La Bella Napoli

No reservation? No problem. At Bella Napoli, they use the good ol’ fashioned waiting list. And by «waiting list», I mean there’s a waiter who mentally keeps track of the order in which customers arrive while carrying plates back and forth between the kitchen and dining area despite there often being a crowd of 20 – 30 people packed inside the entrance. This is a place where you just show up when every place else is booked or when you simply want a good meal and don’t feel like rolling the dice on a new restaurant.
When it comes to quality and taste, the food is pretty satisfying, and the prices are average. The pizzas aren’t particularly big by Italian standards (go to Spacca Napoli or Toto’ if that’s what you’re looking for), but they’re enough for one moderately hungry person to make a meal out of. I usually opt for the pizza verdure, which includes flavorful eggplant and zucchini that are somewhere between grilled and sauteed (I ask them to hold the bell peppers). I also enjoy the pizza uovo, which is a basic pizza topped with a sunny-​side-​up egg. There are many choices, and don’t make the mistake of thinking the list of pizzas stops on the second page of the menu — it continues on the back! And for those who are in the mood for pasta, salad, fish, and the like, you won’t be disappointed. Try the fried prawn and calamari plate with a side of fresh lemons. If you have room for dessert, it’s hard to go wrong. Their sorbets are creamy and refreshing, and the cakes I’ve tried have been quite good.
Tip: Avoid being seated in the small dining area downstairs. It tends to get noisy because of the poor acoustics, and often the service seems slower. If the weather is nice, try to get a table outside.