Villa Pizza

LVA Review

This restaurant was reviewed in the August 2011 LVA; some of the information contained in the review may no longer be accurate. We’ve been meaning to write about Villa Pizza for some time, but we couldn’t unravel the related puzzle. Now we have. Ask Las Vegans about this pizza and you’ll get different responses. Someone who’s been around town for a while will probably tab it as one of Vegas’ best, while a recent transplant might shrug. Why? Because there are two Villa Pizzas. Here’s the quick history. When the first Villa opened in 1978, it was one of Las Vegas’ great pizza joints. More stores followed, all freestanding and owned by family members (the founder was Carmine Vento, whom you may recognize from the Carmine’s restaurants). They all used the same ingredients and recipes and they all made awesome pies. But around 2002, a deal was cut to take the Villas corporate, and they began showing up in casinos and shopping malls. We don’t hate the pizza from those stores, but it’s definitely not the same. Over time, many of the freestanding Villas were also watered down by changing ownership. As far as we can tell, only the restaurants on Durango and another on Boulder Highway in Henderson use the old recipes. We haven’t tried the Henderson location, but we know all about Durango’s. True to the original, this place makes one of the best New York-style pizzas in Las Vegas: thin crust with homemade tomato sauce and fresh toppings. A 16" large cheese is $12.99 and it’s $2 extra for each topping. You can order the pizzas for take-out or delivery, but the restaurant also has a big dine-in area and a complete Italian menu with pastas, sausages, salads, and desserts, all cooked up fresh and to order (try the brownies). The chicken wings are among our favorites in town. But it’s really about the pizza here. Try it; you won’t be disappointed.