Elmwood Village offers so much value to Buffalonians, residents or non-residents of the neighborhood. The shops, the adorable homes, the bars, the restaurants, and, of course, the number of dogs being walked all contribute to the level of enjoyment while you are there.

Since I’m a big foodie, I prefer to have food involved one way or another when I’m visiting Elmwood. Vera was the perfect stop to encapsulate the elegance, yet youthfulness, of this area. Plus, Vera just makes you look so cool while eating pizza, so that’s definitely my kind of place.

Occasion

I had a fancy black tie event for work at Kleinhan’s Music Hall, so Vera was the perfect place to go for my evening out in the city! My co-worker and I decided to have a happy hour drink to kickoff our weekend and split a pizza before the event started.

The majority of times I’m eating pizza, I’m typically curled up on the couch in sweats, rockin’ the high ponytail, and watching my shows. But this time around, I was feeling fabulous in my cocktail dress and heels and was ready to raise. a. glass. and. eat. some. killer. pizza.

Selection

We started off with a round of cocktails. Vera has a really great drink selection—it was difficult to choose just one! I ended up trying to Earhart and my coworker had the Betty Peach.

The Earhart was amazing! A little thicker consistency but not too slushie-like, it included vodka, elderflower, fresh berries, and mint. I liked the thickness of it though, because it forced you to not sip it as quickly. It made it last longer to savor through the meal!

And I did have a sip of my friends Betty Peach, which included vodka, cinnamon, and citrus peach. I highly recommend that cocktail as well.

For dinner, we chose to split a pizza since there would be hors d’ouevres later at our work event. If you’re coming in really hungry, I don’t recommend splitting a pizza. But if you’re having an appetizer here too, going somewhere after with food, or aren’t too hungry, splitting a pizza did work perfectly for the two of us.

It was a lent Friday, so even though I probably would have ordered the pepperoni and roasted red pepper pizza, we went with the Margherita. Classic red sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil did sound pretty dang good. This was also a wise choice to go to a work event following since we didn’t have to worry about anything too potent on the pizza.

Atmosphere

I felt like the classiest pizza-eater there ever was at Vera. Located within the neighborhoods of Elmwood, it has big inviting windows to see the bar and tables inside.

It is relatively dim inside on purpose, but they rely on the natural light too. I did love the low-lit environment, dark walls, dark wooden booths, and all of the candles they had on the bar and tables. It created a cozy, cool vibe for sure.

My coworker and I joked that we were basically on a date, because this place could easily be a great romantic, yet casual dinner with your special someone!

Vera also has a really nice wooden bar with a wide selection. Even if you’re not looking to eat pizza here (although you totally should), this is a great option for a happy hour cocktail, stopping in for a drink at the beginning of the night, or meeting up with friends for drinks. They had a few high-top tables for more casual seating.

Most people like to go out to eat so they don’t have to cook. I do enjoy cooking very much, but I mostly go out to eat for the atmosphere of a restaurant and to get out of the house. Vera is definitely a winner in my book for atmosphere, and it seems that I have reached a new level of sophistication for eating pizza.

Class Act Pie

*Insert heart eyes*

I am starting to have my ‘favorites’ around Buffalo now that it has been some time, and I am happy to say that Vera is at the very tip top of my list for sit-down restaurant pizza.

Every aspect of this pizza was delightful. It looked like a normal pizza, but the taste was far better than most.

The fresh basil was plentiful, but not too overwhelming. It was a nice alternative taste every few bites in between the cheese.

I’m a light sauce kind of gal, so I preferred this pizza. As you can see, sauce was not pouring out through the cheese and on the other end of the spectrum it was not too dry where all you’re tasting is dough.

Cheese can really make or break a pizza for me. I’m sensitive to when there’s way too much cheese on a pizza and I hate when it has a rubbery texture. Yes, most pizzas use mozzarella, so it doesn’t seem like you can really mess this up.

But something about the light texture of Vera’s cheese made this more enjoyable for me. It was perfectly melted and stringy, but not in an rubbery or difficult to eat kind of fashion. And it tasted FRESH.

And, you have probably heard me say this before, but my biggest pet peeve is floppy pizza, to the point where all toppings just slide right off.

The dough was thinner in the middle with a fluffier crust. It held it’s own so well and somehow found a balance between sturdy and crispy. There was definitely a crunch-factor, but not too painful on the teeth by any means.

I like a pizza that’s easy to eat. And this was easy to eat and polish off between the two of us!

So, I hope I was convincing enough about how great this cool and cozy find was. Some places have either one or the other (good food or good atmosphere), but Vera is doing everything right—and shoutout to them for making little old me feel super cool.

Pizza & love,

Mandy