Gather the Group for Pizza at Venice

We squeezed into a parking spot in front of the glass doors at on a Friday evening, hoping that we weren’t blocking the entrance. Another driver decided to double-park his car while he ran in for a take-out order, but we were ready to dine in.

We entered through the left doors of the long building, which appeared to be the take-out area. We asked the man behind the counter if we could eat in the dining room. He gave us paper menus and told us we could choose a table then order from him when we were ready. We always have a hard time choosing between pizza, stromboli, calzone, hoagies, burgers and pasta dishes, but Venice added to the challenge. Meat or Chicken Gyros ($7.25) and Specialty Pizzas like Fettuccini Alfredo ($20), Seafood ($25) and Honey Mustard Chicken ($20) tempted us, but we decided to go with some standards.

We asked whether the special pasta of the day—gnocchi—was homemade, but the friendly young man told us that it was brought in. We ordered our pizza, calzone and appetizer and were sent to the distant register in the dining area to pay. We took a bottle of water from the refrigerated unit rather than having a fountain soda. Plastic knives and forks were next to a paper napkin dispenser. Desserts were packaged in individual containers displayed in an open case. We chose a plastic dish of the homemade tiramisu ($3.25) over the strawberry cheesecake, key lime pie or éclairs. We asked for a wine glass and one was promptly brought to our table.

We sat at our resin booth along the window and took in the families sharing pizza. A larger group spanning several generations had put together a row of tables and chairs farther back and were soon heard singing, “Happy Birthday.” Servers hustled by, delivering food.

The Calamari appetizer ($8.99) brought a paper boat of small breaded rings. The squid was tender, but the batter was falling off the pieces and was dusted with a seasoning mix. Lemon slices and a side dish of wonderful marinara sauce for dipping made them more enjoyable.

The rest of our order arrived together, prompting another server to help by bringing a stand for one of the pizzas. Our server returned with extra paper plates.

A 14-inch medium size Tomato Pie ($8.10) had a rich, slightly spicy, sweet, thick tomato sauce on a thin crust. It was the first time we had seen one served with clouds of fresh mozzarella, but we liked the result.

The medium size Pepperoni Pizza ($12.25) had a thin crust with some good doughy flavor. We didn’t get to enjoy more of that wonderful marinara sauce, since the saltiness of the pepperoni was really all we could taste.

The small Vegetable Calzone ($7.99) had vegetables cooked al dente and a light ricotta filling in a puffy pizza dough wrap. A small cup of tomato sauce for dipping reminded us of stewed tomatoes. As we ate the calzone, we found an uneven distribution of the vegetables. Only our least favorite veggies—onions and black olives—remained when the calzone was nearly finished. We each removed them and enjoyed a few bites of plain calzone.

A server stopped by to offer us boxes for our leftovers. We decided to take the tiramisu with us as well.

The tiramisu was a single layer of creamy marscapone cheese on a slanted base of soaked sponge cake. Coffee and chocolate-flavored crumbles topped it off.

Friendly service, quality food and a relaxed atmosphere make this a great gathering place for the whole family.

Venice Pizza & Pasta

60 Lancaster Ave., Malvern

Telephone: 610-644-0443

Website: venicepizzapasta.com

Hours: Mon - Thurs, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Fri and Sat, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Sun, seasonal hours

Cost: Appetizers, soups, $3 to $9; pizza, $10 – 25; pasta entrees, $8 – 14

Credit cards: VISA, MasterCard, AmEx

Alcohol: B.Y.O.

Special Features: Free WiFi, Family Friendly