NAPLES – DAL PRESIDENTE + DI MATTEO

No stop in Naples would be complete without Neapolitan pizza, lots and lots of pizza. True to my usual ambitious self, I planned for Stephen and I to hit 3 pizzerias, which proved to me one too many stops, even after a day of wandering around Pompeii. Conveniently, many of the best rated pizza spots are in the historic centre of Naples along Via dei Tribunali and within walking distance of our AirBnB. Stephen and I were able to walk the entire street in about 30 minutes, taking our time to look in shops and stop for snacks. Dal Presidente – http://www.dalpresidentepizzeria.it/ Our first stop was Dal Presidente. Our original plan was to split one pizza, but there was a minimum $ amount per table so we ended up with one each. I chose the classic margherita, while Stephen added prosciutto to his. I had heard about long lines outside but we were seated right away with no wait. Service was quick and our made to order pizzas arrived in under 10 minutes. I really liked the texture of the crust, the flavour of the tomato sauce and the generous plentiful cheese topping. A handful of fresh basil leaves marked the centre of my pizza. The crust was thin, moist but chewy. While both Stephen and my pizza had a good amount of sauce without being wet, I did notice the table next to us had a much soggier pizza (puddle on the plate even). Pizzeria Di Matteo – http://www.pizzeriadimatteo.com/ Stop number two was just two blocks away at Di Matteo. This was our AirBnB host’s favourite pizzeria and was much busier than Dal Presidente. We were seated on the second floor as the first was full. Di Matteo also had a minimum dollar charge per table. After finishing two pizzas, we decided to split just one more and order a beer to pad our bill. I debated about ordering a margherita pizza for a true comparison to Dal Presidente but my curiosity won out and we decided to try a white sauce pizza with fresh arugula and parmesan. I liked the crust and the toppings were generous but this pizza wasn’t quite as flavourful as our previous ones. Also, I liked the crust at Dal Presidente more. Between the two, both Stephen and I preferred Dal Presidente, although it was a tight race. Whichever pizzeria you visit, make sure to stop by during the day to pick up freshly fried arancini balls or a entire deep fried pizza for just 1 Euro. We went back to Di Matteo the next day before catching our train to Rome so I could try their deep fried margherita pizza. So delicious and an unbeatable price.