Pi-Napo Pizzeria — Restaurant in Charlottesville

Easiest 5 star review I've written all year. Only open six months and they are off and running with amazing local buzz. These are the most authentic Neapolitan pies you may ever experience outside of Italy.

There was one negative and that was where do you park. There is off street parking and I decided to walk a block and utilized a UVA parking lot. There is a pick up spot.

The building is a converted 1940's gas station. So very cool factor with existing garage doors. There are tables to sit outside on warmer days than my family encountered. I can see live music being offered. Signage was good.

Service was immediately very friendly. A menu board will help, but just ask and the staff was more than happy to guide me. The desert counter looked divine! The specialty is their Neapolitan cannoli. Also the gelato flavors are interesting, but the $35k machine is wow factor. Designed by Enzo Ferrari. Drinks are bottled, wine, beer and fountain sodas.

There are plenty of interior wood tables with larger tables for group dining. Also bar seating for singles to enjoy the pizza making operation Decor is Italian themed. Concrete floors and exposed brick adorn the space. The large open air kitchen is another cool factor. They had four or five Italian men all working hard.

My order came out within 15 minutes. My sausage pizza which comes one size easily fed three plus and was the bomb, so quality. A house red wine paired perfectly with my pizza and was tasty. I also super enjoyed their Neapolitan cannoli. I also tried the chocolate gelato and would have probably got something else, but it was still pretty good. Everything is paper, plastic utensils and napkins on the table.

This is a new place in Charlottesville that's a must checkout. I will return next...

Fool me twice - shame on me. Tried this place again 9 months later and somehow it got worse since my last visit. Placed an online order, showed up at the time of my scheduled pickup. Waited another half hour for my pie (all while seeing ppl place an order out the counter and get their order before mine). Kitchen was in total chaos. When I got my pie, it was folded over (just like the last time). I told the manager about the issue, but didn’t have time to wait. To his credit, he met me with a fresh replacement as I was leaving (this one still has the crust folded over too. Go figure). Needless to say, this will be my last visit.

Previous review: Over this place - Another addition to the collection of mediocre pizza restaurants in Charlottesville. I live in the neighborhood - and wish this place was great. I order from here pretty regularly. Staff is friendly enough, but the pizza is only so-so, the vibe is pretty lame (unless you like stark lighting, cheesy wall art and crooner music from the 1950s). When they first opened a few months ago, the staff was very diligent about the quality of the food that went out the door. But that appears to have slipped too. See the image of the pizza I just got. Not sure how you send that out the door, and expect customers to continue to return.

If you are visiting from out of town, just go to Mellow Mushroom. Yes it’s a chain, but the quality is consistent and the vibes are much...

Visiting area Service was prompt, and the 2 pizzas arrived within 15 minutes from ordering, that was good. The 2 ordered were FUNGHI Crust well cooked on top and soggy under. Strings of unidentified black vegetable matter ended up being basil!!! Yes!!! Basil cooked on the oven at high temperature, a disgrace from a pizza maker.

There were little small oily thingies, that on further evaluation proved to be onion sautéed (yes sautéed) and sprinkled on top, enough to ruin an otherwise cheesy and well presented plate.

Second was NAPO

Was amused when I saw my daughter folding a slice to eat, like it was from Pizza Hut, with the usual soggy crust!!!

The sausage was excellent in taste and the sweet dried red pepper added an extra spicy touch.

The top was baked to perfection, the bottom a miserable soggy spongy thing usually found on a chain fast food pizza, as I stated earlier.

When I make pizza at home, the first goal is not to present a soggy bottom, a trademark of poor quality will never serve to friends nor will eat myself.

Bottom line

Maybe this was a bad day for your baker, or had a person trying his/hers hand for the first time, who knows????

Pizza, properly baked is a delicacy, today's pizza an abomination!!.

Not sure the punishment for this...