Vesta

Can’t believe there are so many Michelin mentions in downtown redwood city and vesta is truly deserving of that honor.
Great wine selection. They have an amazing rose by testarossa that is complementary with all the pies.
Starters — salads are good but small. The mushroom bread is delicious.
Have tried a variety of their pizzas and none have disappointed. My favs are the mushroom, margherita, and they had a seasonal peach one.
They have beautiful outdoor seating areas in the front and back of the restaurant. Their reservation system is a bit confusing. Have called before for res and turned away (they reserve a certain % of the restaurant for walk ins) but recently, they seem more accommodating with reservations. Only one bathroom can become a minor inconvenience.

I was expecting a lot better from this place after reading the reviews and the rating, but was a bit disappointed. The ambience is good and I loved their outdoor seating. For the food, the small plates/​tapas live up to the hype. The grilled carrots and the mushroom toast are delicious.
The disappointment was the pizzas. They weren’t that flavorful and weren’t cooked right I feel. The bottom crust was not crispy at all making a soft and a bit doughy. Even though we were hungry we did not feel like eating more and had some leftovers.
Not sure if I would go here again.

First off: wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a restaurant where everything I’ve tried has seriously impressed me. We went with large group and got a variety of pizzas (mushroom, Margherita, plain and a daily special with bacon) along with a handful of appetizers from an amazing cheese toast, mushroom bread and meatballs.
Everything was fresh, light and packed with flavor. Not sweet, not savory, but just perfectly seasoned enough to bring out the taste of the ingredients and let them shine brilliantly.

I feel like I’m the last person to discover this place… and now I can’t stop thinking of how good their food is!
First of all, very limited reservations, but not impossible to get a table if you don’t mind waiting an hour (or in our case, less than 30 minutes). You can always go there, put your name on the waiting list, and walk down the street and grab a drink. Just saying.
We tried two appetizers: The Mushroom Toast and the Brussels Sprouts– these were actually a special. Both were equally good, I’ve never experienced Mushroom toast and now I’m salivating just typing about it. The Brussels sprouts were really good too. It has a balsamic vinegar reduction and bacon! YUM.
We tried two pies. The Mushroom with goat cheese and the Soppressata with red sauce. Both were really tasty but we loved the Mushroom pie way more!
All in all, this has to be my favorite wood fired pizza place now.

Absolutely LOVE this place. The food, service, beer selection, area, interior, everything is perfect. It’s like they transported a high rated craft pizza restaurant from SF. The pizzas are refreshing: creative, combinations of ingredients that I’d never think to put together like a fried egg in the middle of a pizza or apples as an ingredient.
The servers are attentive, charming, and know the menu very well. I can’t go to any other pizza place anymore, it just won’t taste the same. Even the appetizers are perfect. Really high quality. So glad this place exists.

Seriously one of the best restaurants I have ever come across.
I crave it weekly and have become a regular, so I have pretty much tried everything on their menu. It all has been so delicious!
MUST TRY: Sausage & Honey pizza, Pork Meatballs with Arugula Salad, Burrata plate, Bread pudding. I could go on for days.
There is a long wait sometimes but it is well worth it! Give this place a try, you will be happy you did.

The food was simply amazing!
We started with the charcuterie. The meats are delicate, delicious, and delightful. It also came with fresh slices of baguette and crunchy green olives. I loved the selection, the presentation, the flavors! Yum!
We also got the mushroom toast. The thick, lightly toasted, perfectly crunchy toast were topped with sautéed creamy mushroom goodness. It was simple and comforting.
The cauliflower was amazing! The cauliflower was grilled and topped with a light dressing (possibly olive oil?) and dusted with almonds and some teeny tiny black speckles. I was pleasantly surprised the speckles were currant (berries)!! It added a burst of fruity flavor to the cauliflower! So, so good!
The carbonara pizza was okay.

