Roman pinsa, cold-fermented for 72 hours. Four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, sea salt. View our menu

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The Best Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in Sedona

Hey there, food lovers and wanderers. If you’re looking for real Italian food in Sedona, you can stop looking. Imagine stepping into a small restaurant in the back streets of Rome — the espresso machine going, someone shouting an order, bread that smells like it took time. That’s what we built here, on 89A in West Sedona.

Family Operated Since Our First Kitchen in 1996

We’re not one of the many restaurants around here. We’re family operated, we serve with humility and pride, and we cook the food we actually grew up on — Sicilian from Palermo, Piemontese from Torino, Roman by training. Whether you’re craving pizza, a memorable dining experience, or a pinsa romana after a long hike, Vespa is your go-to destination. No doubt.

Food Is Our Love Language

What Actually Makes Us Different

Seventy-Two Hours of Patience

Our pinsa dough is four ingredients — flour, water, yeast, sea salt — and it rests cold at 4–6°C for three full days before anyone touches it. That is what makes it light and crisp at the edge. We did the waiting so you don’t have to think about it afterward. How the dough works →

Flour From the Man Who Invented Pinsa

Pinsa romana was created in 2001 by Corrado Di Marco. We buy our flour from Di Marco — the original three-flour blend, not an American approximation. Milled outside Rome, certified non-GMO, screened for pesticide residue under European standards. Our pasta is made fresh in Italy and imported; we don’t pretend to do it better than people who have done it for generations.

Two Grandmothers

Nonna Pina taught this family the kitchen. Nonna Maria taught the coffee bar. That is why we are a café and not only a restaurant — the espresso here is its own discipline, handed down by its own teacher. Meet the family →

Easy on the Body

Long fermentation, clean sourcing, four ingredients, and a bread that sits lighter than standard pizza. Food that doesn’t sit on you for the rest of the afternoon — which matters more than usual when you’ve got a trail to get back to.

Perfect Location

1350 W State Route 89A, Suite 22 — West Sedona, not Uptown. Easier parking, and we’re open from 11am every day without closing between lunch and dinner.

A Culinary Journey Through Italy

Sicilian aubergine, Ligurian pesto, Roman flatbread, and the desserts that close an Italian meal properly. Our menu is a map of where this family comes from. See the full menu →

LISTEN TO OUR NOTEBOOK-LM Ai PODCAST!

ITALIAN CUISINE IN THE RED ROCKS COUNTRY

72-HOUR FERMENTED | FOUR INGREDIENTS | ROMAN FLATBREAD

NOT GLUTEN FREE: UNIQUELY BETTER.

Our menu is a trip through Italy — Roman flatbread, Sicilian aubergine, Ligurian pesto, and the desserts that end every Italian meal properly.

Some dishes live beyond the main list. Ask us what is available or explore our secret menu.

Six Vespa pinsa romana flatbreads with Italian toppings

LA PINSA ROMANA

Roman Style Pizza

Ten varieties on a 72-hour, 85%-hydration dough. Oval, not round. Airy inside, shattering at the edge. Start with the Margherita if it’s your first time, or the Rucola e Prosciutto if it isn’t.

Antipasti and salads with burrata, charcuterie and organic greens

ANTIPASTI & INSALATE

Appetizers & Salads

Bruschetta Capri, Burrata Caprese, organic leaves with apple and toasted pistachio. Italian starters wake your appetite rather than blunting it.

SORRISI FARCITI

Sandwiches

Built on the same three-day dough, filled and folded. Lunch that doesn’t slow you down.

Italian hot plates with lasagna, manicotti and sausage with peppers

PIATTI CALDI

Entrées & Hot Plates

Cacciatore, Manicotti Pera Formaggi, Lasagna al Forno, sausage and peppers. Weeknight food in Rome, cooked properly, with pasta imported fresh from Italy.

Three Italian cornetti filled with chocolate, pistachio and cream

DOLCEZZE

Desserts

Tiramisù, cannoli cream, hazelnut and strawberry. Order the espresso with it, not after.

See the full menu

Black-and-white collage of vintage Vespa scooter posters

Yes, We Make Pizza. Ours Just Takes Three Days.

