Nonna Vivi Pizzeria

wonderful breeze made sitting outside very comfortable. We were warmly greeted.
Your drink glass was once a wine bottle = cool.
Staff was very nice and friendly.
Extremely loud screaming kids running all over. If they were then when we arrived, we could have left. Parents paid no heed to them.
We just ordered 2 pizzas. The salads look huge and delicious.
The pizzas were a thin, crunchy crust. Both were excellent.
This is a very pleasant stop and easy access off interstate.
Enjoy

Perhaps you're in Nogales or surrounding area, looking on Yelp for something, anything, to save you from a meal at the IHOP or McDonalds or similar joint that happens to be right by your hotel.

GET IN THE CAR AND DRIVE TO RIO RICO.

The NatGeo pizza (and in particular their amazing crust) was one of the best I've ever had. Dessert was great (pumpkin brûlée!), wines were perfectly chilled, service was attentive. An unexpectedly wonderful Italian place in the AZ desert.

It is very unusual to find a really good Italian place in this part of the country (sorry, Italian Peasant!), but this place would be fantastic no matter where you put it. I often visit my parents in Tubac every few months, and this place is a must-stop each time I come. Freshly made, thin crust Neopolitan style pizzas, great salads, reasonable prices, friendly staff, and overall a really enjoyable and rewarding eating experience. Nice ambient music on weekends in an outdoor seating area is the icing on the cake.

IF YOU LIKE PIZZA, YOU'LL LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

I have been wondering what to write for my 100th review on Yelp. I have been waiting for the perfect thing to come out and say "Me. I should be your first review into triple digits." I ate dinner here last night, and on my way back to Tucson, it occurred to me that a more detailed update of why I love Nonna Vivi would be the perfect one.

I brought my boyfriend here as a celebratory, "Congrats on your new job" dinner. He had never been, and this is my favorite restaurant, so I thought it might be a good idea.

Now, there are three things I force everyone I bring here to try. These three things are the Mediterranean Bruschetta, the Pasta Celeste, and the Vivi Special pizza.

The Bruschetta is wood-burning-oven toasted bread, with a sun-dried tomato ricotta spread, topped with parmesean cheese, basil and a kalamata olive. Everything on this is noticeable. Nothing gets lost, and everything is necessary. No two bites are the same, and every bite is perfect.

The Pasta Celeste is penne pasta in a Gorgonzola cream sauce with sweet Italian sausage. There is not so much sauce that everything gets drowned, and definitely enough sauce to give a tangy, creamy background to the sweet sausage.

The Vivi Special pizza is handmade thin crust with pesto, pears, caramalized onions and pine nuts. This is possibly the greatest pizza in invention. The pears sweetness balanes out the pesto and the onions to form an amazing flavor that I have yet to get used to. Every time I order it, it seems to be better than the last time.

Last night we also ordered dessert. Not that we were still hungry, and we had a lot of food to take home, but they said they had tiramisu, so we ordered it. Then we found that they didn't have tiramisu, and a member of the staff recommended that we get, what he described as, "pumpkin bread and creme brulee." We had no idea what to expect from this, but he said it was delicious, so we opted for that instead.

It came out, and I don't know how they did it, but the best way I can describe it to you is pumpkin bread pudding marbled with creme brulee with Bananas Foster sauce a la mode. Next time, I think I would get it without ice cream, or maybe half the amount (not that there was a lot), but this was the greatest dessert I have ever eaten in my life. Ever.

The service last night was exceptional. We were there until about 40 minutes after they closed, were cleaning up, but made us feel welcomed the entire time. They were already closed when they asked if we wanted dessert, and aside from being very full, we didn't want to make them hang around for a long time. When we said no, they said "Oh, there is always time for dessert!"

Well done Nonna Vivi. It's no wonder that I am always willing and happy to drive from Tucson to eat here, or that it's my favorite restaurant, or that I love to take my friends here.

