Cafe Vesuvius

The pizza and sandwiches from this place are really good and they have a good variety of items. I am always satisfied when i order both take out and delivery

Descent and tasty pizza, prepared by polite, efficient staff.
If looking for some basic food, this is a good option.

Sandwiches are just okay but their pizza is old school Italian made with crispy thin crust. But as others have stated, they are so popular that they’re a bit slow on the draw when it comes to delivery. They just opened a new restaurant in Vinnin Square on the Salem border. The servers are young and need to familiarize themselves with the menu. When I asked if two certain pizzas came with red sauce, the servers behind the counter seemed confused looking at the menu but finally agreed they all have red sauce unless they say «white pizza.» I ordered Angelo’s Special to go, thinking it had red sauce after I was told it did. Got home and opened the box… WRONG. I should’ve inquired with the guy actually making the pizza. Guys… know your menus please!‘

I am a local and have tried most of the pizza choices here. I deleted the rest from my phone and this is it for me. I know, pizza preferences are so unique. One person likeit NYC style and others like it thin or thick or whatever. I like what I like and think they do a good job. It is always timely (and that is based onmore thanone order).
I have ordered their eggplant parm sandwich and it is so good on the homemade Italian bread. The bread has plenty of air pockets to keep it light while still having a crunchy, chewy crust. The egglpant is not over breaded either. I would prefer a little more mozz melted on it but overall it is a winner for me.

ZERO STARS!!! Called in and ordered two sandwiches and I was told it would take 25 minutes. 45 minutes later and still no sandwiches!!! For 20 minutes I was told they were being «wrapped up,» «coming out of the oven» and «any minute now.»
If you can’t deliver two sandwiches that are on your menu, maybe it’s time to find another business.

Horrible, horrible place. I am new to the area and went to a yoga class in the plaza. Not knowing the townie regulations I parked in the general plaza parking lot. The only sign in the lot said «Customer Parking Only». Well, I am a paying customer to the yoga class, which seemed to be a part of the plaza! As I exited my car, I saw an old creepy man staring me down. Like a serious ice grill. He was standing in front of this café which I assume he owns as well, so I will never go there. He did not say a word. I kept looking back at him hoping he would speak. When my yoga class was done, I came out to the parking lot and found a huge orange sticker stuck to my car window. This is going to take some serious work to get off!! The sticker said I was illegally parked and that they took my license plate down. When I went into the café to complain of the vandalism that occurred on my vehicle, the worker told me that her father was the person who operates the plaza parking and it is his job to stick stickers on cars. I was livid. When I came home, I looked online about this occurrence. Apparently this man is a retired MH police officer, and the MH police do not care that he is doing this… I have some words for this man. I will be back to the plaza, on my bike and I hope to see this ice griller again, so I can exchange some words with him. Even if I parked in the wrong lot, this was my first time here. I just moved to this town. There are no signs indicating this restriction, have some grace…

For my money this is the best pizza in the area. Ever since moving to Salem I’ve been on the hunt for something to rival the cheesy, flavorful goodness that is NYC pizza to no avail. Until now. The pizza here (and I usually just do cheese) is perfectly made and exactly what pizza should be.
Only thing keeping them from 5 stars is a lack of delivery outside Marblehead and the fact that their salads are just ok.
But the winner here is the pizza. Can’t recommend it highly enough!

Went here because I was in the area on a work errand. I ordered the Chicken Special sandwich, which is listed on the menu as topped with «lettuce, avocado, bacon, chipotle mayo and cheddar cheese.» I waited until I was back at work to eat it, and was pretty disappointed… no bacon, no cheese… but there was regular mayo instead of the chipotle which I had requested. So I have a breaded chicken patty with lettuce, avocado and mayo. Not terrible, but definitely not what I was expecting.

The Italian themed Sandwiches are good and the portions are generous. OTOH, the Pizza is bland & forgettable. The crust has NO taste, toppings are meager, and the sauce is nothing special. I did take out as the seating area was cramped and filled with loud kids.

I’m giving them 2 stars because the pizza is actually good. However, the service is atrocious. It’s not fancy & my expectations weren’t great, but seriously they acted like it was an annoyance to have customers.

