Very Italian Pizza is in a good location, it is close to Cube House and Rotterdam Blaak Station,…read morelocated at Blaak 31, after hearing good things about their gluten-free options, I decided to give them a try.
I later found out Very Italian Pizza (VIP) is a small chain, with a couple of restaurants around the Netherlands. They've tried to make this place authentic, when I first heard the name "Very Italian Pizza", it seemed a little off-putting as it felt like they were trying too hard.
The restaurant area is pretty large, and there is an open kitchen so you can watch the chefs cook your food.
The service was fast and friendly, my server explained the gluten-free options, she advised me to order pasta rather than the pizza, she mentioned they use the same plates and the same oven so could not guarantee it would be gluten-free, she also explained this in very good English, to the table next to me, who coincidentally also had a gluten-free diner.
I was a bit annoyed as they advertise having gluten-free pizza, and even have "Pizza" in their name, and I had to opt for pasta when I came in wanting pizza, but being too tired to find anywhere else, after a long day exploring the wonderful city of Rotterdam, I decided to try out the pasta anyway.
I ordered the Bolognese which was made with gluten-free pasta, my guest also ordered a regular version of the Bolognese, my dish was clearly gluten-free due to gluten-free penne being used, compared to her Tagliatelle, and a different bowl was also used.
The pasta was actually pretty good for gluten-free, which was the best I had during my time in Rotterdam, where I ended up eating pasta pretty much every night, I did find the sauce to be a little boring/band which was a shame, as the beef in the Bolognese was good, but the sauce its-self was just a bit lacking, and the dish sort of fell apart.
Typical chain Italian, nothing too exciting but the food is OK, the staff are friendly, they also show live sports and were showing the World Cup during my visit, so if you're not gluten-free and want pizza and football, this may be the place to go. 3*