Via Tevere Pizzeria

East Vancouver earns its Little Italy credTalk about a hidden treasure. Buried on Victoria Drive in a quiet residential neighbourhood is an Italian restaurant serving up some of the best traditional Neopolitan pizza in Vancouver. The 50-seat room is owned and operated by two brothers, Domenic Morra and Giorgio Frank Morra, who grew up in east Vancouver and spent summers visiting extended family in Italy and eating the world-famous pizza of Naples. Open for dinner only Tuesday through Sunday, it’s not uncommon for the eatery’s beautiful blue-and-white-tiled wood-fire pizza oven—which came to Vancouver directly from Naples—to turn out several hundred pies per night. The pair has seen astonishing success since opening Via Tevere in March 2012, as evidenced by the line that begins forming just before 5 every night, regularly extending well beyond the restaurant’s storefront. Despite this, it remains a part-time gig for the Morra brothers—Domenic works full-time as a teacher and Giorgio Frank operates their takeout joint, Ragazzi Pizza Co. While the pizza list is expansive, opt for the traditional margherita. Made with San Marzano tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, it’s mouthwatering in its simplicity. —Sarah Fullbrook