I found myself closing my eyes as I savored the food at Vesta. I recommend sharing dishes so you can try as much as possible. The small plates are among some of the best. The grilled pear with burrata cheese (akin to soft fresh mozzarella), drizzled with a reduction of balsamic vinegar, paired with grilled bread is absolutely to die for. The roasted cauliflower with currants and balsamic vinegar reduction is the best prepared cauliflower I have ever had. I could eat this all the time. The beet salad is very good and gives a nice balance to the other dishes. We had the prosciutto & pineapple thin crust pizza which was made in their wood burning oven. They do not skimp on the ingredients and while I am normally not a fan of pineapple on my pizza, this was done very well. The service was excellent and friendly. The front of the restaurant has a view of the wood burning oven. We ate in the covered patio in the back which has heating lamps. Very nice and relaxing atmosphere. I will definitely be back again and again.

Reasons to love Vesta:
— great and very creative pizzas
— delicious tapas (especially the pork shoulder, a must!)
— adorable ambience — ask to sit in the back patio of where there’s natural lighting and space heaters!
— awesome waiters with great service and smiles on their faces when they come by to check on you
— do not forget to get their Mexican chocolate bread pudding! The chilled whipped cream with the warm bread pudding is a heavenly combination!
Reasons to maybe stay away:
— pricing
But once in a while, this little spot offers great food and awesome service!

Popped in whilst on a whistle stop of redwood city for lunch. Impressive space, impressive menu. Now to the food.
They had a pear with burrata for a starter. I was expecting more of a pear salad, with sliced cold pear, burrata, maybe some nuts etc. But what I got I just wasn’t sure whether it was a starter, or desert. Three whole halves of pear, poached, balsamic, salted, with three lumps of burrata. Sweet, salty, it was nice, but just confused.
Similarly with the pizza — a pork and honey looked interesting. But the overdone honey reduced the pizza to contrasting between the crunchy sausage meat and the cloying honey, so not really that great, either.
Also tried a butternut squash soup. Think they added honey to that too. Unpleasant.
Had one more pizza which was prosciutto and pineapple. A posh Hawaiian if you like. I’d probably say this one was the best of the dishes, but only a ⁷⁄₁₀ at best.
Despite toppings, the bases (or pies) were great thanks to the wood fired oven. Slightly undercooked, but better than most.
So in feedback on the food — make up whether a dish is at the beginning or end. Easy on the honey.
The other thing I found quite odd was there were at least 6 serving staff for a small restaurant. When we’d finished most of our food we had repeated visits to our table asking to box up the remains — we were merely waiting for our second wind! After being asked a third time, we gave up, agreed to the box, paid and left.

Delicious thin crust pizza!
My friend got a table at 5:45 in the back of the restaurant where there were heat lamps. The restaurant was packed when I arrived at 6 PM. We were 2 feet from the heat lamp and I asked our waiter if it was possible to turn it down just a tad, he was very understanding. Later on my friend said he noticed the manager try to discreetly turn up the heat after I had mentioned to him it became really warm.
Anyways. pizza talk! Ordered 2 pizza and they came out within 15 minutes on a busy evening! Thumbs up already!
The white pizza with mushrooms, goat cheese and truffle oil — SO GOOD. Could easily eat the entire thing. The goat cheese pieces were a little large, but I used my knife to spread it more easily. With the side of pepper flakes, so perfect. Good bite sized mushrooms with a lovely helping of drizzled olive oil, perfection! The crust was nice and thin, with the right amount of chew and char.
My friend ordered the proscutto and pineapple. The slices of jalapeño were nice and spicy, he gave them to me so I could add some heat to my pizza. The pineapple was grilled and thinly sliced. He enjoyed his pizza.
Would definitely visit again!

