Adam B.
Yelp
To not have a 5 star review from me for a Naples Pizzeria is telling. In the US, this would be a 5-star all day. However, compared to some of the other top pizza places in Naples, this fell just a little short.
Our favorite of all time, in Naples or anywhere, is Pizzaria Antica de Michele ... which is 3 blocks away from this. We went there an hour and ten minutes before they closed and they had already stopped taking new customers. Imagine that! We were so bummed but decided to speed walk over to Gino e Sorbillo, which closes an hour later. Located in a somewhat grimy and packed ally, there were several storefronts with Sorbillo on the front, which confused us. Luckily, our walking directions led us past the other Sorbillo locations (not sure what they were) and to the real deal.
You'll see a big crowd of mostly teens in front. There were a lot of bachelorette parties. At the doorway, there is a woman at a table who will take your name for a spot. When your table is ready, you will be called over a very unclear loudspeaker, so you (might) know that your table is ready. Across the street are bars, which allow you to have a drink outside while you wait for your name to be called.
This system is SO much better than the utter shit show chaos of De Michele! While I dream about their pizza, I have nightmares about their line system. Sorbillo is somewhat more civilized. We waited about 30 minutes until our name was called at 10:00 p.m. on a weekend night. This place is utterly huge inside, so there is more seating than you'd think, which keeps the line moving fast.
This feels more restaurant-y than De Michele, which feels more cafeteria-like. Oddly, we preferred De Michele's less cozy interior. Our waiter at Sorbillo was much more lively and personable than others ... he had us laughing and feeling at home.
The menu is very long and somewhat confusing ... a lot of the other famous pizza places have 2 or 3 options only. This place is more like what you'd find in the US in that there are lots of toppings you can order on your pizza. We wanted the classic ... however there are 3 versions here:
- Margherita (6 euro)
- Margherita Extra (more cheese) (7 euro)
- Margherita Special (bufalo mozzarella cheese) (8 euro)
The waiter said that they were most famous for their bufalo mozzarella pizza ... which is the exact opposite of what De Michele says ... they recommend flor di latte (regular) mozzarella. We wanted to go as classic as possible, so we got one regular Margherita and one bufalo. As tempting as extra cheese was, because of how delicious Naples cheese is, we stuck with the originals. We honestly couldn't really tell the difference between the two pizzas when they came.
While the typical wonderful sweet but slightly acidic tomato flavour was present, we didn't feel blown away by the cheese. It was less melted than other pizza places we tried ... in fact, some pieces were still a bit rubbery. The center of the pizza seemed a bit too moist, compared to other places. I understand that Neopolitan pizza should be moist in the center. I am not one of these US hicks who complains that their pizza is soggy in the center ... or that the crust is burned ... despite those being the hallmarks of real Italian pizza. However, having eaten many famous pizzas in Naples, the center was just a bit too wet for my liking.
In any US restaurant, this would be utterly orgasmic pizza. In Naples, it was very good and we enjoyed it ... but it wasn't the perfect pizza experience we still dream about at Antica da Michele. Perhaps the giant cardboard photo stand up of the owner in front ... or the rapid expansion of the brand all over the world (New York, Tokyo, Miami, Los Angeles) ... sort of planted a subliminal 'tourist trap' seed in our minds from the start. Overall, you won't be dissapointed if you come here ... and its hard to complain about a giant pizza with amazing ingredients for under $10 ... less than a Dominos pizza in the US! Antica da Michele is the pizza of our dreams ... Sorbillo is a suitable backup and likely much better than you'd find at the tourist restaurants lining the allies of Naples with big signs.