuck to the bottom of it. This being the case, we knew these pizzas were not edible. We had to toss out the $110 worth of pizzas. Then, I proceeded to call the store, and I was told the owner would reach out to my concern the next day. Not only that, I explained the condition of the pizza and the individual goes “oh, the pizzas are charred normally”. Please judge the pictures I have attached to this review and you decide for yourself the condition of the pizza, and if it even looks edible. The following day, I called the store two times and I kept getting told that they would reach out after. After no response, I sent an email to their management. The response I got was completely disappointing, and not only that, rather than trying to make it right, they tried to JUSTIFY the pizza being burnt and basically told me to screw off in summarized terms (I have attached the owners response email to this review as well). And in the email the owners sent back, I am not sure what they were talking of because they did not EVER mention they could not acknowledge our "changes to the order". We are vegetarian, so choices are already limited, but we had ordered 2 Margherita pizzas and 3 veggie pizzas, in which on the veggie pizzas we had removed 3 or so vegetables. That was apparently "difficult" to accommodate. To mention this was my first time introducing my family to this place because we wanted to order this food for my father’s birthday. Not only did Vecchia ruin our dinner plans, but it also ruined my father’s birthday dinner. We ended up having to order Domino’s at night because it was already too late. I am expressing concern and complete disappointment because this is completely unacceptable. Not only that, Vecchia being located in the Preserve Area shows that this is a premium place of dining, but my dining experience was horrible. Would never recommend such food to anyone, nor would anyone be appreciated treated so poorly at a place of dining where you are paying a premium.

Mostly terrible... I ignored the bad reviews and rolled the dice...and lost. Wife ordered Calzone..arrived with burned crust, no cheese, and bad tasting vegetables. I had the penne and meatballs..not bad ...but for $47.00......won't be going back.

The location is super convenient, and they have covered outdoor dining. They also play older music....Frank Sinatra, etc. Our service was great. Love all that. However, I honestly don’t know how they can stay in business serving the pizza we had. We ordered the Classic Pepperoni....The crust had NO flavor. I do not think they put ANY salt in it at all. I could not eat the part with no sauce on it....which meant a large portion of the pizza was just left untouched. The rest of the pizza was super thin and soggy. It was difficult to pick up a slice, but you can’t cut it either because they only have plastic wear. There was almost no cheese on it, and 1 slice of pepperoni per slice of pizza....Seriously! Oh, and there were a couple of little pieces of soggy, fresh? basil on top. I think they make you pay up front because they know that once you get the pizza, you would just laugh about paying for it! We won’t be going back. Wish we could get something good in this location.

Great location and atmosphere. Unfortunately the worst tasting pizza I’ve ever had. First time we tried the food my husbands pizza had spoiled cheese on it. Second time it was flavorless and burnt on top. All the cheese was slid to one side and had barely any cheese on it. We just moved into the Preserve and had high hopes for this place. We order our pizza outside of the neighborhood now, or we eat at Moss Rock Tacos.

Many of my friends and my daughter love this place, but me, not so much. Pizza is pretty good, reminds me of authentic style one would get in Italy with handmade crust. I do not like the seating at all as it is open style benches with no backs, which gets a bit uncomfortable. Its always popular but big enough to seat a crowd, indoors and outside. They also have live music occasionally which is a nice gesture. the guitar player/singer was not the best when I caught the music though. I must commend the owner for honesty though. We asked if their glutten free pizza was any good, and he answered, No, it was awful. He said they try but he could not recommend it!! That was refreshing enough to bump him up from 3 stars to 4 in my book!

When we visit friends in Hoover, we love to come here, until today. What happened was surreal, and I truly can't believe the way we were treated. First, my daughter and her friend's food came out very early. They were finished by the time my husband and I got ours. No big deal. Here's where it got truly bizarre. My husband's calzone was black on top, completely burned. We asked for a fresh one, something I hate to do but this was ridiculous. We asked the waitress, who then told what I presume to be a manager. The manager looked at his calzone, and said, "the bottom isn't burned, so it should be good". What? I then asked for a fresh one, as that wasn't good enough. The employee then said let me scrape it off, and that should be good. I had burns on mine as well just not as bad, so I tried to scrape it. The employee said he could do better, took the plate, and said as he was walking away very loudly, "Maybe you'll get free food out of this". I immediately called him back over and told him that we were not asking for anything free, just a fresh calzone. I was livid that I would be thought of this way, and the employee said it so everyone could hear. He then again said he could scrape it as it would take too long to make a fresh one. In an attempt to shorten this, it came back still burnt. We pointed this out. The employee then said you haven't even tasted it. It wasn't even warm anymore. At this point, we gave up. The rudeness was beyond comprehension, the food was terrible as it was burnt, and then we were made to feel like we were trying to get something for free. I ate my lunch, and we left out the side door. Never ONCE did we ask about money back, nor will we ever go back ourselves.