Neapolitan Pizzeria + Birreria — Restaurant in Laguna Beach

Today, we were simply driving about Laguna Beach, not particularly hungry, but the facade of the restaurant suddenly caught my eye in my rearview mirror. I said to Kari, "Hey, you want to try that Neo-Politician place?" We quickly navigated a u-turn on PCH and found ourselves sitting in the open-air pizzeria.

The restaurant smelled amazing.

We soon discovered that "NEApolitan" Pizzeria & Birreria is an "authentic Italian eatery featuring wood-fired pizzas." Their pizzas are cooked in a genuine Stefano Ferara Napoli oven, which I checked and verified it to be Rinomato in tutto il mondo (i.e. world renowned). It's simply the finest brick oven in the world, made in Naples. This little puppy fires up at 900 degrees, which is ideal for those who enjoy a crisp, crackling outer crust that yields a spongey and chewy bread inside. Mmmmm - exquisite!

NEApolitan's menu boasts of small plates and desserts, all made from scratch! To complement their food, they offer a wide selection of the "best craft beers you can get." If this weren't enough, they also carry "hand-crafted" sake and cocktails, as well as an ample selection of wines.

We were impressed to read that NEApolitan serves only the finest "Farm to Table" ingredients, and that besides their drinks being hand selected from the foremost breweries and wineries, they also feature one of a kind signature drinks.

NEApolitan seemed to have it all. Now for what's really important - the taste test.

Regardless of neither of us feeling undernourished, the menu selections looked so appealing we ended-up ordering three items: Margherita Pizza, Chopped Salad and Meatball Panini.

One of the ingredients that caught my attention was the "Organic Pomodoro." Since my Italian mother and grandmother passed away I have been on a never ending quest for a sauce that might come close to the scrumptiously light and savory pomodoro I had grown accustomed to in my youth. I've tasted a few that have sufficed, but none that have delighted - that is until today.

NEApolitan's pomodoro is nothing short of marvelous. We loved it so much that we ordered a ramekin portion and dipped everything in it but our salad (OK, so I lied, I also poured it on my small side salad...).

Besides the organic pomodoro, our pizza was made with fresh basil, the stretchiest, most flavorful Mozzarella I've had since I can't remember, and Napa Valley olive oil. Extraordinary.

Our salad too, with chopped greens, fresh herbs, salumi (Italian cured meat), provolone, lemon oregano dressing, and a slight bite from habanero, was outrageously delicious. We'd go back just for the salad!

I wished I would have asked more about my meatball panini, but I was too busy scarfing it down to think about it. I do know that the meatballs were veal, which were covered in organic pomodoro, but I am guessing that the cheese was ricotta with a touch of marjoram/oregano. I think the bread was a sourdough - fresh, spongy, and oh so heavenly. Seriously folks, it was one of the most sublime sandwiches I've had in a very long time. I can't wait to return and try their sausage panini as well.

As to price and service, while the former was very reasonable, the latter was extraordinary. I was surprised when our attentive waiter remarked that he thought my voice impersonation of Bob Dylan was "spot on." "Gotta Serve Somebody" was playing overhead and I guess I was following along louder than I thought. He noticed and took the time to share his heartfelt appreciation. It was not so much gratifying to hear I still had it, but that the waiter showed in more ways than one that he genuinely cared about out dining experience.

I am sorry to say that after all the praise there is a drawback to NEApolitan. Because of their savory fare, my New Year's resolution to halve my portions was quickly broken before it even begun. I ate every bite... Oh well, there's...

I am going to give them 5 stars because the Location had a very relaxing ambulance is easy to get in girl very friendly they are open late and I don’t want to hurt a local business. Everything was cool and great. Remember this is purely subjective and my own opinion. To me, I personally thought the pizza Margherita was a 2 or 3 out of 10 on my taste scale. Maybe you will love it so again, given everything else, try it. It’s a cute place. I just think the portion size and what you get just wasn’t worth the $19/25 with tip pizza that I was able to complete in 8 bites. Maybe I’m cheap or not easily wowed but just based on my sole eating experience, I think $7-8 would have been right.

You tell me if you love it or dislike something. The place for 10:30PM was pretty happening with some cool artist and local...

The pizza was alright. A little under cooked. The service was terrible is an understatement. They had a plumbing problem and kept telling us how they have to do deep cleaning after a busy labor day. They rushed us out 45 minutes before they were even closed. Total waste of $120.00 for two adults and one kid. I rarely go out to eat but when we do it's for the experience. "I'm sorry things happen in the restaurant business" isn't my fault.

Pro Tip: quit worrying about your bottom line and making money your priority and you might not get poor reviews for poor service because respectfully your service was terrible and whining about your problems trying to make your customers feel bad is the millennial way of doing things....