To much excitement of everyone in the Nogales and Rio Rico area... Nonna Vivi Pizzeria is opening again at a new location after nearly 9 months of being closed. I can't wait to sink my teeth into a Gasty's Homemade Pizza! Delicious!

Ridiculous pizza! I was so surprised as I travel a alot for work and have had the pleasure of sampling pizza in NY, Chicago, San Francisco, as well as in Phoenix at Pizzeria Bianco.....

All that being said, I happened upon Nonna Vivi as I have been travelling to the RioRico/Nogales area quite frequently. I was asked to sit outside for lunch, as the dining room was completely full and reserved, and admittedly I was a little unhappy.

But that all changed when my pizza arrived, with a crisp, brick oven char, and the freshest tasting dough and ingredients I have had in the longest time!!! It blew me away.

The staff was friendly and very attentive since I was outside, and if you are ever in Tucson or further South I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you stop into the very non-descript shopping center and visit Nonna Vivi for some incredible pizza.

Sausage thin crust pizza is awesome, must come here if you're in the area, cool place with live music (guy playing guitar but not mariachi)

Not much selection around this border town, so this is a cozy place to hang out at night and enjoy some gourmet pizza and beer..

WHAT
sausage pizza - excellent ***** 5 star *****
buffalo chicken pizza **** 4 star ****
vivi special pizza (sliced pear, gorgonzola, caramelized onion) *** 3 star ***
mediterranean pizza *** 3 star ***

WHERE
place is a bit hard to find, it's inside a shopping complex all the way tucked in the back corner

WHY
Do keep this place in mind on the way to Nogales mexico or on the way back to Tucson, an easy hop off and hop on back to civilization that is interstate 19

When my co-worker requested pizza for dinner, we tried to find something in Nogales, but it was mostly chains. The front desk at our hotel recommended Nonna Vivi. It has been a while since I'd been (years), but I remembered that it was pretty good, and I couldn't wait any longer, so we just made the drive. After all, it's only a few miles.

NV is still cash only, but they're going strong, so it must not be that big of a deal. On a cool January night, the inside was completely packed, so we sat at an outside table. They've pulled sheets across the walkway and put in heaters, so it wasn't too bad. There was live music inside, which we could hear softly playing in the background.

We got the caprese salad and the Nat Geo pizza. Both were good. The caprese had decent tomatoes, surprising considering the time of the year. The pizza had prosciutto, arugula, and some other toppings that have escaped my memory. It was relatively thin crust and no tomato sauce - meaning it was nice and crispy. They have their liquor license now, and with it a decent selection of beers including Mexican favorites, and a few wines.

The service was somewhat inattentive, probably because we were on the patio. Apparently the server thought she deserved a $20 tip on a $30 meal, since my co-worker had to track her down to get the change and the receipt...

If someone's craving pizza, we'll go back, but it's a bit of a hassle if you're just looking for an easy meal.

This was the dining highlight of our trip to Rio Rico, thank you.

My wife and I split the the antipasto salad. It was good but nothing special. It was served with a raspberry vinaigrette (interesting), a few pieces of meat and cheese and a lot of tomatoes.

My wife ordered the Checca and I ordered the Nat Geo (National Geographic). OMG... both were very good but the NG was outstanding. The crust was perfect, not too crispy. Thankfully, It was not cracker thin crust. In fact I thought it was just right.

We did not have dessert... too full from the pizza but I would like to give special mention to the homemade Limonada. It was yummy!!

The service was good, but again not great. It seems like a family biz and they were very pleasant.

Yes, as good as it gets. Had a great dinner with family. The salads were delicious and very fresh, with just enough dressing to savor every bite. The pizza "AWESOME" had the Firefighter and the Shrimp pizza.
The service is what made the dinning experience special from the greeting from the hostess Gema and our server Delilah very friendly and knowledgeable, she did not have to use a notepad to take our order.
The short of is. This a great place to enjoy dinner, without breaking the bank. What would usually be a $65 dinner plus tip. Ours was less than $50.
Thank you Gaston and Claudia