Neapolitan Pizzeria & Birreria

Just FYI, this pizza place comes on a «Google» search and via « Unilocal» that it delivers to Laguna Beach… and it does not.

I see absolutely no reason that this restaurant shouldn’t have five solid stars. We started with a fresh, healthy and delicious kale salad. Followed by pizza with buratta, and they had no problem letting us add mushrooms too. Good micro brews on tap and baked chicken wings for dessert. Absolute perfection all around!

The pizza, service, ambiance and staff are terrific. We come here about twice a month. We recently moved from New York and have sampled just about every pizza place in the area. Granted this is not New York style pizza by the slice, but it’s DELICIOUS!!! The Calabrese is out of this world crazy good. Their salads are also amazing. We split the pizza and a small salad and it’s the perfect amount. They always have a great selection of craft beers and their house Chardonnay is wonderfully crisp and cold! They always offer a taste before ordering. We like sitting at the bar and talking with the bartenders/​managers and they are always helpful and attentive. Love coming here! Thanks for being soooo delicious!

What do I look for in a restaurant? Excellent food, consistency, friendly staff, fair prices, and last but not least cleanliness. I don’t like it when Poppie’s a little sloppy.
I have eaten at Neapolitan many, many times since first eating there. I can honestly say that the reason I keep going back is because it meets all of the above and then some.
I’ve eaten Italian food in most of the places in the United States that are supposed to be known for their Italian food (New York and Chicago to name two). I’ve also been fortunate enough to visit northern Italy and enjoy authentic Italian cuisine.
I’ve tried almost everything on the menu on Neapolitan and I’ve never been disappointed. Their lasagne is amazing and is made fresh daily (no frozen microwave warmups there). But it is their pizza that keeps me coming back. Especially the meatball pizza. It is AMAZING! It is truly «gourmet» and their meatballs are made fresh daily with veal. So tasty! Their pizza is better tasting to me than any pizza I’ve eaten anywhere (including what I enjoyed in Italy). The crust is simply sublime and tastes good enough to be eaten with no toppings!
I recently read a review posted on 12/​29/​2015 about Neapolitan (comparing it to Angelina’s, Angelino’s, and Wine Gallery) and felt that it was nothing other than comments from some type of saboteur based upon my experiences at Neapolitan (competitor bashing perhaps?).
Interestingly, there’s a review posted on Unilocal in re: the Laguna Beach Wine Gallery on 12/​16/​2014 by this same reviewer (it was still there as of today — 1÷20÷2016):
«Used to LOVE this place Chris, but the service at the bar (yes, from your VERY nice managers), is sloooow and aloof at best. (Hopefully he’s a great manager.)
And now in two ocassions, HALF our margarita pizza came without cheese. (See photo. Even more shameless considering you make your own. (I make my own as well.)
The tomato sauce that was once delicious is now overly salty. The meatballs are amazing, but ruined by the sauce of late.
Worse, the wait staff acts surprised.
Aren’t they tasting the food weekly?
Aren’t they noticing ½ the cheese they used to see?
Please address these issues immediately so that I can remove this review. Out of the THREE Neapolitan restaurants within 10 blocks of you, you were our favorite — even over our friends’ with a 40K Venetian oven and all ingredients flown in from Italy.»
The key word is in the last statement. «Friends». How unfair and unsubstantiated does the Neapolitan review on 12/​29/​2015 sound to you now?
I sincerely hope that when people read the review posted on 12/​29/​2015 they can see through the nonsense and give Neapolitan a try. They won’t be disappointed.
I’m not an employee, friend, relative, or associate of Neapolitan. I’m just a satisfied repeat customer.

This place is fantastic, we stumbled across it while driving down PCH and we are definitely coming back! We ordered the blackberry pizza, it was delicious (blackberry sauce with ricotta, bacon, arugula and lemon vinaigrette… Really good and interesting flavor) Our son ordered the garlic bread and it was more than enough to fill him up and there was enough to share, too. Service was top notch, and they have a great selection of beers. Highly recommend!

Delicious!
Solid pizza. Love the Calabrese pizza.
Pizza is crispy and had best edges. Great ingredients.
Staff is super friendly. Great location in south Laguna.

