This suburban pizzeria brings a plus-sized slice of Naples to Canning Highway

This suburban pizzeria brings a plus-sized slice of Naples to Canning Highway

Naples-style pizza is a specialty.
1 / 4Naples-style pizza is a specialty.Duncan Wright
Deep-fried bucatini carbonara: naughty, but oh so nice.
2 / 4Deep-fried bucatini carbonara: naughty, but oh so nice.Duncan Wright
Da Napoli does things traditionally, but with a modern twist.
3 / 4Da Napoli does things traditionally, but with a modern twist.Duncan Wright
Springy gnocchi seems simultaneously light and weighty and comes in imaginative combinations.
4 / 4Springy gnocchi seems simultaneously light and weighty and comes in imaginative combinations.Duncan Wright

14/20

Italian$

Mount Vesuvius. Diego Maradona. Terrific disco: all are things that the world associates with Naples, the capital of Campania and Italy’s third-biggest city.

Naples is, of course, also synonymous with good eating and considered by many to be the birthplace of modern-day pizza.

It’s also the birthplace of pizza chefs Andrea Orabona and Antonio Carrino.

After meeting at Pizzeria Da Leo – Carrino had recently arrived from Sydney and was looking for work; Orabona was one of Da Leo’s partners – and bonding over their shared heritage, the duo hatched plans to open a shop where they could really put their hometown’s good stuff front and centre.

Andrea Orabona spins some dough at Da Napoli.
Andrea Orabona spins some dough at Da Napoli.Duncan Wright

Those plans materialised last year as Pizzeria Da Napoli: a clean-cut shopfront in Como giving way to splashes of forest green and glimpses of an open kitchen replete with gleaming copper-plated pizza oven. Whereas some pizzerias rely on maximalism and well-worn Italo design tropes to sell you their tricolore credentials, Da Napoli simply feels Italian.

Staff and customers don’t miss a chance to speak rapid-fire in their native tongue. Italian pop songs feature on the playlist. Fashion choices among guests run from streetwear to sprezzatura, that elusive Italian concept of unforced elegance. Swag never takes a day off, nor do team Da Napoli who – God bless them – trade seven nights.

As if on cue, two pals arrive in a scooter to grab a pick-up order that they carefully pack in a box at the back of their bike. It’s a cutesy scene, certainly, but if I’m being honest most of the folk dropping in to pick up pizzas are delivery drivers bringing Da Napoli to the people. While any pizza is, of course, good pizza, I hope that those people enjoying Da Napoli at home also get the chance to enjoy Da Napoli at Da Napoli, too.

Naples-style pizza, as you know, is best eaten hot. All the better to enjoy the puff of its crust (the cornicione, in Italian) and the fine interplay between the pie’s chewy dough and the sweet-sour sugo and cheese while both are in that magic altered state between solid and liquid.

But while the pizza feels traditionally Neapolitan, Orabona and Carrino take an untraditional approach to making it. Dough production is centralised at a dedicated doughmaking facility owned by Orabona, while pizzas are cooked in a gas-powered Marana pizza armed with a programmable turntable base made of volcanic stone. While the pizza might have been prepared unconventionally, it’s hard to argue with the quality of the finished product. And if two Neapolitan pizzamakers can embrace technology in the pursuit of consistency, the least eaters can do is consider their perspective.

While the menu stars other pizza-adjacent items – a heaps naughty block of deep-fried bucatini carbonara (three for $19); Caprese salad ($20) let down by underripe tomatoes; mascarpone-heavy tiramisu ($14) – its highlights tend to feature some degree of flour power.

It seems to be working, not least because management is about to open shop number two in Leederville this December.

There are also plans next year to convert the space next to the mothership into a wine bar and extend the cramped dining area. This would be welcome. Although Da Napoli pulses with energy, that energy feels more busy kitchen than busy restaurant. But for now, the focus will be celebrating Da Napoli’s first birthday this Sunday where the shop will be giving away 150 free margheritas to thank customers for their support. Even when you’re being serious, it’s important to remember to have fun.

The low-down

Vibe: a new name to watch in Perth’s Naples-style pizza circles.

Go-to dish: pizza churros (after the pizza, naturally).

Drinks: soft drinks including Italian sodas. For something a little stronger, BYO.

Cost: about $70 for two, excluding drinks.

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Max VeenhuyzenMax Veenhuyzen is a journalist and photographer who has been writing about food, drink and travel for national and international publications for more than 20 years. He reviews restaurants for the Good Food Guide.

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