Spacca Napoli
1769 W. Sunnyside Avenue, Chicago IL; Phone 773-878-2420
Date of Review: April, 2007
Spacca Napoli is yet another smart spot for excellent Italian pizza. That is, Italian Neapolitan style pizza from Italy. To be honest, after visiting Pizza D.O.C., Sapore di Napoli and Spacca Napoli, my view of pizza in Chicago has been slightly altered. I guess I never knew there were so many options for real Neapolitan style Italian pizza so close by.
Spacca Napoli is a great little spot in Ravenswood. They have a custom-built oven adorned with a beautiful mosaic that churns out wonderful pizzas in a matter of a few minutes. The owner, Jon Goldsmith, earned his pizza making credentials in the home of pizza, Naples. The owner actually traveled to Naples and studied the art of making pizza and he is now using the talents he developed to the delights of many in the Chicago land area. I found Jon to be very friendly. As I waited for my guest, we chatted about a few Italian restaurants and grocery stores we both knew of that were listed in a newspaper he had a copy of on hand for patrons to page through. Spacca Napoli is a very open restaurant with windows that offer a lot of light and nice sidewalk views to the patrons dining inside as well as to the people passing by the restaurant.
Spacca Napoli has a menu that is short and to the point. There are 8 different types of “salads” on the antipasti section of the menu and they serve 12 different types of pizzas. They do have a liquor license and offer Italian beers, wines, liquors and excellent coffee. They also offer Tiramisu, Spumoni, Baked Ricotta and assorted gelatos and sorbets for dessert.
On my visit, we had an Italian lemon soda, San Pellegrino water and a couple of pizzas. My friend had the Margherita pizza which has 4 simple ingredients of tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil. It was just as delicious as my Funghi pizza whose ingredients included tomatoes, mozzarella, basil , mushrooms and olive oil. All of these fresh ingredients are places on top of a very special and tasty crust. It is this crust that makes the pizzas at Spacca Napoli so special. I really can’t say enough about the delicious pizza crusts which are mixed in a dough mixer that actually comes from Italy.
After our pizzas, we weren’t hungry for much else but I couldn’t turn away an espresso. I was feeling a bit nostalgic and couldn’t pass on the opportunity to bring back some fond memories from my time in Italy with a nice shot of espresso. It worked and also kept me wide awake for the next few hours.
On my visit, the bill was $34 for a coffee, mineral water, Italian soda and 2 pizzas. This included tax and tip. The prices are fair with pizzas ranging from $10-14 and salads from $5-8.
This restaurant is not open on Mondays or Tuesdays and they do have al fresco dining available when weather permits.
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