My husband and I have been to Neapolitan at various times of day, various days of the week and pretty much every month during the year and find everything, especially the pizza and salads, consistently amazing. I’ve owned 3 restaurants and «Consistency» is a tough thing since ingredients are often sessional. The staff and owner treat its customers like family. The wine and beer are always pleasing and after trying every authentic Neapolitan pizza restaurant in South Orange County, Neapolitan restaurant is our favorite. The owner and chefs do use the finest ingredients available and their crust is the best! Flour for the crust is authentic Italian and the marinara is, in my opinion as a former restauranteur, simply perfect! I’m originally from NY and have tasted pizza all over the world including northern Italy and this continues to be my favorite restaurant. None of the other similar restaurants have the same cozy vibe (or have our favorite server Shauna, all servers at Neapolitan have been exceptional). I honestly don’t understand where the negative comments are rooted however, I’m certain, that if the unhappy reviewer of a few weeks ago had shared his concerns with the owner or shift manager he would have left satisfied. I also find that particular review questionable since it quoted inaccuracies about ownership changes, staff and the inaccurate ingredient detail are absurd. Perhaps it’s an attempt to sabotage? Perhaps a disgruntled employee? Or possibly even a competitor restaurant?
While I realize that pizza appeal can be very personal, this restaurant has/​will remain our absolute favorite Northern Italian restaurant not just in California, but anywhere!

Dear 2016 owner of Neapolitan (because there have been 3 owners in 2015):
Your staff — particularly Margarita who is by far your best server — are all helpful and making an effort. Josie, and the boys are friendly.
But your sauce is in desperate need of help. It’s hurting your business — it’s terribly acidic.
Your main competitor — Angelino’s — YOU NEED to do a BLIND taste test of your pizza against there’s. I promise you, even cold, you’ll choose theirs.
But aside from the sauce (which is major), the crust is equal.
So what’s the difference that makes or breaks one driving the 5mi Utes between Angelino’s to your doors?
1.
‘Angelina’s sauce beats the pants off your horrifically acidic sauce any day. Why? They use real San Marzano tomatoes — the worlds best. From a can, and not by the name, but ACTUALLY grown in San Marzano (the ones by the name are grown in Texas).
HUGE flavor difference.
2.
Their chefs actually know the ingredients they’re wiring with — there’s actually a pseudo chef on staff at all times — not just the underpaid, under-​appreciated, uninsured Hispanic you have on the kitchen.
What’s the difference? Tonight we ordered extra basil chopped on the side. We got spinach. You don’t have chefs in your kitchen that know the difference. That’s shameless. The ownership is to blame — not the hard-​working staff,
2.
Your restaurant has the EXACT same oven as the 3 competing Neapolitan Pizzarea competitors — Angelino’s and Wine Gallery in Laguna Beach.
The difference?
Chefs who know their ingredients.
The cooks — and I dare not even say, «chefs,» at Wine Gallery not only attempt, but actually KNOW gourmet flavored and combinations that are interesting and delicious that they offer in daily specials.
Lastly:
THE single best thing Neapolitan ever made on their menu under their original owners was the @Hen Of The Woods” Mushroom Pizza.
It was truly gourmet and original, with quail eggs atop,
Not an especially expensive mushroom, but the 2^nd owners of Neapolitan literally had no clue what a, «Hen of the Woods» mushroom even looked like, and counting on their under-​qualified and likely under-​paid cooks, the purveyors replaced it with a regular delivery of Enoki (a fragile Japanese mushroom), and neither the servers or chefs noticed.
Stupefying.
I think that staff is still in place in the kitchen.
Change the sauce, bring in a real chef consultant to train your staff and try some actual gourmet recipes and ingredients, and you will have no competition. Otherwise, you are totally missing your potential.

This is the best pizza I have had a in a long time! Genuine Italian treasure tucked in along the coast! I had the happy hour $ 10 margarita pizza and added their veal meat ball for $ 2 more (amazing!!)
Great beer on draft too!

Awesome. Garlic bread is so subtle and awesome. Margarita pizza is out of the world. Service was great too. No frills awesome food.

