Gluten Casein Free Dining Review: Bella Vita Cafe - Freehold, NJ

On this lazy Sunday night my husband and I were texting each other about going out to dinner (so as not to get the kids hopes up while we decided) and I suggested going to find Gluten Free Pizza. We had heard about a few places not too far away that had GF pizza. So before making the trek and being disappointed I started calling around. And I'm glad I did because the place we originally were going to had gluten free pizza but the dough mix they use contained dry milk - so that got scratched off our list. They were listed as serving Still Riding Pizza but they apparently rotate it with another brand. Since I had checked out the ingredients for Still Riding, I knew it was "safe" for Alex with no gluten and no milk. I went onto the Still Riding Pizza website and did a search to find other locations somewhat nearby and found Bella Vita Cafe in Freehold, NJ. (Even closer than where I was originally going to go!)

I called them ahead and they assured me that they were able to do a gluten free pizza and the toppings could be anything we chose. They didn't have gluten free or dairy free cheese, but since my son doesn't really care for cheese anyways - we could get him a cheeseless pizza. We packed the kids in the car, set the GPS and off we went. Its really only about 25 minutes or so away, so it was pretty convenient and actually the closest of the 3 places that I was looking into that were 40-45 minutes each way.

When we got to Bella Vita, it looked like your "typical" Jersey pizza takeout joint. It is deceiving because they have a nice sit down area in the back. The restaurant is dimly lit, well decorated and met my son's seal of approval quickly with its big screen flat panel wall-mount TV. The server let us pick our seat and then offered to switch the channel to Disney from ESPN to entertain the kids. Alex decided to sit next to us in his own 2-seater table (so he could have the best view of the TV - of course).

Alex ordered the gluten free pizza plain (just sauce). They are a 12" pie, and we figured we'd just bring him home the rest and pop in the freezer. We ordered my daughter a personal plain pizza and I got a caeser salad. My husband and I ordered a shrimp and garlic gourmet pie. We let our server know that the kids food could come out whenever it was ready. In just a few minutes, he had my son's gluten free pizza ready and on the table. Alex was very happy and ready to dig in. It actually worked out well with him sitting next to us as his pizza took up the whole table.

Alex started in on his pizza while the rest of the food was getting prepared. Our super friendly server didn't even need to ask (but he did anyways) if Alex was enjoying his pizza because when he came out to refill drinks he had already eaten half of it! He just kept eating and eating. I kept reminding him that if he was full we could pack it up and take it home with us. He said he wasn't full and he was still hungry. He did slow down towards the end and left about 2 bitefuls (as well as the crusts) uneaten. His pizza was $13.50 and worth every cent of it. Next time we go back we are ordering a second pie "to go" so we can tuck away some slices in the freezer.

This is what Alex thought of his Gluten Free pizza from Bella Vita Cafe: He ate 8 slices!


It was really a treat to be able to go into a restaurant with Alex and order a dish just for him without having to tote along food or fret about what he would eat. Pizza, especially. The staff at Bella Vita Cafe was friendly, the environment was cozy, and the prices are fair. Best of all, we all were able to enjoy pizza together. I didn't get to taste the GF pizza, but the one who it mattered to clearly gave it thumbs up! When we got home, Alex told his dad "Thank You for the pizza". We'll definitely go back here again.

Restaurant info:
Bella Vita Cafe:
3585 Route 9 North Freehold, NJ 07728
732.866.8484

website: http://www.bellavitacafe.com/
Twitter: @BellaVitaCafe