Yup, closed for vacation. We drove out there too on Sunday! I will always call before going, I will always call before going...

We went to Spacca Napoli today, for the first time. I just realized it is a block from church and so a perfect Sunday lunch spot! It was really quiet there, possibly since we arrived an hour before the Bears-Saints game was scheduled to start. Probably about 5 other tables, plus us (my husband and our sons, ages 4 and almost 2).

We had two of the daily special pizzas, which I will misspell with no apologies: quattro staggione (a mixture, not sections, of prosciutto de parma, black olives, marinated artichoke hearts, and something I'm forgetting) and diavolo (spicy sausage, red pepper flakes and fresh mozzarella), as well as the the prosciutto and arugula, which has been written about here many times. All were delicious! The crust was fantastic, the toppings perfect. Even my finicky eldest ate several pieces. The real surprise was the soup; the owner heard me telling our waiter that it was our first visit, and brought some over for us to try. He described it as "a simple, ancient recipe" and it tasted just that way, as if someone's grandma from the old country was in back stirring the pot. Our littlest one couldn't stop eating it, including the beans, the tomatoes and greens, and everything he usually avoids!

Our waiter was warm and gracious, (and as long as my husband isn't reading this...gorgeous! ) encouraging us to take the kids over to watch the action at the firey oven, and see the prep stations, where they got to see the buffalo mozzarella being cut into chunks and watch our three pizzas being made. He also brought me a dessert (ricotta cake with fresh raspberries and two sauces, raspberry and chocolate), along with 4 spoons, with his compliments. I didn't need the dessert, but it was a lovely touch and the kids were thrilled. We will definitely order this next time as well. Yum.

We had a great meal and can't wait to go back. Thanks for continuing to post on this place. It deserves the accolades it has received!

My wife's family and I ate at Spacca Napoli over the summer and the food was as good as rumored. Unfortunately, we were dissapointed with the service. Being Italian myself, I felt I would be at home being served by a fellow Italian. However, my wife felt somewhat threatened our waiters male chaovanistic demenour and his arrogant attitude. We actually over heard him bragging about his wife being the pizza cook and speaking about the place like it was his own. But, after seeing Spacca Napoli featered on tv recently we decided to give Spacca another shot. We were glad we did, the food was, again, amazing and the service was stellar. We also discovered the only thing we found negative about Spacca Napoli doesn't work there anymore.
Great food, Great atmoshpere....believe the hype.

While deciding on a Bears game pizza delivery option, I convinced my wife to call Spacca on a longshot to see if they were delivering nowadays, even though I was 90% certain the answer would be no.

Well, not only was the answer no, but my wife told me it was relayed by the person who answered the phone in an incredibly rude and arrogant manner. I realize asking a place like that if they deliver might be considered a mild affront, however answering it as if you were mistaken for Little Caesars seems unnecessary. It was as if we asked for a side order of cinnamon sticks and Avoid the Noid memorabilia. No matter how authentic the wood-burning oven, they're a pizza place, they should be used to the question and able to answer it professionally.


We ended up ordering from Apart which was as good as always with polite service both on the phone and from their delivery guy.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:While deciding on a Bears game pizza delivery option, I convinced my wife to call Spacca on a longshot to see if they were delivering nowadays, even though I was 90% certain the answer would be no.

FWIW, I stopped by just prior to kickoff because I needed to collect something from Jonathan, the owner/proprietor. Funny enough, Jonathan had placed a large television in the corner of the westernmost dining room so that patrons might enjoy the game. [Well, he certainly intended to do so.]

E.M.

Erik, that's so funny. We were seated just next to that TV, and unfortunately, they had it turned to an Italian station showing news (explosions, car wrecks, war...not good for children let alone adults). Luckily, the server saw our dismay and turned it to a soccer game. We left before Bears tipoff, but the kids enjoyed watching "real football" on TV while waiting for their parents to finish lunch.

We were coincidentally televisioned, I guess...

We actually finally made it there last Saturday for the first time (despite our inexcusable proximity) and were seated right next to that television (some soccer game and news show, I think). Never having been there before I assumed it was there all the time, and honestly wasn't totally thrilled to be facing it.