I had my first pizza from Vesuvius and I was impressed. The small 4-​topping was not small and not expensive. I am a big eater and had three slices left to take home for lunch. The crust leans toward the thin, but still chewy, not crisp. I had hamburger, ricotta, roasted eggplant and portabella mushrooms on it, all ingredients fresh and tasty. I ate there, and the pizza was ready about 12 minutes after I ordered it. Bubbling hot from the oven. What’s not to like?
I understand the sandwiches are good too, I’ll be back to check that out.

Best pizza EVER! cant find anything like it on the west coast so every time I fly back to the east coast I have to get some. My favorite combo is: Fresh garlic, fresh basil, pepperoni, and parmesan cheese :-) nom nom nom

Went here and ordered a buffalo chicken wrap with bacon. Tasted awesome but now my ass feels like the real Mt. Vesuvius.
The girl working there was at one point a friend and she hooked us up for free, which was awesome. However, I probably won’t return because there are better options closer to me for buffalo chicken. I was still hungry after leaving.

Always friendly and they have the best pizza in town and I’m from NYC/​NJ so I feel I have a good benchmark from which to compare. :-)

Café Vesuvius is a spot offering a short list of fried appetizers, fresh organic salads, a nice list of sandwiches, and pizzas.
You order at the counter and they’ll bring you your food if you are dining in at one of a limited number of seats indoors, or out on their tiny patio. Drinks are self-​serve in two refrigerated cases. Napkins are available by the trash bin. A single bathroom is available, but you have to ask for the key.
The sweet potato fries $ 5.50 immediately caught my eye. Fortunately a friend was willing to share an order, because they were great! Thinner cut, they were nice and crispy and well salted.
I then selected the Donna’s specialty sandwich $ 7.50 (Breaded eggplant, roasted red peppers, grilled onions, portobello mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, pesto and mayo) on wheat, while my lunch buddy went with the Pegasus specialty sandwich $ 6.95 (our own home roasted turkey with pesto and fresh mozzarella) on foccacia (additional 50 cent fee), both grilled upon request, and we went halvsies.
The sandwiches arrived each sliced in half with a rather large quartered pickle on the side. Plenty for lunch, especially with the order of sweet potato fries vying for stomach space. I preferred the juicy veggies, while my friend’s vote went to the particularly generously pesto-​ed turkey-​wich.
As for other dishes around the table, the Grilled Steak Tip $ 8.50 looked well filled, the avocado salad $ 7.50 was large and arrived with a full half a fresh avocado sliced in two and half a large thin pita, and the mixed grilled vegetarian pizza $ 17.95 (large) was touted as super toppings on a really good crispy/​chewy crust.

The last few times I’ve ordered, the service has been much better. Not sure if they had a change of staff or remedied the situation. Either way, I’m bumping them back up to five stars. Now they just need to start stocking Orangina again!

I’m not from the area but I work nearby. I really like their pizza, though I didn’t quite like their service. They didn’t seem too friendly when they picked up the phone and when I came in.
First time I had a small cheese pizza which I find was very cheap and good. The second time, I got the Jay’s BBQ Chicken pizza which was very very good! I had pizza from other places where they would put ketchup on top as their «bbq sauce» which was horrible! I like that they had fresh tomatoes and grilled/​caramelized onions on top, it was less plain and I was able to eat more because of it. FYI, I’m not much a pizza person.

Terrible.
–the pizza, the food quality, the service
Do not waste your money.
Head over to Romano’s instead

We have been going to Vesuvius since we moved here from Chicago. It is our favorite pizza all around, and we tried all the others out there. The meatball sub is the only one I eat now. They make their own bread and it is SOOOO good. My husband likes the sandwiches, the eggplant one he had last night. My kids love the Margarita pizza. OK, time to eat now!

I will make the final determination here…
The have amazing pizza!
The sandwiches are great and substantial. The service is okay. Sometimes the help is a little disinterested. I had some kid making my sandwich last night with his pants hanging off his ass, but the sandwich was great.
But expect excellent pizza!