Via 313 arrives in the 303 🍕

Via 313 has been one of Austin's go-to pizza spots for years, and I'd been watching their Denver expansion closely. When they finally opened a location near Park Meadows — right on that Lone Tree/Centennial border — I made the drive down pretty quickly. South Denver doesn't have a shortage of strip mall Italian places, but Detroit-style pizza done right is a different thing entirely, and I wanted to see if this translated outside of Texas.

What Detroit-Style Actually Means Here

If you haven't had Detroit-style before, the short version is this: it's baked in a square steel pan with enough oil to give the bottom crust an almost fried texture, the cheese goes edge-to-edge and caramelizes against the sides of the pan, and the whole thing ends up with a crust that's airy on the inside and genuinely crunchy on the outside. Those corner pieces are the ones worth fighting over. Via 313 executes this well — the crust has real structure, not the dense, doughy situation you sometimes get when places try to replicate the style without understanding why it works. The sauce goes on top of the cheese here, which is traditional for Detroit-style and still surprises people who haven't seen it before.

The Experience at the Centennial Location

The Park Meadows area location is convenient if you're already heading south for something else, and parking is straightforward — it's a suburban setup, so that's not a problem. My wife and I went on a weeknight and got seated without any wait. The restaurant itself is casual and unpretentious. Nobody's trying to make this into a scene. You order, you sit, the pizza takes a little time because it's baked to order in those steel pans, and then it arrives and you understand why people drove here from Austin in the first place.

The menu is focused, which I appreciate. Detroit-style pies in various configurations, some starters, drinks. They've also added brunch at both Colorado locations, which runs on weekends and includes breakfast-focused pizzas alongside some boozy drinks — I haven't done the brunch yet, but it's on my list. For a straightforward dinner, the classic builds are where I'd start on a first visit.

What Works, What Doesn't

The pizza is legitimately good. The caramelized cheese edges alone are worth the trip. The crust has that quality where it's substantial without being heavy, and the sauce has some actual acidity to it rather than being sweet and flat. I came in skeptical — Denver has decent pizza, and Austin hype doesn't always survive relocation — and I was wrong to be skeptical. This is one of the better pizza restaurants anywhere in the southern suburbs right now.

The one thing to know going in: square pies baked in steel pans aren't fast. If you're in a rush, manage expectations. This isn't a knock, it's just the nature of the product. Also, if you're comparing this to New York-style pizza, you're comparing the wrong things. They're doing something different here, and it works on its own terms.

Worth the Drive?

Via 313 also has a RiNo location on Walnut Street if you're closer to the city — they opened there a couple years back — but for anyone in the south metro, the Park Meadows area location is the easier call. Etai Baron, who runs Brava! and knows Denver pizza well, has publicly said Via 313 in Austin was one of his favorite versions of the style. That's not a small endorsement.

Detroit-style has been growing in Denver, and this is probably the highest-profile version of it we've gotten. If you're in the area or you've been curious about the style, this is a good place to find out what the conversation is about. I'll be back for the brunch.