The environment wasn't really what I was expecting (it seemed kinda echo-ey), but who cares... that is the PERFECT crust. Really.

I've gotten into the habit of letting my husband eat my crusts whenever we have pizza, but at Spacca Napoli, there was no way that was going to happen. De-licious!

(But lose the TV!)

Lee, I agree with you. The TV serves as a distraction from the food. And the food deserves the attention. Except maybe during the Super Bowl... But anybody eating at Spacca Napoli during the Super Bowl obviously cares more about food than football, anyway.

As an addendum: I stopped by with an ex for lunch on Saturday and was put in the infamous two-top-by-the-TV-corner...Johnathan came out about five minutes after we sat down, tv in hand; after he set it down, he approached our table and, speaking lightning fast, spoke the following (near verbatim): it's just going to be a soccer game, no sound; there won't be any explosions or car wrecks". I couldn't help but smirk: I saw the recent posts earlier in the week; clearly, he did too. Why he needed to do the accounting in the middle of the restaurant while watching a soundless Italian soccer game I will never know...but, heck, he makes a mean pizza.

I finally made it to Spacca Napoli this weekend. We arrived a little past 8:30 on Saturday night. We were told it would be a 35 minute wait, but we were seated in about 15 minutes. Had the prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella appetizer. The mozzarella was really outstanding. The prosciutto was just ok, a little lean for my taste. Pizzas were just as good as advertised. Mine was with sausage and broccoli rape. The fiance had a special with truffled cheese, truffle oil and porcini mushroom. The crust is clearly well beyond anything else you can get in town. I'm just happy a Chicago-style hater like myself now has some options, with Spacca Napoli clearly at the top of the list.

I heard a rumor that SN was now accepting reservations, although I can't remember if that was only on weekend nights. Anyone know?

On the contrary, they only accept reservations during the week. I called ahead on a Friday night and they said they don't accept reservations Friday and Saturday, that it's first-come, first-serve. I think we waited about 45 mins for a table on a Saturday night. Not bad, but there's not a whole lot of waiting room. On the other hand, an older woman (one of the owners?) came around with a tray of cheese for all the folks waiting in the lobby. That was really nice, I thought.

I've been here a couple times and it's always been a good experience, food-wise. Last time we were here, our waiter was particularly slow, almost to the point where I thought he was ignoring us. I wonder if he was annoyed because I made him explain what all the appetizers were!

In any case, we ordered the caprese appetizer made with the bufala mozzarella, and let me tell you: it was heavenly. Obviously, I've never had good mozzarella before, because this made me want to sing. It melts in your mouth, it has a lovely, fresh taste and the tomatoes served with it were sweet and juicy as well.

I also ordered the quattro formaggi pizza (talk about dairy overload), and it was equally fantastic - the gorgonzola cheese really is a nice, tangy addition to the other three (milder) cheeses on it.

Their wines and drinks are fairly reasonable as well, I felt. With four people, we got out just over $100, including a few drinks and desserts.

I don't mean to pile on to a recent spate of negativity around here, but something has been bothering me. Last weekend, I ate at Spacca Napoli for the first time (I know, it's about time). Now I am confused. I honestly thought the pizza was pretty awful. What I need to know is whether the pizzas I had were a good example of "true Neopolitan" pizza and I just don't like the style, or were the pizzas just bad. I have had other wood-fired pizzas that did not bear the VPN certification, which I thought were very good, the most recent being at a place near my Mom's house in Tubac Arizona.

Anyhow, the pizza had a nicely charred bubbly lip on the crust which looked very nice, but the crust was like eating plastic wrap. There was absolutely no crispness or crunchiness anywhere in sight, just different degrees of chewiness ranging from bubble-gum to dog-toy. It is always a bad sign when I have to leave bits of pizza crust uneaten, but chewing it was hurting my jaw. The thin watery sauce had a slight tomato tang, but was otherwise pretty flavorless and sat in a puddle atop the crust. At least the sogginess of the center of the pie made the crust chewable. To top it off (pun intended), the miserly bits of fresh mozzarella were also bordering on rubbery, and the basil was severely under-represented. The few leaves that were there, were dried out and fairly flavorless. All-in-all, a very disappointing pizza. Not completely terrible, but certainly not what I was hoping for, and certainly not worth the money. The second pie, topped with anchovies and olives was somewhat better, but that was probably because the strong flavors of the toppings saved it from the chewy blandness of the first pie. On an up note, the marinated salmon appetizer we had was very good (but at $12, it should be).

