Via Napoli, Lane Cove

 As The Sydney Pizza Festival trudges along into its second week, our mouths follow too, with the next destination on the map being Via Napoli (141 Longueville Road, Lane Cove), another Napoletana styled pizzeria serving an authentic doughy base with a handful of the freshest ingredients scattered on top. Most of the seating is actually outside across the footpath, opposite the pizzeria (don't worry, the gas heaters and abundance of fellow pizza eaters make it warm outside) with a select number of tables inside.

 

 

Pizza Festival!

 

 

 

  We bring Pat along for the customary third wheel experience. With a selection of any 13 inch pizza combined with a drink from the menu for $20 it was pretty cheap considering you could grab some Peroni on tap (normally $8). Anyhow, as I was the driver for the night (yet again) I settled for some Italian lemonade.

Pat the poser

 Keen for pizza

Pat's Fanta, Patty's Sauv Blanc & my Limonata Sanpellegrino

 We begin with Patty's pizza, which is fittingly called the 'Via Napoli'. Without any helpful description on the menu besides, 'Luigi's Fantasy Pizza', Patty could have potentially ruined the night for the happy tricycle. Fortunately however, her choice was spot on and the pizza was delicious. Maybe it was my hunger, or the smothering of cheese on top, but I still can't exactly make out the toppings on the pizza. There were some patches of garlicky paste around the pizza but besides that, I had no clue. If you're game and up for an adventure, I'd highly recommend giving this a go.

Via Napoli
Luigi's Fantasy Pizza

 My selection of some buffalo mozzarella, oozing on top of some super soft pizza dough was expected (my buffalo at home will be proud of me). This pizza had a great variety of toppings and it was a fresh yet delicious combination of ingredients. Look at those mozzarella mountains!

Vesuvio
Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella, Ricotta
Ham, Salami, Pepper & Basil

 

  Pat opts for the 'meat lovers' equivalent with his selection of the 'Quattro Salumi'. An assortment of meats including ham, sausage and two varieties of salami had the entire table giving off meat sweat pheromones. This was actually probably my favourite of the night because the toppings on this were so flavourful. I just want to point out that the pizza bases at Via Napoli were consistently light and fluffy with a wonderfully chewy texture, so I'd probably go there just to eat the base alone!

Quattro Salumi
Tomato, Fior Di Latte (Mozzarella), Ham, Sausage
Mild Salami, Hot Salami & Basil

 

 

 I was sad to leave Via Napoli having only sampled three pizzas from their extensive menu, they even serve buffalo mozzarella by itself, so it's a no brainer that I'll be back soon enough. Overall a great experience for the three of us, thanks largely to some quality pizza and awesome company.

 

 

Bunny Rating-

Category: Pizza Festival