Pizza Vita is a contemporary pizzeria and cucina inspired by the traditional pizzerias of Naples, Italy. After months of delicious research and working to perfect our dough recipe, we opened our doors on July 18, 2011. Our pride and joy is a 100% wood fired oven that stays at a steady 900 degree temperature, which allows us to cook our pizzas in just 90 seconds. The menu also features delicious pasta dishes, fresh salads, and homemade gelato.
We love to show customers the difference between true Napoletana pizza and the New York and Chicago style pizzas that are more common in America.
CHEF ADELE | PARTNER
Pizza Vita boasts one of the first female Pizziolas in America, Chef Adele DiBiase. Chef Adele is an award-winning chef and restaurateur who has made the rounds on network television, including appearances on NBC’s Today Show and Food Network’s Chopped. Though she started her culinary career as a pastry chef, Chef Adele wanted to expand her culinary prowess during a trip to Naples, Italy with business partner Ernesto Santorelli. It was there they learned the true art of Neapolitan pizza and dough-making from some of Italy’s Master Pizzaiolos, which planted the seed for a new restaurant venture. Pizza Vita is her fifth New Jersey restaurant.
PIZZAIOLO ERNESTO | PARTNER
With more than 25 years in the hospitality and entertainment business, Ernesto Santorelli is known for his showmanship as much as his cuisine. Not until the trip to Naples with business partner Chef Adele did Santorelli truly discover his culinary talents. Upon returning to the states, he spent time in San Francisco and Napa Valley working with some of the best in the food industry. While making pizzas out of a trailer during a wine tasting event in Napa, he was inspired to build the urban version of a Mobile Wood Fired Pizza Truck. As he puts it, “Where have you ever seen a truck pull up with a 4,000 pound Italian-made wood fired pizza oven and make true Neapolitan pizza for you in 60 to 90 seconds?”