I really really wanted to like SN, but the best I could give it would be about 2.5 out of 5. Those who know me, know that I am usually too forgiving when it comes to judging restaurants. So what is the verdict? Did we just go on a bad day? After all, it was Mother's day and the place was packed with families with screaming toddlers. Or should I just give up on authentic "Napoli" pizza and stick to the inauthentic stuff I like. At those prices, I doubt I will give SN another chance, although judging by the brisk business they were doing, they won't miss my patronage. I do have to say that the service was very friendly and efficient.

Anyhow, the pizza had a nicely charred bubbly lip on the crust which looked very nice, but the crust was like eating plastic wrap. There was absolutely no crispness or crunchiness anywhere in sight, just different degrees of chewiness ranging from bubble-gum to dog-toy. It is always a bad sign when I have to leave bits of pizza crust uneaten, but chewing it was hurting my jaw. The thin watery sauce had a slight tomato tang, but was otherwise pretty flavorless and sat in a puddle atop the crust. At least the sogginess of the center of the pie made the crust chewable. To top it off (pun intended), the miserly bits of fresh mozzarella were also bordering on rubbery, and the basil was severely under-represented. The few leaves that were there, were dried out and fairly flavorless. All-in-all, a very disappointing pizza. Not completely terrible, but certainly not what I was hoping for, and certainly not worth the money. The second pie, topped with anchovies and olives was somewhat better, but that was probably because the strong flavors of the toppings saved it from the chewy blandness of the first pie. On an up note, the marinated salmon appetizer we had was very good (but at $12, it should be).

I had the exact same experience (scroll to last post) the one and only time I ate there last November. It's so far away that, after a meal like that, I haven't made plans to return.

Maybe when they're good, they're awesome, and just have some consistency issues.

I do remember thinking the pizzas were bland all around, including crust and sauce.

bnowell724 wrote:Maybe when they're good, they're awesome, and just have some consistency issues.

Now that I look back at some older pictures of SN pizza, I realize that the pizzas we were served only bore a vague reasemblance to those earlier pictures. I wish I had brought my camera, so we could view the pizzas side-by-side. I am inclined to think that either something has radically changed in the way Spacca Napoli is making pizza, or (hopefully) we just picked a lousy day to go. Maybe, like Coal-Fire, they under-estimated the Mother's day crowds. It was packed with families with small children. Although, as I said, the service was very good. Has anybody who frequents the place noticed a change? I hate to think I missed out on them when they were at the top of their game.

It's hard to say without us both sitting in front of the same pizza, but I suspect it's simply that the style isn't to your tastes. It isn't meant to be a crisp pizza, and it isn't meant to have a complex flavor. I've heard criticisms similar to yours, and I understand them and if it's not your thing, it's not your thing, but I think it misses the idea somewhat. It's all about simplicity... bread, tomato, cheese... and it all hinges on the quality of the ingredients and perfection of technique, which I think SN nails.

I don't want to speak authoritatively about traditional Neapolitan pizza, since most of my experience with pizza in Italy has been outside of Naples, but I believe that's the beast. It's probably just not your thing.

Or maybe you just got a bad pie

Having never been to SN, I can't address the quality or authenticity of their pies, but having consumed hundreds of Neapolitan pies, I can confirm that the crust will be soft, fluffy, and tender (not crispy, not crunchy, not chewy, nor resembling anything close to plastic wrap). Toppings will be very sparse compared to American pies so that the subtle flavor of the dough shines through. A Margherita will have a few pieces of cheese and a few leaves of strong basil over a very thin layer of crushed/chopped tomatoes. The center can tend a little towards soupy and the pies are typically eaten with fork and knife.

