Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato

Great relax environment, cook in open kitchen area, great selection of wines and prices are affordable. Food quality is awesome and the atmosphere is very family friendly!

Great Italian food for a great price. Good beer selection. Very cool style and vibe. Both indoor and outdoor seating. Will definitely be added to our rotation of places.

The food is good, but the service is beyond compare. Every single employee I encountered was upbeat and far beyond nice and helpful. This place makes chic fil a seem like the dmv. Even if the food would have been terrible, I would still be going back for the service alone.

Hands down my favorite pizza ever. This place is amazing & their food is even better!

We had Vecchia’s pizzas delivered for our rehearsal dinner and I could not have been more pleased with the entire transaction. Ordering and paying them was easy, delivery was right on time, and the pizza was to die for! We also had a family member with a very severe gluten allergy in attendance and since they have gluten free crusts available, they were able to accommodate her. Could not have asked for better service! Will definitely keep going to Vecchia. :)

With all the solid reviews I had high hopes for some good Neapolitan style pizza. What I got was mediocre pizza (that was too much like Pop Office Pies), served on a gigantic baking tray (so wasteful. Why? I don’t get it) by an unresponsive 12 year old.
Where are the adults at this establishment? Did they all leave on spring break and literally leave the children in charge? The teen at the counter and the boy bringing out my giant slab offered horrible service. The boy didn’t bring me napkins, a plate, or silverware. I had to get up and go find these things for myself. He did not take my number off my table. When I inquired «do you have any boxes?» He said «I don’t know» and when I inquired inside Teen handed me a Styrofoam divider box saying «this is my last one.» Oh really? at noon on a monday? that’s your last «pizza» box?
I would not go back.

Great place to dine. You cannot go wrong coming here. Bring family, bring friends or dates, it’s a winner for all.

A gluten-​free review: I have passed Vecchia on my way home daily since it opened, and finally ate there with a friend yesterday. I had heard they have gluten free pizza, so I was excited to try it. I asked the man at the front counter about it before ordering – from his answers he was either the manager or owner. He was honest and tried to redirect me to eat their traditional pizza instead of gluten free – he told me it would be much better, and warned me their GF dough had been a long process of development.
As a Celiac eating gluten free for 7 years, I’m always thrilled to find GF options anywhere, so I’m giving 4 stars just for Vecchia attempting GF pizza. However, it just wasn’t good. The dough had very little flavor, it was very thin, and was actually a bit burnt around the edges. The sauce and toppings were fresh and good, though on a GF pizza they limit you to one topping – additional ones may have helped to distract from the dough.
Additionally, the other reviews are generally correct-​a friendly, family atmosphere with a Tuscan feel was perfect on a Saturday afternoon. My friend enjoyed her (non-​GF) pizza. I had a GF option in a pizza restaurant, so I wasn’t forced to eat salad while companions ate pizza. Overall I was satisfied, but for $ 17 for my lunch, a little disappointed.

I agree with the many positive reviews from my fellow Unilocalers. This restaurant is locally owned, and has a unique character. The entry and dining room is inviting and comfortable. The open kitchen and large sharable tables create a laid back environment that is chill. The outside seating is covered, and dogs are welcome. I’m planning to bring Cody the dog on my next visit.
We ordered a Chicken Pesto Pizza and a Carni Pizza. The pizzas were good, and different from the pies that I’m accustomed. At first I couldn’t put my finger on it, but one difference is they do not use an abundance of sauce and cheese. This was fine with me because it allowed the hand tossed dough and toppings to stand on their own. The crust was perfectly crunchy and the toppings worked well together. My family voted, and we preferred the Pesto over the Carni by a slim margin.
We also shared the Antipasto appetizer and found it to be excellent. The variety of cured meats were very authentic. The olives were salty, and the grilled artichokes were just right. The soft mozzarella was mild and tasted freshly made.
The location is wonderful. It is across the street from Moss Rock Preserve and a park that is the centerpiece of the Preserve neighborhood. Both are good opportunities to walk after an excellent meal.

