Six pizza hotspots & the art of pizzaioli
Pizza Napoletana & Cornicione - This way to Napoli and beyond!
Since 2017, the art of pizzaioli from the city on Mount Vesuvius has been recognized as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. Anyone who has ever strolled through Naples will quickly understand why. Unlike Roman pizza, the base of a Napoletana pizza must be soft and thin. The two to three centimeter-high crust, the so-called cornicione, is also typical. It can have small heat bubbles and should always be airy and well baked. But what about the pizza tradition in Düsseldorf, which is becoming increasingly popular internationally? Where can you get it, the original Neapolitan pizza? Hungry already? We traced the secrets of the pizzaioli in Düsseldorf and also took a little detour to Sicily.
Red, white, classic - The Way to Napoli
The fact that the Neapolitan version of pizza also has the potential to establish culinary traditions far away from Mount Vesuvius is indicated not least by this restaurant name: The Way to Napoli. From Flingern straight to Naples or to Grafenberger Allee. The modern location has 90 seats inside and 60 outside with comfortable upholstered seating and a long bar. The most important element, according to owner Mert Coskun, is the Valoriani Rotativo, a rotating pizza oven made in Italy with combined gas and wood firing, whose base rotates - for even heat and perfect baking at 350 degrees. One of his recommendations: the vegetarian La Parmigiana with tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella, eggplants and homemade Parmesan cream. The pizza menu is divided into red pizzas with tomato sauce and basil as a base and with Parmesan and mozzarella, i.e. the classic version. And the white version without tomato, but with a light cream sauce. But no matter which topping you choose and whether it's bresaola, wild broccoli, roasted pine nuts or burrata, for example, the dough on which the fresh ingredients are placed has rested for 72 hours.
Pizzeria or wine bar? - Nine-O-Five
We're staying in Flingern: the pizza dough is also allowed to rest for three days at Nine-O-Five, but the original Italian stone oven here on Ackerstraße is heated a little more than at the new addition on Grafenberger Allee: Nine-O-Five stands for 905 degrees Fahrenheit, which corresponds to 485 degrees Celsius. 60 seconds is all it takes for the pizza to be ready at this temperature. Nevertheless, slow food rather than fast food is the order of the day. Owner Sebastian Georgi sources the high-quality ingredients for his pizzas from sustainable producers in Italy as well as locally. The origin is noted on the menu. Georgi is a sommelier by trade, or to be more precise, the former head sommelier of a three-star restaurant. The wine selection at Nine-O-Five is correspondingly impressive - so impressive that the "pizza and wine place" was awarded the "German Wine List Award 2022" in the World Cuisine category by Vinum magazine. The focus is on organically grown wines, including a whole range of natural wines. For example, you can order a Rocky Bee's Speckbirne with provolone, pear, bacon from South Tyrol, rocket and caramelized walnuts. An admittedly creative interpretation of the Neapolitan model. For starters, the Nine-O-Five offers a Black Angus carpaccio with rocket and 24-month matured Parmesan cheese.
Napoli meets New York - Aurora & Vito's Süßholz Pizzeria
Colorful light tubes, wooden furniture, cheerful splashes of color everywhere, which together with the decor exude DIY spirit. The journey to the Derendorf residential district, where Aurora & Vito's Süßholz is hidden, is not just worth it for the stylish, playful interior. The small restaurant at Sommersstraße 19 is further proof that you can master the high school of Neapolitan pizzaioli and approach the subject with imagination. But let's start by saying this: The base of the pizzas is thin, the crust thick, fluffy and crispy at the same time, an authentic cornicione that would be appreciated even in Naples. What comes out of the stone oven at Aurora & Vito's Süßholz also incorporates influences from New York and also scores points with its well-balanced toppings. The Al Capone pizza is a quattro formaggio composition of buffalo mozzarella, ricotta, Grana Padano and Gorgonzola, refined with honey and pine nuts, while the Cosa Nostra pizza showcases mozzarella, salmon, baby spinach, cherry tomato and wafer-thin slices of lemon. The pistachio tiramisu for dessert may not have any notorious namesakes, but it is still criminally good.
Fresh from the salumeria - Pizza Napoletana
Yes, the well-known restaurateur and councillor Giuseppe Saitta has been running his own pizzeria since last year - right next to his legendary Salumeria and Ristorante Piazza Saitta on Barbarossaplatz. And anyone with a little knowledge of the Düsseldorf gastronomy scene can imagine that he relies on the original Neapolitan recipe and doesn't skimp on quality when it comes to toppings. What exactly does that mean? Well, firstly, the dough is allowed to ferment for 72 hours, and secondly, the three pizzaioli at Pizza Napoletana (all Italian, of course) only use products from the salumeria with its integrated delicatessen when topping the pizzas. The fact that the Tonno pizza comes with fresh, hand-cut tuna is both surprising and impressive. And ingredients such as wild Neapolitan broccoli, lobster crab and summer truffles underline the exclusivity of the pizza menu. Of course, a distinction is also made here between the original Pizza Classica with tomatoes and Pizza Bianche, as well as two vegan pizzas and a sweet pizza, including one with roasted pistachios. And if the 30 seats of the Pizza Napoletana are completely full again: The pizzas are also available as take-away, or you can enjoy them in Piazza Saitta - the premises of the two restaurants are connected.
Pizzaioli pure - Napul' è
For a long time, the Napul' è on Pempelforter Blücherstraße operated under the name Trattoria Lo Zibellino - and by a long time, we mean that the Zobel family has been running the business for 30 years. The fact that their roots lie in Naples has always been clear and a leitmotif in the Pizzaioli's cuisine. With the stronger focus on the Neapolitan pizza craft, this origin is now being emphasized once again in a particularly smooth way and illuminated down to the deepest traditions. The menu at Napul' è includes house classics such as the Con Porcini with porcini mushrooms, fior di latte, cocktail tomatoes and fresh rosemary or the Melanzane e Salsiccia with homemade sausage with fennel seeds plus eggplant, as well as Pizza Fritta or the Saltimbocca con Porchetta e Patatine, a pizza pocket filled with suckling pig meat, fior di latte and potatoes (also available as a vegetarian version with roasted vegetables). The atmosphere is informal and the spaghetti carbonara naturally comes without cream.
Detour to Sicily - Pizzeria Romantica
Pempelforter Pizzeria Romantica has been voted one of the best pizzerias in Germany on Tripadvisor several times. Is the dough the secret? Or is it the fact that the pizzas are simply baked to perfection and topped with just the right amount of fresh produce? It's hard to say. One thing is certain: The fame of the pizzeria on Düsselthaler Straße, which is rather inconspicuous from the outside, is based on an old family tradition. This time, however, it doesn't come from the Italian mainland, but from Palermo in Sicily. Chef Salvatore Rattoballi has his roots there. His family has been at the pizza oven since 1921, a whole century ago. Naturally, the dough is left to rest for 72 hours here too and, of course, the mozzarella is fresh and creamy and the tomato sauce is subtle. The pizzas are not overloaded, so the taste of the high-quality ingredients comes into its own. And: the pizzas are really big, not to say huge! However, the name of the pizzeria is misleading. As you can imagine, given the popularity of the location in Düsseldorf, there are certainly places that are more romantic.
