To be honest I am surprised I have not written about this place. Pepper Potts and I use to go quite often to this place. However, stopped for some reason. We were around Courtenay Place and I didn’t feel like going to our local haunts and decided we should go back to Napoli and have some kai. Napoli is a relatively small restaurant and quite narrow. However, it is a small and intimate place. The menu is quite extensive when it comes to pizza but also has some pasta with a good starters menu.
Calamari Fritti
A Napoli signature entre scored calamari dusted in our secret Napoli crumb and deep fried to perfection.
Napoli always has made great calamari and that is why we have always ordered it. What I love about it, is how much you get and also the side you get on the side. The calamari is fresh and nice and tender. I love the seasonings they add to the coating of the squid and how nicely cooked it is. The salad is nice and fresh and the aioli they add on the side and really good. However, to make it even better, add some chilli oil to the calamari.
Arancini
Arborio rice balls with mozzarella, smoked ham, pepperoni, basil and Parmigiano, tomato and a hint of chilli. These are a portion of two, crumbled and deep-fried to a golden colour.
The biggest problem with these is there is only two and you wish there are more on the dish. The arancini are cooked really nicely and I love the dusting of cheese on top. The addition of the ham, pepperoni and parmigiano is fantastic and the rice is cooked perfectly. The only thing that I do not taste in the arancini is the chilli as I had to add more to it.
Positano
White base, mozzarella, provolone, rocket, prosciutto di Parma, finished with shaved provolone and olive oil.
When this arrived, I was surprised to see how loaded it was with prosciutto di Parma. There were enough pieces to cover the whole pizza. The ingredients that make this pizza all just work together to make sure a great pizza. I love the white base, the provolone, the pepper taste of the rocket and the saltiness from the prosciutto. To make it even better is adding in the chilli oil and you have a great pizza.
Pizza Napoli is a great place to eat. The decor is great, there is so outside seating and a lot of variety on the menu including pizzas without tomato base and instead have a white sauce base. The food for us came out really fast, to which it surprised me. However, the food came out in such a timely manner it felt that the staff were quite rude by just plonking our food on the table and as soon as we finished with a dish they took it away pronto. Overall though a great place to eat some great Italian food.
Address: 30 Courtenay Pl, Te Aro, Wellington
Website: Pizza Napoli
Trencherman's Travels 