Great food, unique in Birmingham! Ambiance was fabulous. Too cold to eat outside but we’ll definitely be back to dine on the patio. I had one of the pizzas and it was delicious. My husband had a panini with salad and he was verrrry happy.

Very unique experience. Came here as part of the Birmingham restaurant week and was impressed by it. Ordering at the front counter, you can see a lot of the wines and desserts offered. The staff was nice and offered suggestions to us.
Once we went into the main dining area, we could see the chefs making the food. There was also a neat section next to the drinks/​in front of the chefs that housed all of the parmesian, salt, and red pepper that you could get as much or as little as you wanted.
The tables are meant for groups. They have hightop tables, or long community style tables which are great for groups. There is also some outside dining options, but it was cold, so we chose to sit inside. Once it warms back up, I’m sure it would be nice to dine outside and enjoy the view.
The food was great. I had the pasta alfredo with chicken, and my GF had the pasta alfredo with sausage. Both were great. We also had a salad, which for me, a non-​salad eater, was actually not bad, and some Tiramisu for dessert. We took the Tiramisu home as we were both stuffed from our meals. It was alright, but had a bit too much coffee flavor, and we ended up not finishing it.
Overall, a VERY great place to try. I’m looking forward to going back soon.

I love the casual ambiance of this wonderful little spot! We’ve been many times and have never left disappointed. Love the oven roasted pizzas and the pastas are fresh and flavorful. Tonight we had two delicious salads along with pasta, pizza, and Sangiovese. Lovely Saturday night in my book!

Fantastico! I would 100% recommend this place to anyone that feels like eating Italian tonight. The drive out to Vecchia was interesting. It is conveniently tucked away behind a few neighborhoods but is a wonderful sight once you find it. I stopped by for dinner one night and there were lights hanging outside and a few porch tables. It was a beautiful sight.
Once I walked in, I began to admire all the wines on the rack against the wall. They are well organized and reasonably priced. If you are thinking about getting more than one glass of wine or you are here with a group, be sure to go for the bottle. The italian desserts in the glass cabinet looked fancy and beautiful. I ordered the bruschetta and the sicilian pizza (vegetarian) and was NOT disappointed. The bruschetta was incredibly delightful! It was garlicky and beautiful. I could have eaten it all myself. We were watching the chefs make pizza in the wood fired oven all afternoon and it was incredibly entertaining. The sicilian pizza was the perfect combination of flavors and had a great ratio of cheese to sauce. I was amazed. I should also say that the pizza rewarms well the next day. I didn’t spot this until I left, but there is a small station with cheese and red pepper flakes next to the brick oven pizzas.
Prices are great. Don’t be intimidated by the community tables. The family sitting next to us was very nice about letting us take a few spots at their table and I saw a few groups get to know each other and start sharing wine throughout the night. I totally recommend this place and will be back again!

What a neat looking establishment. Inside and out it just looks great. Outdoor seating is available as well as indoor. Great selection of beers both draft and bottle. It also smells amazing. The smell makes you so hungry which is sad since this is the worst pizza I have ever had. It had no flavor. I went with a group and it was a first time for all of us. 8 kids and 6 adults. The kids didn’t like the pizza they got and the adults couldn’t stop talking about how disappointed they where after smelling it cooking.
Not worth the money or time. Won’t be back.

We really like this place. I haven’t had pizza from every possible place that serves it in Birmingham but I have had many and this is the best pizza in town from my experience. I could be biased since it is VERY similar to the pizza I make at home on my stone. Real wood brick oven (Hear that Brixx?) and has interesting and tasty pizza choices. Haven’t had the pasta dishes but I’m told they are excellent. Nice craft beer selection and they sell growlers to go which is nice. Service is good not great and depends on the moment from what I can tell. I’d prefer servers instead of walk up orders but that’s nitpicking and would probably elevate the prices anyway, which could not sustain a lot of growth and keep my business. It’s not cheap but it isn’t off the charts expensive either.

