Lyn Dowling
| For FLORIDA TODAY
Some readers are not going to like this review almost as much as reviewers do not like to be over-critical in their descriptions. But you come here for the critic’s opinion, and you are going to get it: Botta is not all it aims to be.
Its pizzas may be stone-baked but are only faintly like those you find in Naples, however “authentic Neapolitan-style” they are advertised as being. Its sandwiches are OK, with terrific house-baked, Italian-style bread and not-so-terrific meatballs and a dearth of cheese. Its Caprese salad is short on excellent burrata and long on barely-red tomatoes. Its burrata and prosciutto salad is a lot of arugula with decent toppings.
Kudos to Botta for writing “Neapolitan-style,” though. Not much Italian cuisine, like “authentic” pizza, may be found in this great country, which has the best Italian-style food on the planet. “-Style” makes for a far more accurate description in most cases.
Botta is a blessedly simple restaurant, fairly long and narrow, with pizza ovens at the back and other delights at the front. In each visit, it was immaculate, with quick service that was high-quality three of four times.
Having basically ordered the menu in past visits — salads, sandwiches, desserts and pizzas in both the Neapolitan (“soft and airy”) and Romana (“light and crispy”) fashions – we’ll concentrate on our last meal in this space.
Thinking it had to have improved, we ordered Burrata Caprese ($14), and again, the tomato slices were a touch mushy and the cheese less like burrata than its mozzarellan sister. The basil was there, though.
The pizza was Roman-style Margherita ($22), which looked just glorious, with lots and lots of bright red sauce, mozzarella, basil and olive oil. Problem was, there was too much of that sauce, and though it made a pretty picture, it was as if someone forgot about the strainer, which caused the crust to be flabby. Additional cheese and basil would have been grand too, and so would it have been had the pie been hotter.
Dessert was a “Decadent Chunk” chocolate peanut butter cookie ($5), and it was dry enough to cause the Reese’s lover to put it down and push it away.
It wasn’t a disaster each time, though.
The Man Formerly Known as the Child Gourmet thought the world of his $24, Neapolitan-style Meat Lover’s Pizza, with its soppressata, pepperoni, fennel sausage and puffs of ricotta (Clever: You can make ricotta go far if you whip air into it), possibly because of the drizzle of hot honey it bore.
I wasn’t bothered too much by the four-cheese white pizza, also Neapolitan-style ($20), largely because leeks were added to it and I do love leeks; there must be some Welsh in there somewhere. The “handles” on the crust were dandy, but again it was too slack in the underbody.
A cannolo ($6) dipped in chocolate chips and sprinkled with powdered sugar also was nothing to write home about, less crisp and much sweeter than it should have been.
What else? The espresso is unadorned by cookies or lemon peels but excellent, and the place sells Coke products in glass bottles, for which it is to be praised. Things go better with the Real Thing, in real glass bottles.
That’s it. Will we return to Botta? You bet, because the people in charge have the right idea; it’s not bad food, just underachieving, a potential star. We want to see the place excel as well as succeed.
Obviously, a lot of people think it’s pretty darned good, or they wouldn’t line up outside the doors at mealtimes.
See you there.
Lyn Dowling is a freelance food and lifestyles writer based in Melbourne.
Botta
Three stars
Address: 7500 Lake Andrew Drive, Viera
Hours: 12:30 to 8 p.m. Sundays; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays
Call: 321-421-7722
Online: https://bottapizzeria.com
Also: Imported beers and wines served; online ordering; special events.
About our reviews
Restaurants are rated on a five-star system by FLORIDA TODAY’s reviewer. The reviews are the opinion of the reviewer and take into account quality of the restaurant’s food, ambiance and service. Ratings reflect the quality of what a diner can reasonably expect to find. To receive a rating of less than three stars, a restaurant must be tried twice and prove unimpressive on each visit. Each reviewer visit is unannounced and paid for by FLORIDA TODAY.
Dining and Cooking