Napoli’s Pizza – Old World Authenticity From Italy

Napoli’s Pizzeria in Pittston has been a place that I have wanted to get to for as long as I have been operating this website.  Outside of eating, writing about, and photographing pizza is talking pizza with people and hearing their suggestions of where the best pizza in NEPA is.  I have a stable of regular tipsters who I rely on to give me the best spots and regularly receive hundreds of recommendations every year from readers.  Since I basically study every pizzeria in NEPA that has social media, and combine what I see there with the recommendations, I can usually get a pretty good feel for if the pizza is worth the trip or not and I have a list of pizzerias.  In the case of Napoli’s Pizzeria, I had a trusted pizza friend who was a proud Pittston resident consistently tell me how good the pizza there was and how great a guy the owner is.  Travel distance and crazy schedules sort of kept me away from getting there, but I was finally in the area and had my big chance to head to Tomato Town and try this pizza!


As I walked in, I noticed they had a really awesome courtyard/patio next to their building with tables and seating for outdoor dining.  I entered the building to find a really beautiful and impeccably clean dining room.  I was greeted by the owner, who was very welcoming and generous with his time.  We immediately struck up a conversation about pizza and the different methods he used to make his pizza special.  I’m not at liberty to share his methods in this forum, but I’m very excited to try a few of his tricks at home in my pizza kitchen!


Anyway, on to the pizza!  This pizza is not your classic New York Style pizza as it uses methods straight from Napoli to create a soft and tender crust that is a bit thicker than a NY pie.  There is a delicate process devoid of slapping, pulling, and stretching necessary to create the crust.  This is what creates the bubbles and variations in thickness.  I observed the process and saw some definite nuance to the practices of many pizza makers putting together a thin crust pizza.  As my pizza cooked, I learned of the nearly 20 year history of Napoli’s Pizza and learned a bit about the famous Grandma Style pizza which is just recently gaining popularity in NEPA, but Napoli’s has been making in Pittston for decades.  Napoli’s is among the first, if not the first to sell this pizza as a regular menu item.  I have been to hundreds of pizza shops in the area, and find that very few make this style of pizza so I think there’s some credibility to there.  I didn’t have the time to stick around to try the Grandma, but I vowed to go back soon to try it!

After some really enjoyable discussion, it seemed like the pizza was done in no time and it was time to try it out.  I said my thank you’s and goodbyes and headed out to the pizza mobile for a try.  My first order of business was to check out the crust.  Many times, when a pizza uses a thicker fresh dough it has a difficult time cooking through and you end up with a soggy, doughy center.  One look at the side of the slice and I knew this wasn’t the case.  This crust was cooked through flawlessly which meant that Napoli’s really has their recipe, process, and ovens dialed in to make sure everything cooks perfectly.  I picked up the first slice and received the “Napoli Flop” because this is not a crispy, crunchy pizza – it’s a soft and tender pie.  I really enjoyed the crust as it had incredible flavor and good chew.  The sauce was vibrant and fresh with a little chunkiness and some natural sweetness and the cheese was a solid mozzarella that brought the whole pie together.  It was a brilliantly composed pizza that surely satisfies.  I will also add that the pizza was fantastic cold the next day.  I didn’t reheat it because it was so darn good at room temperature.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the pizza and learning about the history and methods.  Napoli’s Pizza had been on my radar for a long-time and the wait was well worth it.  The pizza has an authenticity to it that originates from its roots in Napoli and the rest of the pizza offerings looked amazing – but the Grandma pizza is at the very top of my “Pizza Hit List” to try in the very near future.  You can see that video in the YouTube clip above.  I do recommend Napoli’s Pizza to the NEPA Nation so go give it a try and tell me what you think!

Restaurant: Napoli’s Pizza
Location: Pittston

Date: April 2018
Pizza Ordered: 16″ Cheese Pizza
Price: $8.50+/-
Eat In/Take Out: Eat In

Crust: 4.75/5
Sauce: 5/5
Cheese: 4.25/5
Overall Taste: 4.75/5
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 4.25/5
Overall Value: 4/5
OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5