My family of 4 spent $112 at Disney World's Via Napoli Italian restaurant, and the $38 pizza was totally worth it

• I dined at Disney World's Via Napoli with my husband and our two kids for about $112.
• I love that the menu is à la carte versus family-style or buffet, and the pizza and pasta were good.

Even as a travel planner at Marvelous Mouse Travels, helping people decide which table-service restaurant to go with at Epcot is quite challenging.

The park has so many great eateries that it's hard to choose. But when my family is looking for a tasty, quick, à-la-carte meal, we often head to Via Napoli.

When you enter the restaurant, it feels like you've stepped into an authentic Italian eatery

Via Napoli is situated at the back of the Italy Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase. It's not to be confused with its more formal counterpart, Tutto Italia, located next door.

The atmosphere is more fun and lively at Via Napoli. But the vaulted ceilings can make the restaurant loud, so it's not a quiet place to have dinner.

The are various dining rooms and the decor is what you'd expect from an Italian place. The hallmark of the restaurant is the large wood-fired ovens cranking out pizzas for hungry customers.

The tables are also close together — something I've experienced in Italy — which gave us a great glimpse at our neighbors' food.

It's known for its pizza, but it serves several options à la carte

I love a good family-style meal or buffet, but sometimes it's nice to have à-la-carte options.

We knew we wanted pizza, but we ordered other items to round out our meal.

We shared dishes with our two children, but the restaurant also offers kids a choice of spaghetti, a small pizza, or chicken strips for about $11 each.

We started our meal with a light Caesar salad

The restaurant offers two salads, a Caesar and a house, and a variety of appetizers including calamari, arancini, and garlic focaccia.

We opted for the Caesar salad ($21) as we wanted to save room for pizza. The salad was traditional and good — a light way to start the meal.

We knew we wanted to get a big pizza to share

Pizza is the star of this restaurant, so we knew we had to order at least one.

There are three sizes available: individual, large, and "mezzo metro" (half a meter). The mezzo is huge, too big for my family of four, so we went with a large pepperoni ($38).

The kids raved about the pizza, and my husband and I agreed. It had a rich flavor, and the ingredients tasted fresh. Plus it had an authentic taste without being too different for my kids.

I ordered pasta to accompany the pizza

The restaurant also serves a number of pasta dishes and other Italian specialties, like chicken Parmesan.

I'm a sucker for cream sauce, so I ordered the cheese tortellini ($29) with sautéed pancetta and sweet peas in a Parmesan cream sauce.

It was so rich and decadent. The combination of the ingredients was delicious, and I'd definitely order it again.

The fettuccine and manicotti also looked tasty at the table next to us.

We didn't save room for dessert or cocktails

We were too full to try dessert, but the Italian-inspired specialties were tempting.

Next time, I'm saving room for the tiramisu or the panna cotta as well as the sangria flight.

Via Napoli is a great, reasonably priced option in Epcot's World Showcase

We enjoyed the lively atmosphere, good service, and delicious Italian-inspired fare. It's a wonderful option if you want to order à la carte.

For those who love pizza, Via Napoli has the best pies in Walt Disney World. But don't miss out on the other flavorful dishes as well.