Napoli — Local services in Reykjavik

After being away from our home in the states for 2 weeks, we found ourselves near the end of our voyage in Reykjavík, Iceland. With our stomachs empty and our bodies exhausted, we sit in our hotel pondering Google for a restaurant to restore our well being. As we search the landscape of hundreds of restaurants, we come across a little shop called Napoli. Us, being the American, monkey brained individuals that we are, choose to go to an Italian restaurant for dinner in the capital of Iceland. We leave our hotel room, walk the streets of Reykjavik, and arrive at Napoli. Even before stepping foot into the shop, we can smell the love and care that was meticulously crafted into every menu item. Stepping into the restaurant escalated our already high hopes to hopes we had never even dreamed of. The ingredients for the pizzas on the menu, the small homemade style atmosphere, the booth on the left side of the wall, everything lead us to assume that what we were about to experience was going to change our lives. After about 5 minute of indecisive pondering, out comes what’s quite possibly the walking definition of an Italian chef. This gentleman was the essence of Italy. His voice, his mannerisms, the way he persuaded us into choosing what to order instead of us wasting his time until they closed for the night, he was Napoli. His name wasn’t Napoli we don’t think, but him and the restaurant are interchangeable in terms of what Napoli strived to be. A home away from home. The experience of Italy at peak authenticity hundreds of miles away from there. We order two pizzas and a coke, but this gentleman being the absolute legend he is, offers a free drink to us. A limited edition, not made in the U.S., exotic taste Fanta. He says that the food will take 15 minutes to prepare so we take that time to run a few errands. At least, that’s what our main intent was. We laugh and enjoy each other as we frolic like we hadn’t seen each other in years. However, secretly in the back of all of our heads, we’re taking a deep breath. We’re giving ourselves a break from exploding with euphoria both figuratively and literally in Napoli. As we return, we are so overjoyed with the look and smell of our food, if you can even call it that. Calling these pizzas food would be an understatement as these could have easily been shipped straight from the pearly white gates of heaven into this store. We are so ecstatic that we plead for a picture as we may never cross paths with Napoli ever again. We wave our goodbyes to Napoli as we walk back swiftly to our hotel. We try to keep the pizzas warm like a mother protects her child in the bleak cold winter, we can hardly compose our excitement. As we open the boxes and hand out our portions, we simultaneously take a bite and are taken aback to childhood. The memories of everything in life leading up to now came to fruition. Everything about the pizza not only made us feel like we were in Italy, but rather a temporary place of paradise. A place where our worries went away and all we could feel and think were happiness. The warm embrace of what we were consuming and what Napoli had provided us were truly overwhelming. It was joy. Pure joy; a joy that we had never experienced prior and a joy that would be very rare to experience again. Napoli may be an Italian restaurant in Iceland, but it’s the smallest, most authentic piece of Italy outside of Italy. Nothing will make us feel as warm and as jubilated as Napoli did. Napoli was a gift; a light in a dark tunnel, a four leaf clover in a field of green. Napoli rejuvenated our spirits and reawakened us to what there has yet to be...

If culinary nirvana could be sliced and served in a cardboard box, it would be found at Napoli in Reykjavik. This isn’t just a pizza place—it’s a temple of molten cheese, savory perfection, and crust so divine it deserves its own passport.

The gentlemen behind the counter? Exemplary. Charming, efficient, and blessed with that rare knack for making you feel like a treasured regular—even if you’ve only been in Iceland for a weekend. My personal obsession: The Napoli—a pepperoni masterpiece that could make a grown man weep with joy. No exaggeration, I ordered one every single night I was in town. (Yes, I regret nothing.)

The sourdough crust is a marvel—crispy on the outside, tender within, with a tang that whispers sweet nothings to your taste buds. And the speed! These pizzas emerge from the oven faster than Icelandic weather can change, yet never at the expense of quality. Across three consecutive nights, each pie was flawless: piping hot, picture-perfect, and loaded with flavor.

If you find yourself in Reykjavik and do not visit Napoli, I can only assume you’ve made a grave error...

Food: W O W this is some good pizza!! Probably second best I've ever had (I'm sorry, there's a lil pizza hole in the wall in NYC that has my heart). I got the quattro formaggio (w/o the blue cheese, which was nice of them to accommodate). My husband got the Napoli. Both pizzas were amazing and the quattro formaggio came with this amazing jam?? The jam WITH the crust and pizza was revelatory. Service: Great! Accommodated an ingredient preference (no blue cheese) and super friendly. Atmosphere: It's a take out place so not really rating for atmosphere lol. You can see the oven inside tho...