ROMAN STYLE | 72-HOUR DOUGH | BAKED ON STONE

People come to Sedona and search for pizza. Then they find us and see the word pinsa, and reasonably wonder whether they’re about to be talked out of what they wanted.

You’re not. Pinsa romana is pizza — it’s the Roman version, and it’s older than the Neapolitan one everybody pictures. Round versus oval. One flour versus three. A few hours of rising versus seventy-two.

What that means when it arrives: a base that’s crisp underneath and open inside, with a bit of chew and no grease. It doesn’t fold like New York pizza and it isn’t soupy in the middle like Neapolitan. It’s its own thing, and once people have had it they tend to stop comparing.

We bake it on stone over gas at around 608°F. Not a wood oven — Neapolitan pizza wants ferocious heat for ninety seconds, and this dough doesn’t. It wants steady heat, held exactly, from the first order at 11am to the last one at night. So if you searched for the best pizza in Sedona and ended up here: you’re in the right place. It just took us three days to get ready for you.

What pinsa romana actually is

Beverages

ESPRESSO | DIGESTIVES | WINE | COCKTAILS

Nonna Maria taught this family the coffee bar, so the espresso here is not an afterthought. Italian beans, pulled the way it is drunk in Rome — standing at the counter, quickly, no ceremony.

The wine list is short and chosen to sit alongside this food rather than to impress anyone. We keep a proper range of amari, the herbal digestivi that close a meal in Italy — a little sweet, a little bitter, and kind to a full stomach.

OUR DRINKS

Vespa owner serving drinks to two guests at the counter

Espresso That Wakes You Up: We use the best Italian coffee beans to make espresso that’s rich, strong, and totally authentic.

Wines for Every Taste: Red, white, rosé – we’ve got a wine to match your mood and your meal. Let us help you pick the perfect one!

Cool Cocktails and More: From Italian NA sodas, classic aperitivos staples like Aperol Spritz and Campari soda, to Locally sourced Mocktails, and Classic Martinis and Craft Cocktails, we’ve got plenty of ways to quench your thirst.

Amaros (Trust Us): These herbal liqueurs are a classic Italian way to end a meal. They’re a little sweet, a little bitter, and totally unique.

Sedona Chamber of Commerce member badge for Vespa Healthy Italian Café

Planning Your Visit

WALK-INS WELCOME | DOGS WELCOME OUTSIDE | OPEN 11AM DAILY

No reservations, and that’s on purpose

We don’t take bookings. Walk in and we’ll find you a table. The quiet window is 11am to 12:30pm — hikers come off the trails around 1pm and every kitchen in Sedona gets slammed at once. Come before noon and you’ll barely wait.

Bring the dog — here’s how it works

Dogs are welcome at our outdoor tables. It runs a little differently from inside: order at the counter, we pack it up for you, and you carry it out. There’s no table service outside, and Arizona liquor law keeps wine and cocktails indoors. But after a morning on the trail together, you and the dog get to sit down in the Sedona air instead of eating in the car — and that’s worth knowing before you drive over.

Order ahead or take it with you

Order online through Toast and collect, or call and we’ll have it ready. Everything on the menu travels — the pinsa in particular holds up far better than pizza does.

Open straight through

11am to 9pm Sunday through Thursday, 11am to 10pm Friday and Saturday. We don’t close between lunch and dinner, which in this town is rarer than it should be.

Finding us

West Sedona, on 89A — not Uptown. 1350 W State Route 89A, Suite 22. Free parking in the plaza lot, though it fills up around the middle of the day like everything else in this town. Another reason to come before noon. Directions and landmarks →

Order online

OUR CATERING

For Your Sedona Wedding, Party or Private Event

CUSTOMIZED MENUS TO SUIT YOUR EVENT | OFF & ON-SITE EXPERIENCE

We cater weddings, private parties, corporate events and retreats across the Sedona area — the same kitchen and the same 72-hour dough, wherever you are celebrating.

Every event is fully custom. Tell us what you are planning and someone will reach out within 10 minutes. Guaranteed. That is the thing our clients mention most.

