I went to the London restaurant where the pizza is rated 8th out of 50 in Europe – and now I can understand why.
Just off of the what seems to be never-ending Chiswick High Road sits Napoli on the Road – an authentic, local, warm, family-feel Italian restaurant.
There are loads of Italian restaurants like this around London, but not all of them are rated in the first guide of the best pizzerias in the world – known as 50 Top Pizza, and definitely not all of them are in the top 10.
Napoli on the Road has an extensive pizza menu, ranging from a margherita, to seasonal signature pizzas, to specials and vegan pizzas.
These are accompanied by a couple of pasta dishes, some starters and desserts.
My friend and I went to the restaurant on a lovely, sunny evening, so we made the most out of the nice weather by sitting outside and eating our meal al fresco.
Before we’d even started eating it became apparent that we were in the right place, or a local hotspot, as the amount of people who turned up to pick up a takeaway, and the amount of delivery drivers waiting for orders outside was crazy.
There was also a queue with people willing to wait for a table.
The inside of the restaurant fits a good amount of tables, while being cosy enough and not too big.
The certification of its rated pizza award sits proudly on the wall, and the kitchen is an open one with a large pizza oven.
For starters my friend ordered an arancini ball which is a fried breadcrumb-coated rice ball with Neapolitan ragù, mozzarella and pecorino.
I got a mix of fried green vegetables, and then we shared bruschetta which came with toasted bread with cherry tomatoes lathered on top.
The ingredients tasted fresh, the portions were generously sized and the dishes were all-round delicious.
And, if we hadn’t been sold by the starters, wait until we get onto the mains.
It would have been rude not to order pizza, so we both decided to get our favourites.
My friend ordered the Bufala Dop which comes with organic tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala cheese, evo oil and basil.
I got a margherita with mushrooms and sundried tomatoes on top (not specifically on the menu but my favourite kind of pizza).
And, wow.
There aren’t much more words I can use apart from I understand why this pizza has been recognised across Europe for its greatness.
It was doughy, fresh, Italian, authentic, not too thin and not too thick, and all-round divine.
We both devoured the whole lot while drinking on our rose, and it was safe to say we could barely move afterwards – in a good way.
We found a tiny pocket of room in our stomachs for some chocolate gelato, and Napoli on the Road has joined up with local gelato parlour duci to make sure it serves its customers the best of the best.
We had such a lovely evening, with such lovely food, and had full stomachs and full smiles as we left.
The staff were friendly, helpful, it gave me a real family-feeling, and the food was absolutely spot on.
Anyone want to sign my petition to get Napoli on the Road to number 1 in the best pizza in Europe, rather than number 8?!
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