This is most authentic Italian food I’ve had since I was in Italy. I don’t why this place has only a 3.5 star rating, I guess the poor reviews are from people who don’t know what true Italian food is!
They have a great selection of local beer, and self-​serve glass bottles of sodas. You order at the counter and take a number. You get to seat yourself, and the kitchen is exposed so that you can watch them make your pizza, perfect for kids!
I got the Vecchia Panini: prosciutto, pepperoni, olive tapenade with a side salad. So very Italian, the bread was perfect. Took me back to a small sandwich shop next to the Duomo in Florence. My boyfriend got the Arriabata (think that was the name) pizza: pepperoni, peppers, and basil, which he demolished before I finished half of my sandwich. It was obviously very good.
Don’t expect American-​Italian cheesy bread or lasagna, this place is how the real Italians do it.

Went here for a date night with husband and it was a good experience.
The atmosphere is nice and I still enjoy visiting the weird little island of restaurants/​retail that is the Preserve Village. It’s a really lovely place to take a date, FYI, for you guys out there :)
the good:
You order at the counter and then seat yourself. They bring the hot pizza out on a baking sheet and paper plates/​utensils are at each large table.
The pizza margherita was really good and fresh. I ordered a moscato glass as well that I actually quite liked (I don’t have elegant taste when it comes to alcohol, but this was better than the typical gas-​station variety that I usually drink ;))
I was really happy with how quickly the pizza came out, too. We were there at 3 in the afternoon, though, so I can’t say what it would be like at a busy time.
the bad:
It’s no secret that I’m thrifty (even cheap, perhaps!) so I did feel a teensy bit queasy at $ 30 for pizza, one soda and one [small] glass of wine. The topping selection is decent (but I wish they had goat cheese, pesto, or sundried tomatoes) but we paid $ 2 extra for garlic. GARLIC.
Also, I suppose it’s unavoidable with fire-​grilled pizza, but some of the crust was charred and bitter.
With all that said, it was still a really nice dinner and we *probably* could have made the large pizza feed three instead of just us two. I would definitely come back!

Cool place. Very friendly staff. Order at the counter and take your seat. They have a great draft beer selection and have a few wines on draft as well.
The menu was quite extensive for a «pizza place». Lots of great apps, salads, sandwiches and pizzas. It took us a while to order because everything sounded so good on the menu. We decided on the Caprese Salad, Carnavale Pizza and the kids Sausage Pizza for our 4 year old.
First reaction — wow, everything tastes so fresh!!!
Our food was outstanding and the service was extremely quick. Very easy to take a family.
We will be back soon!

So I’ve been here a couple times, and I’ll either have amazing service and decent food or horrible service and great food. It’s either hit or miss here with different factors. I’ve had dinner with friends, and have done take out twice. The atmosphere is great, and the selection of food and drinks is good. Since I only work in Hoover, this isn’t my «spot», however if I lived closer I could definitely see myself trying this place more and probably just coming at night for dinner.
I recommend the caprese and pizza! I wouldn’t order a panini again. This place definitely has potential and I want it to be better– hopefully with some minor adjustments they can get it there!

We stopped in Birmingham for the night when we were traveling to Atlanta, and decided to try this place on a whim. I have absolutely zero complaints about this place. We were greeted immediately when we walked in by the sweetest girl who explained how to get drinks/​food, and she was very helpful with any questions we had about the food.
We ordered the bruschetta, chicken alfredo, and a pizza. The bruschetta was very fresh and cold with the perfect balance of garlic. The alfredo was extremely rich, but just downright delicious with it being served in a piping hot iron skillet. Finally, the pizza was hands down the best pizza I have ever eaten. All of the ingredients melded perfectly together, and the crust was thin yet still crispy. We could have easily eaten everything if we weren’t about to be stuck sitting in the car for 3 hours.
I’m a little discouraged by some of the poor reviews of this place because our experience was nothing short of perfect. Vecchia deserves a higher rating than this, so do yourself a favor and visit here if you have a chance. Viva Italia!