OUR CATERING

Vintage Vespa scooter detail in a black-and-white café banner

WORKING HERE

CAREER GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT | EMBRACE THE VESPA SPIRIT

Join our team at Vespa. We value excellence, creativity and a real commitment to hospitality — the Italian kind, where looking after people is the job rather than a policy.

WORK HERE

Portrait of Matteo Zacchino at the Vespa café

Portrait of Leonardo Zacchino at the Vespa café

Portrait of a young Vespa family member at the café

Leonardo and Matteo Zacchino with two younger family members at Vespa

THE FAMILY

MATTEO ZACCHINO | LEONARDO ZACCHINO

The Zacchino family came from Piazza Sant’Onofrio in Palermo, by way of Sanremo on the Ligurian coast, and opened its first American restaurant in Phoenix in 1996 — Tutti Santi by Nina, still going today. Vespa came later, and further north.

Leonardo is the patriarch. Matteo runs this kitchen. Over the years we have become the local’s favourite and a visiting must, and the reason is not complicated: we cook the way our grandmothers taught us, and we treat people like they have come to the house. More about the family →

OUR FAMILY

m k

2 November 2023

If you want delicious Pizza and Salad this definitely fits the bill. My husband was talking about it for days. It had a delicious focaccia crust, and the perfect blend of toppings. Friendly staff.

Marian Mejias

13 February 2026

I highly recommend everything at this restaurant. It is one of my favorite spots whenever we visit Sedona. The food is delicious, prepared with organic and fresh ingredients. It provides a genuinely authentic Italian experience, and the service is outstanding.

Mark P. Fisher

23 June 2026

� � � � � What a delightful find. Vespa Italian Cafe feels like the kind of place you hope is authentic, and then you meet the owner, Matteo from Sicily, and realize, “Oh, this is the real deal.” When I asked Matteo about the vision for the restaurant, his answer stopped me in the best way. He said, “I’m an artist. I want to create an experience that is memorable, authentic, and a credit to my culture and the quality of our food, with little touches of personalization, empathy, and meaningful hospitality.” That is exactly what we experienced. Francesca, our server from Siena, was attentive, warm, and genuinely passionate about the food and what they are creating here. You could feel the pride in every recommendation and every detail. We enjoyed: - Margherita pinsa with sausage, - Lasagna al Forno, - Burrata & Focaccia, - Fragole & Spinaci salad, - Cannoli Cream, - and Tiramisu. Every bite tasted fresh, thoughtful, and beautifully Italian without trying too hard. The pinsa had that perfect light crispness, the lasagna was rich and comforting, the burrata was exactly what burrata should be, and the desserts were dangerous in the best possible way. The espresso and tiramisu alone are worth coming back for. And then, because Italians apparently think of everything, they even have little hooks at the table for purses. That may sound like a small thing, but it tells you the whole story: great food, real hospitality, and care in the details. Five stars. We’ll be back.

Alison Sparks

4 June 2023

After a day of travel, we went to Vespa for a low key, delicious meal. Their Rucola and Prosciutto flatbread, and Mela & Pistacchi salad were filling, not heavy, made from very fresh ingredients. We also ordered a half bottle of wine to accompany our meal-another nice menu choice. You can sit outside or inside, both places are pleasant and quiet. We plan to return!

Danielle Bendayan

20 March 2026

If I could rate this place 6 stars I would!! The service was exquisite and the owner was so attentive and personable. The food was unreal and tasted extremely fresh.

Cara Lehane

19 April 2025

Focaccia and pizza were delicious, and staff were very friendly (Francesca)! Highly recommend for casual dinner out in Sedona!

Austin C.

13 October 2025

Literally the best pizza I've ever had. Also, get the cannoli. Trust me. I'm going again tomorrow.

Amy V

21 October 2022

The crust...yum!

Haydn Muir

27 April 2026

Vespa advertises real food with real ingredients made fresh takes patience. They are not wrong. From the staff to the cuisine you cannot go wrong with this traditional Italian cafe. Fantastic!

Dani S

9 July 2026

Arien was amazing. If you eat here ask for him. Very polite and knowledgeable. Food amazing. Best meal in Sedona. Pizza really unique. Classy atmosphere. Relaxed. Would definitely return.

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