Pizzeria 400 Gradi — Restaurant in Naples

Honeymooning with the wife, and we decided to make Naples a destination with a tour of the best pizzerias.

This is going to be a long review. We began the search by shortlisting the highest rated + most people reviewed pizzerias.

Our list started with Michele Figliole 400 Gradi (di Ciro) Marsadona Starita A Materdei Gina Sorbillo

The above are the highest rated. You'll see my reviews of the above few when you browse their Google reviews.

400 Gradi di Ciro has 3 tables. Just 3. They are wrapped in a plain tablecloth with a thick sheet of plastic. Far from classy. Lit white with florescence lighting. Under a walled tarp that hid us from the chilly February winds. Not a grand ambience to say the least.

An unassuming facade, hiding a family pizzeria deserving of the title of BEST.

When I began my pizza tour with Michele, there was a bar set. A 'soupy' pizza, salty dough, strong individual flavours and a chewy crust. This was apparently in many pizzerias I found in Naples. But 400 Gradi stands out in a crowd of oily standards.

A light crackly crust with black char specks from a traditional wood oven, rolled over a warm grit of ricotta, garnished comprehensively with ingredients in symmetrically round pie (which surprisingly isn't a thing in Naples pizzerias).

Every bite was balanced and far from the salty shocks that I experienced in other pizzerias. I raised my brows in surprise as it contrasted the (good) standards I tasted in Naples already. Every bite, a full experience of cheese, tomatoes, and meat, so there's no 'hotspots' of flavours. The thin dough base that works so well with the filling hangs loosely and steams as I tear a bite out.

No overt saltiness. No oily mess, just balance. I believe pizza is a flavour. Not individual smells or tastes. But everything melded to create one flavour. Pizza. The way it should be.

Then I groaned as I got to the crust, the sad ending to every pizza. But 400 Gradi has a trick up its sleeve. Ricotta rolled into the crust and buttered up the chewy crust with burnt ends. It works. Not some stuffed crust joke with mozzarella. But the light milky grit warmed in a wood fired oven. Reminiscent of a simple ravioli. This was the 2nd time I raised my brows in a meal as I cleared my throat in surprise. I shook my head in disbelief as I swallowed as the waiter asked if everything was alright? I nodded with my eyes shut in urgency to try to explain the misunderstanding.

I impatiently finished my pie and immediately called for the menu to buy 2 for takeaway. I tried the Porcini and the Capri. Damn if I can find something better. You'd think good pizzerias competing with each other are in a minor jump above each other. 400 Gradi took a bounding leap above. Balance is the key to many things. Gone are the days of explosive flavours and wild headlines of a meal. A pizza is what it is, affordable full meals, in a single bite. 400 Gradi is a true gem when it comes down to it. Tastes stunning, looks fantastic, smells like a bakery hugged by cheese and meats. My verdict? Look past the unassuming almost ugly exterior, and inside lies true skill and flavour. Best one I've had the...

Had a chaotic pizza dinner here the other night while staying in Naples. The pizza is good - made on demand and tastes fresh. So if you’re nearby and want to try one way that pizza is done in this part of Italy then you’ll find a satisfying spread on the menu.

But I have two complaints, the first is the atmosphere here. I give it one star because it’s just a borderline insufferable experience with how much traffic noise and fumes are constantly being pumped into your face here while just trying to enjoy an otherwise great pizza. I want to stress that I understand that this is not the fault of the restaurant but I also can’t lie and say that I enjoyed sitting there to eat. My advice is that unless you really love the sensation of scooters and cars driving 5cm from your head during dinner just take the pizza to go and sit somewhere more peaceful.

Secondly the amount of plastic utensils used here is a bit excessive. I know the plastic single-use ban from the EU doesn’t prevent restaurants from issuing them to customers but the last thing Italian cities need is more waste. While this pizzeria isn’t unique in providing plastic utensils to customers, literally the cups, utensils, and pizza plates were all single-use plastic disposable items. The only thing not in this category was the takeaway box. I don’t see why a smaller but popular location like this can’t invest in a dishwasher and reusable dinnerware. Would love to see an upgrade like this!

Otherwise, service and prices were fine but nothing exceptional. Could see myself returning, but just for...

This is what real Neopolitan-style pizza is like! We were walking around town the entire day looking for a place to eat. As it was December 31st, everything was packed with locals waiting in hour-long lines to get food for the celebrations. Hungry and tired we stumbled upon this tiny place that was literally a single door on the street. We decided to give it a try, and stood in line for 20 minutes. Ordered two simple Pizza Margheritas to focus on quality of ingredients instead of speciality. After we got our boxes, we decide to just sit out and eat at a nearby square. I was not prepared to have an experience that I will never forget. I've been to different parts of Italy several times and consider myself a pizza lover, but this was nothing like I tasted before. The tomato sauce on top is fresh and the cheese is top notch. The crust is out of this world! I honestly almost cried, this place was honestly worth walking around for hours.

I will make sure to come back to Naples because of this place - straight from the airport to here. Thank you...