Last week, I went out to Bella Napoli Pizza (1524 Shunk) in South Philly with Kayla. Pizza originated in Naples, so I figured we should give this place a shot. They had a ton of choices, and I think we went a little overboard with our choices. Here was her take:
Bella Napoli should be considered a take-out place only, as it consists entirely of a pizza kitchen and a single table. Said table was occupied when Johnny and I walked in, presumably by the owner and friend, since our momentary urge to flee was squelched by these gentlemen immediately getting up to offer us the table.
Bella has an extensive list of specialty pizzas, and it took us a while to settle on half-white/goat cheese/red pepper/pesto and half-red/broccoli rabe/red pepper/spinach/garlic. I thought they were pretty accomodating to let us do half-and-half. While we were waiting, the owner kept coming over to bring us every condiment he could possibly find, which I thought it was kinda sweet.
The pizza had a good crust, crispy on the outside but doughy enough that you don’t feel like you’re eating cardboard. Both halves tasted pretty decent, but the amount of grease was overwhelming, and it was getting pretty soggy towards the end. I thought the white side was better, and we both agreed that the vegetables on the red side overpowered the sauce to much to be able to comment on it. Sadly, they did not have fountain soda, just cans and 2 liters. Overall, I’d give it a 2.5 out of 5 due to grease and lack of atmosphere. If I were to eat Bella pizza again, I’d just take it home and mop it off first.
While this is definitely a takeout place, I think a lot of what she called “grease” was just liquid from the tons of toppings we had ordered. I would wanna try the place again with a little simpler pizza, though I think that Kayla is right in that this is a takeout joint, not a sit down place. But they do have lots of intriguing choices for pizza, and I might consider it again. Give it a three.
