After attending the Palm Beach Post Tweetup in Downtown West Palm Beach, a few friends and I decided to try out the Italian Oven Cafe, which recently opened in City Place.  477 South Rosemary West Palm Beach, 561-804-6624.

About 20 of us descended upon the Italian Oven Cafe, right before they were closing, and I appreciated the fact that the workers did not seem to even show a tiny bit of disgust that they would have to remain open later then usual.  I felt kind of bad that when they closed the doors, that another group of people came in thinking they were still open cause we were all eating there.  The staff at the Italian Oven Cafe was exceptional, and I want to point out how accommodating they were.  Whoever owns this location should be happy they have such a staff, and do everything they could to keep them working there.

I ordered a plain pizza, and was pretty surprised at the price.  For $6 I got a nice individual pizza that other places would have easily tried to charge $8-$9 for.  Especially at Steve's Pizza in Boca Raton.  He would have easily tried to charge about $9 for this $6 pizza.  Just goes to show you that even in an expensive locale like City Place, where rents are exorbitant, you can still offer quality pizza at a reasonable price.

We sat down in the back of this huge, spotless restaurant.  It was open, airy, and big enough to have a small band playing.  Curious to know if this establishment ever fills up completely, and how noisy it could get.  Guess I will have to go during normal hours to find out.  When they brought my mini pie I was a bit taken back at the size of the pie, but it looked decent anyways.  The cheese was still sizzling on top of a smooth sea of sauce.  The crust didn't look too well done, and I would later find out that it was a bit under cooked and chewy.  My first bite into this pizza did not make me jump out of my seat in joy, but it didn't make me keel over in disgust either.  Some of the pizzas that other attendees got seemed to be better then my plain one.  The sauce was smooth but needs a bit of reworking with the recipe.  You could sweeten it up a bit, and make it more prominent tasting.  The cheese needs no work, but the crust needs to be cooked more.  You should try lowering your oven and letting the pie cook longer, since it is currently too chewy, almost like bread after microwaving.  I am well aware that this pizza was freshly cooked in front of me without a microwave, but I am just using the description, so you know what it felt like when in your mouth.

Everyone with me seemed to enjoy the ambiance and food at the Italian Oven Cafe, and I will make it a point to go back and try it.  Especially with how cordial their staff is.

The Italian Oven Cafe in West Palm Beach gets 4 out of 8 slices.