I would give this place 10 STARS if I could.
Vesta serves the BEST PIZZA IN THE BAY AREA.
We started out by coming at around 7 and got seated immediately, even though we had a reservation for 7:45. Our waiter was very nice, and served us quickly.
I just have to talk about Fernando. His service was amazing. He was sweet, kind, and very helpful with our selection of pies. Fernando did everything right… and he even exceeded our expectations in service in other areas!
We ordered the Sausage & Honey pizza from the Red Pie selection, and the Rosemary Potato & Bacon from the White Pie selection.
Both pizzas were TEN OUT OF TEN DELICIOUS. They were very filling, very delicious, and very satisfying. The open kitchen is very interesting to observe.
Vesta’s gelato is also delicious– don’t pass it up!
Dinner for two sits at around $ 60 or $ 70. It’s COMPLETELY worth it for the calibre of food they serve here.
Way to go, Vesta!

This was a field trip lunch for me (I work in Palo Alto) but I’m so glad my coworker recommended it. We ordered ahead to in as usual (this is fast becoming my favorite way to eat) and the host was accommodating.
The four of us ordered a round of brown sugar lemonades which were refreshing, though became a little gritty toward the end. The food was all delicious from the delightful arugula salad to the sausage honey pizza that started off bland but became more interesting and spicy with eat bite. I especially enjoyed the mushroom toast which had fabulous buttery bread and strong mushroom flavors. The pork meatballs and shoulder were good, though not particularly memorable. The polenta cakes were grilled to perfection even though I prefer the mushy kind.
The servers were very attentive and the waitress who offered one of my coworkers hot water since he sounded sick to her handled the situation gracefully when he told her «that’s my normal voice.» They were also nice enough to let us take our lemonade refills in to go cups.
Value is decent at ~$ 25 pp for lunch. The ambiance is on the upper end of casual and I would imagine it to be super cute for a dinner date as well. I would return again if I’m in this neck of the woods again.
Tip: parking in the nearby lot is free for the first 1.5 hours!

I’ve been looking forward to trying Vesta — came in this past weekend with a total party of 6 for a (very belated) birthday dinner for me and my friend! We were given an estimate of about an hour wait (~7pm on a Saturday). Everywhere else was probably about the same, so we stayed.
We ordered:
Small plates —
+ Pork Meatballs
+ Pork Shoulder
+ Grilled Carrots
Red Pies —
+ Basil Burrata
+ Sausage & Honey
White Pies —
+ Rosemary Potato & Bacon
+ Carbonara
My favorite out of the small plates was the grilled carrots! I was surprised they were so good. I just expected something really simple, but they were flavorful af. Would order again. I didn’t find the pork plates very special or anything, but they were still yummy.
Sausage & Honey was a gooood call. I saw a few photos on Unilocal and it looked like the best pie. I loved the sweet + spicy mingle of tastes. The Basil Burrata was all right — a bit simple for my tastes and I don’t know how to appreciate cheese, lol. Both white pies were yummy! I think the Carbonara is my favorite if I had to choose.
The pizzas were cut into six slices (for our party of 6) so that was very convenient. Pizzas are pretty small but still shareable. Very thin slices, so each slice is very easy to get through — ate about 4.5 slices (plus small plates and two beers) and didn’t feel overly full. Maybe I just eat a lot though haha.
Service is fast and friendly. Food comes out really quick which is good for hangry eaters. Drinks are also refilled in a timely manner. I didn’t think I’d get another beer, but our waitress asked if I wanted another and I thought… why not?
Overall, I really really liked the food! But for ~$ 20 for one pizza can add up really quick in a big party. I think it’s worth it but this definitely isn’t your everyday go-​to restaurant. You are definitely paying for quality versus quantity here. This was a nice treat for me this past weekend. :)
*Also: Thanks Vesta for putting up with all the photos our families were taking. Camera flashes everywhere. And thank you for cutting the cake we brought in!

