Restaurant Review: Capizzi Ristorante Italiano, New York City

Practically around the corner from Theatre Row on 42nd Street is a small, unassuming restaurant, Capizzi. We had passed it multiple times and the aroma was always irresistible but we were usually on our way to a show.

This time we weren’t.

The tiny, one-room restaurant was warm and inviting. The décor was early kitsch, with a vintage General Electric refrigerator from the 1950s featuring prominently.

The lone server welcomed us and sat us at a table along the wall, bringing a bottle of New York City water and menus. Although there was only one party seated when we arrived, the room filled soon thereafter, although it remained quiet and never felt anything but cozy.

Capizzi is a town in Sicily that was the birthplace of the owner’s mother and grandparents and the restaurant is named in their honor.

The menu focuses on pizza. Pizza Margherita is available in individual or larger sizes, with a range of toppings available including sausage, anchovies, pancetta, onions, and garlic. I ordered mine with Portobello mushrooms while my dining companion ordered a Pizza Margherita with one of the combination options, sausage, sweet roasted pepper, and onion.

There are about a dozen “specialty” pizzas on the menu as well, but they seemed a bit too complicated for my taste.

Our dishes came fairly quickly and the pizza was just as I like it. Not soft and doughy like much of the pizza one gets in New York, but crunchy, like a good Italian bread, with the flavor of the tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil, and extra-virgin olive oil coming through. My dining companion’s combination pizza was equally satisfying.

BOTTOM LINE

A good Neapolitan pizza such as what we had at Capizzi is hard to find. While I ended up taking half of mine home and enjoying it later, my dining companion finished his and we both agreed we would return.

THE DETAILS

Capizzi Ristorante Italiano
547 Ninth Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10018
www.capizzinyc.com

(Photos: Accura Media Group)