Bill/SFNM

d4v3 wrote:Now that I look back at some older pictures of SN pizza, I realize that the pizzas we were served only bore a vague reasemblance to those earlier pictures. I wish I had brought my camera, so we could view the pizzas side-by-side. I am inclined to think that either something has radically changed in the way Spacca Napoli is making pizza, or (hopefully) we just picked a lousy day to go. Maybe, like Coal-Fire, they under-estimated the Mother's day crowds. It was packed with families with small children.

Dave,

I think any sub-par experience in any restaurant that happens on a day like Mother's Day has to taken in context. I think you should try again on another more "normal" day before jumping to any conclusions or forming an opinion.

stevez wrote:I think any sub-par experience in any restaurant that happens on a day like Mother's Day has to taken in context. I think you should try again on another more "normal" day before jumping to any conclusions or forming an opinion.

OK, I will give SN another try on a slower day. I have had pizzas that fit Bill's description, so I have an idea of what they should be like. While that is definitely not my favorite style, the pizzas we had did not come close to being soft and fluffy. I am now sure they were having bad dough issues that day (maybe too dry?). I certainly don't mind a little chewiness to my pizza, but the lip of these pies was like soft plastic. The edge is usually my favorite part, but I had to leave the edges on my plate. Is it possible they changed the recipe to accomodate all the kids? I noticed most of the families were getting the pizzas pre-sliced. Maybe they ran short on dough, and used some that was not fully risen. I understand about the simplicity factor. In fact, I generally like my pizzas sparsely topped, but that only holds up if the crust is good, which unfortunately was not the case.

After reading the negative comments it was with some trepidation that we ventured back to our beloved Spacca Napoli. Fortunately all is well. The pizzas were wonderful, especially the bianco e nero (truffles and porcini). The owner of La Piazza, Gaetano di Benedetto, was also there, sampling Jonathan's tasty fare.

Marija wrote:After reading the negative comments it was with some trepidation that we ventured back to our beloved Spacca Napoli. Fortunately all is well.

Please don't give much weight to my experience at SN. I am now convinced it was a one time thing, probably due to an unexpected Mother's day crowd. I spoke with the guy with whom I dined. His family happens to be from Naples. Anyhow, he said he thought his pizza was very good. He said the problem with mine was that it was served cold. It had obviously been sitting for a while and cooled off. That makes sense, and certainly could have produced the plastic crust, the rubbery cheese and the pooling of the sauce. I don't know if I was served a previously made mistake or whether some problem caused our pizzas to be cooked at different times (although we were served very quickly). Had I been more familiar with the style, I would have sent it back. I will not write off SN yet.

Fortunately all is well.

Ditto, based on a visit last Saturday. If you want a test case on how important simplicity and quality of ingredients is in Italian cooking, try the Bufala and Arugola. Very simple, but a wonderful blending of flavors.

They've also added some specialty antipasti since we were last there. The grilled tuna/greens was a winner.

Heading there tonight - finally!

Any suggestions for a pre-dinner cocktail in the neighborhood? I am taking train from city and fiance is taking train from northern burbs. Some place within walking distance from Ravenswood train staion and Spacca Napoli.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Spaca Napoli's outdoor seating area has recently undergone a beautiful transformation,
with the addition of these Custom Designed Galvanized Planters and Powder Coated Steel Panels, that depict Olive Branches.




The colors of the materials "fit" very well with the restaurants design- and blend in to the neighborhood as well.

LTH,

Seems I'm more fickle than I realized, at least pizza wise, as when I walked into Spacca Napoli last evening I realized it had been three or four months since my last visit. My loss as the pizza was dead-on, appetizer of buffalo mozzarella w/prosciutto a shining example of perfect ingredients allowed to stand unencumbered. Terrific service starting with the pleasant easy on the eyes hostess, efficient waiter and slightly intense, but ever genial Jonathan G.

Black truffle pizza heralded its arrival from 10-feet away, putting me in mind of a walk in the forest, panna/prosciutto/mushroom, a daily special, creamy, salty, delicious last evening, tasty for breakfast this morning.

