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 →
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.
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 & 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 →
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.
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.
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 →
I'm giving it a 3 star solely based on my experience with the service.
I was a first time customer. The host at the air bnb I'm staying at recommended this place, saying the pizza was light and fresh (no bloating) which was definitely true. I walked into the establishment, grabbed a menu, and came up to the register. I smiled and told them this was my first time and heard great things. They asked if I was dinning in or carrying out. I told them dinning in. I was about to ask about the menu but the guy quickly told me to just sit wherever and he'll come help me. I told him I'll sit outside. What felt like 7 minutes of sitting out there with no one coming to bring water and ask if I had any questions, I decided to stand up and peek my head at the door. I saw the same guy that told me to sit down just chatting to his co worker behind the counter. (There was only 3 other customers there so it wasn't like it was busy which I then would have been more understanding). I waved to him so he saw me. He came out and said sorry. I told him I would have just stood inside and decided what I wanted but you insisted I go sit and then no one came out. I can tell the energy shifted and he never came back out. A new waiter came out.
Maybe I was too direct but I felt like being a new customer, from most of my experiences, the workers usually are more attentive and talk about the menu. I feel there was a total lack of quality service here. The only thing that made up for it was the margarita pizza ( 5 stars for that)
Melissa Sofia
27 September 2025
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Fabulous meal!! Definitely the place to eat! Thank you. From Chicago.
Sandra Rolus
22 March 2022
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The pizza was delicious!!!
Brian Walsh
27 March 2024
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Wow...
Great service, great food. The pizza crust is something else. Go here...
Ariel A
21 October 2024
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If you’re a human, who is normal and loves Caesar – you have to get the Cesarina here. The focaccia bread that it’s made with is mind blowing. I also order the bread by itself because it’s maybe the best bread I’ve ever had? I realize that’s a lot to say, but it is insanely good. They use that same bread for the pizza. I highly recommend trying it out, you’ll want to keep going back.
Kaycee Henrie
24 May 2023
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It was amazing didn’t get any food but some of the best coffees I’ve ever had, and wonderful service.
Jan Johnson
24 February 2026
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+5
Vespa is a MUST VISIT in Sedona! The appetizers, flat breads and deserts are AMAZING!!! Excellent Italian beers, too!
We had the Burrata appetizer, and two delicious flat breads made with exceptionally healthy long-fermented focaccia dough. I added truffle oil to mine. Yum!
For desert, a decaf Americano and cappuccino, paired with focaccia bread with chocolate hazelnut spread and fresh strawberries!
Our server, Francesca, was a joy to work with, as was Emma! Would definitely eat here again, and again, and again!
Stacie Barton
5 January 2025
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An upscale restaurant that presents itself with casual vibes. I couldn't get enough of every part of our meal and I was so pleased that they could accommodate a vegan. We had the avocado toast, genoana pizza sub vegan cheese, cacciatore and the strawberry hazelnut dessert. Everything was vegan and gluten friendly. And the little bottles of wine were perfect. Well worth the money and the food was so fresh! Our server was very knowledgeable and gave us recommendations for the area as well.
Barbara D.
19 September 2024
Verified
Wow! Don't let not having a view stop you from going here! Cassie (Blonde) recommended it to us while having a cocktail at Shorebird. Cassie (brunette) was an amazing server. Food was simply delicious. We are so glad we went and will definitely be back...Get the Lasagna!
Anna M.
1 December 2024
Verified
Amazing food! The pizza, chicken parm and dessert was SO delicious! Hidden gem in a small cafe near Whole Foods! Worth the visit!
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