On a recent trip to Italy, I decided to do a day trip from Rome to the birth place of Pizza, Napoli (Naples). With less than 10 hours between the time my train arrives and departs back to Rome, I challenged myself to visit the top Pizzerias that Naples has to offer and try their Margherita offerings (the de-facto standard when it comes to Pizza). Any form of tourism would strictly be secondary (I know, it’s a tough job).

[Part 1 - L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele]
[Part 2 - Pizzeria Di Matteo]
[Part 3 - Pizzeria Starita Napoli]

Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo

Last, but not least is somewhat the peoples favourite. A Neapolitan I met in Rome told me that this is his favourite place in the whole of Naples. During my short “tourism” period at Castel Sant’Elmo, I met a lovely newly wed couple who also swore by Sorbillo.

Having finished my delightful montenara at Starita, I decided I had enough time to be able to walk to my 4th and final stop before I grabbed the return train to Roma.

The Queue

Having seen a queue outside Sorbillo at lunch time earlier in the day, I managed to get to Sorbillo at 6.35pm. It turns out they don’t open till 7pm. I’m greeted by a small queue of typical tourists – the ones guilty of wearing khaki short shorts, a polo shirt, a backpack and a huge DSLR camera around their neck. I felt a little out of place with my leopard print Clarks.

As it gets closer to 7pm, the queue behind me only grows. Their is an air of excitement slowly building up, with any sort of activity behind the restaurant doors being read as a sign of opening.

“Can we not make this into a story?”

I agree. Doors open and I’m given a seat. I don’t really need to see any menu as I’m a man on a mission who has to catch a train that departs Napoli at 8:17pm.

I impatiently sit down, staring at the branded tissue and plastic cup while seeing other groups having their pizzas arrive. After what seems a long wait, finally….

Base:

Thin base, but quite soft due to the sauce.

Toppings:

The sauce on top is quite soupy compared to any of the others I had. Maybe the dim lighting was playing tricks, but the sauce colour around the middle was more pink than red – just an oddity I noticed. The cheese flavour was very strong, best described as a fungal flavour.

“That sounds interesting, in an interesting way…”

Definitely, a very distinct tasting pizza! Despite all the great stuff I heard about the place, I flavour was actually the least I enjoyed.

The final verdict

When it comes to Neopolitans and their pizza, it’s purely a matter of taste to the individual. Changes in flavours are subtle, but noticeable.

“Oh did you manage to catch that train? Or miss it and blame it on the p-p-p-pizza?”

Why thank you for your concern. After eating 94% of the pizza, I ended up making a dash to the station with reasonable time to venture for a bakery nearby the station (sadly it was closed)

Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo
Via dei Tribunali, 32
80138 Naples
Italy

Website | Map
[Part 1 - L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele]
[Part 2 - Pizzeria Di Matteo]
[Part 3 - Pizzeria Starita Napoli]