6 of us sampled a wide variety, 4 in our group had never been to Spacca Napoli and vowed, as did I, not to let much time pass until the next visit.

Enjoy,
Gary

Hello all. I need help on this. I went Spacca Napoli about 3 weeks ago mad with anticaption. I raved about it to my BF and we were ready to hit pizza heaven. But my experience was decidedly - meh.

We went on a Saturday night around 6:30 and the place was buzzing already. We wanted to sit outside but took first available. We got seated in around 15 minutes and the hostess graciously got us a cold beer as we waited. Very nice gesture. However, it was like kiddie land in there. It seemed like half of the clientele were children under 5 and most of them were running around and screaming. The noise was deafening. We couldn't really make conversation.

Question 1) Did we just hit the magic child hour by eating right before 7 on a Saturday? Is it normally that loud?

On to the food. We were pretty much off put by the noiseness so we decided to split a pizza and order another one if need be. We split the Funghi. , It arrived in a timely matter looking picture perfect - charred in the right places, nice pieces of basil. But the mushrooms looked canned. And they tasted canned. Watery and bland. It made the pizza limp.

Question 2) Did we just go wrong with what we ordered? I wouldn't imagine that they would skint on the mushrooms but it tasted that way.


I have to add that it was hot and steamy that night. You all probably remember that wretched weekend. It was like 90 degrees with humidity at 80% at 7 PM.

So did we just pick a bad night and the wrong kind of pizza? My BF has written it off and won't be convinced back. Me - I'm more suggestible and have other friends to go with. I really wanted to like this place. Please tell me that it was my fault and not theirs!

That's early, considering there were maybe 2 hours of daylight left and school's out; the mushrooms are never canned, IME (non-button mushrooms need some prep, especially on a pie with cook times measured in seconds, not minutes), but perhaps sauteed; and it's a neighborhood pizzeria/bar (in the Italian sense of bar) tremendously authentic in its way, including the families with kids. It's not Pizza Mozza, or Pizza Bianco, which I understand have great food, but also a scene that I suspect would be regarded with a measure of bemusement in the Old Country. We're talking pizza here.

PS, yes, the room is absurdly loud. Something should be done, perhaps. Outside, weather permitting, is much nicer.

Swanline,
I am in the same position. I really want to like Spacca Napoli (the owner and I have mutual friends), but my one experience there was not good, and was fairly expensive (at least for pizza).

I did the same as you and went early on a weekend evening when the joint was hopping with unruly brats (like eating in a daycare center). I think that was my mistake. I believe their timing was off and my pizza arrived cold and very chewy. Unfortunately, I had never been there before, so I didn't know the pizza was not up to standards. I should have sent it back.

Since then, I have not been back to SN either, but I am thinking I should try the place on a slower weekday (after all, how can so many LTHers be wrong?). When you are serving something that only takes 90 seconds to cook, and must be served straight out of the oven without delay, a full house of families with kids can probably mess things up, timing-wise.

However, I do find it hard to believe they would use canned funghi.

Keep in mind that Spacca Napoli is a specialty pizza place featuring Neopolitan pizza, a style which is foreign to Chicago pizza lovers. It's not for everyone.

Did we just hit the magic child hour by eating right before 7 on a Saturday?

Yes. Think about the neighborhood, Spacca Napoli is pretty much perfect for families where the kids can eat something decent, the adults eat something more sophisticated, the bill isn't too big and the place is loud enough nobody's going to get bent over the occasional shouting kid. Go after 7:30.

We went recently (with five kids, not all mine, in tow) and one thing I felt was that getting five pizzas at once, even among 9 people, meant some had to sit there waiting for the others and were borderline-lukewarm, not piping hot and crispy. With a big order like that I'd definitely ask the waitstaff to bring when ready, not wait for them all.

On the other hand, even harried and hunting to find a way to seat 9 as his place filled up, Jonathan was so gracious to us, to the kids and to our out of town guests. It was really a nice experience to be able to show off to visitors, and we all enjoyed the pizza.