I have visited several times and I LOVE Vesta!
Vesta is a cozy restaurant located in Downtown Redwood City, with al fresco patio seating located in the back. It was FREEZING despite the heat lamps, so I was thrilled when they snagged us an indoor table last minute. Highly recommend reservations ahead of time.
* BEET SALAD — 4.5 STARS: Tasty and refreshing way to start the meal.
* BURRATA TOAST — 4 STARS: Insanely delicious and rich burrata, served on slices of thick cut olive oil or butter toast. It was really good but a little boring for me — needed some arugula or garnish.
* MUSHROOM TOAST — 4.25 STARS: Love this even more than the burrata toast, because the toast is overflowing with delicious, creamy mushrooms. Maybe a little too creamy, but I love this dish and would recommend it for mushroom lovers.
* SAUSAGE HONEY PIZZA — 5 STARS: Comes with 4 large slices — it’s the perfect amount of sweet and savory with a creamy cheese which complemented the pie perfectly. My favorite pizza of the night.
* CARBONARA PIZZA — 3.5 STARS: I loved that they preserved the gooeyness of the runny yolk, unlike most places. I think this was a little too rich for me.
* OLIVE OIL SEA SALT VANILLA GELATO — 3 STARS: A nice idea, and very nice component ingredients but there was way too much olive oil. Sometimes they only serve gelato for dessert, other times they have a rotating special. I have had better olive oil ice cream at Beretta.

This is one of my all-​time favorite restaurants in the South Bay. They serve delicious italian tapas + pizzas, and every dish I’ve tried so far (like 80% of the menu) has been a unique medley of tasty and fresh ingredients.
If I had to narrow it down, my recommendations are:
— Grilled pear with balsamic vinegar
— Mushroom toast
— Cauliflower (with currants, serrano chili, honey and breadcrumbs)
— Pesto pizza with honey and chili
— Everything else
The ambience is great for a fancy but informal meal, and I suggest getting a seat at the patio in the back if it’s a nice day out!

This is one of my all time favorite pizza restaurants! I always make a reservations here because it gets pretty packed and ain’t nobody got time to wait when you are hungry.
Their pizzas are awesome, they have many different kinds. It’s not your usual Domino’s pizza, it’s pizza with character and has many different ingredients. They have one I have yet to try, it has nectarines on it, however it is only seasonal.
I love their appetizers! I always order the zucchini pancakes, grilled carrots (SO good, esp if you like cumin), mushroom toast and kale salad. I want to try their arugula salad next time. All are super tasty and mouth watering.
Highly recommend this place! ;) Give it a try and let it spin your taste buds!

It’s a rare thing to constantly maintain excellent service and good quality food at each visit yet Vesta does. My 5 stars stay just that. Another stellar meal served to our party of 6. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

The first time I visited Vesta I’d give it a solid 5 stars. We loved it so much that we went again a few days later. This experience was significantly less impressive. For the variable experience, I have to give it 3 stars.
Location/​Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅. Vesta has a nice interior, back patio, and front patio. Depending on the weather, I’d sit outside, particularly on the back patio, which is very charming. It’s a nice location in downtown Redwood City.
Service: ³⁄₅. Very quick service. It sometimes feels like they’re rushing you out, though. Also, the second time we visited, they seated us outside even though we had specifically asked for an inside table (and insisted that we didn’t mind waiting for it.) It was pretty cold that evening, and we felt that was a pretty unprofessional move.
Food: 3.5÷5. First time we went, we had the mushroom toast, sausage and honey pizza, and rosemary potato and bacon pizza. These were all excellent. Both pizzas were delicious – very different flavors so I couldn’t pick one over the other, but both excellent. The next time we went we tried the Soppressata. It was watery and bland. Neither of us liked it at all. The wine list here is pretty good.
Overall: I’ll probably visit again and give it one more try. But right now I’m decidedly undecided about Vesta.

Fantastic… Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed the place yet.
I have been here twice: once for dine in and the other for take out. For dine in, I loved my truffle mushroom pizza but wasn’t a huge fan of the goat cheese.
The next time I came here, I ordered the same pizza with a cheese substitute, a wild arugula salad, and the spicy vegan pizza with mozzarella cheese to go. Everything was so delicious. They were super fast with the take out and the food tasted just as good at home.
This is my new (fancy) go-​to pizza spot. Yum!
Perfect to show off the great food in Redwood City, for date night, or take out when you want fancy food in the comfort of your home.