Sometimes you need to go back to the basics.

Discovering fine dining and modern cuisine is with no doubt an amazing experience. But from time to time there is a new place that makes you feel like what you were missing was something classic, traditional.

Everybody was excited when Paolo Vitaletti, chef of Appia restaurant planned a new restaurant specialized in Pizza Napoletana Verace – Neapolitan original pizza.

And since Peppina opened its doors, few months ago at 27/1 Sukhumvit Soi 33, the excitement doesn’t seem to go down anytime soon.

The place is rocking and, although there are other items on the menu, the reason everybody is desperately trying to book a table is one: pizza.

Making true Neapolitan pizza is not easy as it seems, and Paolo had to find a person to trust, to train the staff. Luckily he found chef Roberto Parrella, directly from Naples, a true pizza geek! He follows all the prescribed guidelines to make prepare the real deal, and he took charge of the kitchen and of the staff, already experienced in making pizzas but using a different style. What makes Neapolitan pizza different, are some details.

The flour: needs to be a plain ‘cinque stagioni’, no mixes, and made from soft wheat.

The water: it must be mineral water with low calcareous content

The rising: it will take between 24 and 30 hours, depending on the room temperature

The kneading: it must be quick, done solely using the hands, and it’s must be done slapping the dough

The tomato sauce: fresh, made from San Marzano tomatoes and hand-pressed, because the metal of a blender would heat it up, cooking it and oxidizing the sauce

The oven: wood-oven is a MUST and the temperature must be between 380ºC and 400ºC

Thanks to Roberto and the rest of the staff, we had the chance to taste some of their signature pizzas and pair them with the right beverage from their drink list. It was hard choosing three pizzas because they were all amazing but here our choices!

Pizza Caprese

As simple as a Margherita but with some difference in the ingredients: the tomatoes are the unique quality Piennolo del Vesuvio, growing on a volcanic land. And the cheese is Burrata instead of classic mozzarella.

Perfect with: Birra del Borgo, Duchessa

Pizza del Monaco

A special pizza available for a short time, so you should run to try it!

Potatoes, red onions, nodino mozzarella, caciocavallo del Monaco and rosemary.

Perfect with: Mikkeller Draught, American Dream

Pizza The Duke

Robiola, Italian sausage, onion, cherry tomatoes, tarragon and balsamic vinaigrette. Something completely different with a large mix of flavors.

Perfect with: Seehof Riesling Trocken

If you are lucky enough to book a table at Peppina, and try their delicious pizza (we definitely want to try every dish on the menu!) share with us your favorite dish and what did you pair with it!