Thin crispy crust with tons of flavor. Best pizza we ever had. Try their garlic bread and spicy olive oil. Get the works pizza at the the top of the menu. Just go!

I enjoyed my visit, and was surprised to see it only received 3.5 stars. I think it deserves 4 stars. I liked the atmosphere — polished concrete floors, wood & metal blend. Service was excellent on my stay. I had the homemade lasagna — I was told by the server that the pasta is freshly made on site. It was served at the perfect temperature. The spinach still had a crunch to it, and the blend & flavors of the meat and sauce was excellent. The tomatoes used are very tasty. The garlic bread served with the lasagna was good, but well done. Not too much to say about that side. In addition, I ordered the Calabrese pizza, which was recommended by our server. I believe the pizza does have a special taste you only get from fine ingredients, and a hot oven (900 degrees). I’m looking forward to going again. I recommend this place.

This is a very nice place off the the PCH. We were helped by shauna and she was very nice and helpful. I would recommend this place to anyone passing by. The pizza was amazing and it is designed very well on the inside and is open but cozy. Overall great all around and pretty cheap on the wallet.

Ordered Canadian bacon extra cheese well done. Specifically told her I didn’t want cheese in just spots as we like cheesy. Loved our server but pizza came with bacon not ham. Then we got our pizza and there’s barely any cheese at all. It wasn’t well done and soggy in the middle. Ugh.

Good pizza, but not really worth the prices. The funghi pizza was good and hit the spot after a long day on the beach, but nothing to sing home to mom about.
The rating is more for the burrata bruchetta… SO. VERY. GOOD. The balsamic that they use is great and the heirloom tomatoes are a nice touch. The basil was incredibly fresh and accented the cheese well. There was even a little basil pesto to add to the top if you wanted an extra little kick.
Decent spot with a good location.

Service was good and place was cute, but the pizza just wasn’t as great as I had hoped.
The crust lacked the taste I was looking for and the cheese was barely melted in some spots. Not sure why they didn’t put enough sauce on.
Strangely I would return just because the overall experience was good and maybe it was just a bad pie. It happens at some places.

Back again in town from Midwest — had to return again because I’ve craved it. This restaurant does not disappoint. J.D. Our server was attentive and informative.
Try the Buratta Caprese the calabrese and wash down with some Five Rivers Merlot.

Was not expecting pizza of this caliber in Laguna Beach, let alone on PCH, let alone with a 900 degree oven that brought those pizzas out well done and perfectly charred, let alone a good bianca, margherita and whatever that spicy salami pizza was, let alone with spicy Calabrian olive oil on the side, let alone with Trumer on tap, let alone with good service.
But there you have it. I’m not often in that part of town but when I go boy, you best believe I’m coming back to Nea.

What a beautiful evening here having pizza. I was nicely greeted and chose to sit in the indoor/​outdoor section. The fresh ocean air, slight cool breeze and quaint Italian bistro ambiance made for a delightful casual dinner setting.
They have have 3 eating areas. There are 2 outdoor areas with doggie water bowls for your beloved furry friends. The indoor/​outdoor area is where I ate and has a roof over top but the entrances are open on each side making for a perfect setting. There are bar stools inside also to sit at.
I ordered the Neapolitan style spicy salumi pizza. The cornicione had a perfect bread ratio to airy pockets inside. The cheese was locally sourced. I personally prefer the «bite» of a bufala cheese but the pizza cheese they used was fresh and the mellow taste of it paired well with the spicy salumi.
My server was very pleasant and made sure everything was good with my meal. Her accent and presence went well with the atmosphere.
Very pleasant meal. No complaints.
Unilocal Review #292

The food quality is good; I tried the Lasagna which was served over spinach. This was a decent dish along with their pizzas which were also good. The main issue I have is the service is not very attentive at all; you have to sit in stainless steel chairs with no padding. For $ 20 a dish the food did not match the price. It is spendy and just meh for what you get, I guess it is what you expect dinning in Laguna (abnormally high prices for decent food). The server seriously looked like she was in high-​school and had no clue about the menu.

Very good crust pizza. Amazing bruschetta!