Napoli's Pizza & Restaurant | East Plano, TX — Restaurant in Plano

Originally from NY, I am a pizza fanatic, enjoying most styles, especially NY style. Based on all the excellent reviews, I needed to try Napolis. Overall, not bad (I would give it a 1.5 - e.g. between good and very good) on the pizza. But not up to par with all the outstanding reviews. I guess thee reviews are based on the Murphy location which doesn't offer a lot of competition...

Anyway, I always like to provide detail on exactly what I think... so here goes. For N style pizza, I'll break it down into 4 general tiers as follows:

Tier 1: What you get in NYC, Long Island and NJ, which is actuallu a wide range of quality, but all pretty much making tier 1.

Tier 2: "Close" to NY pizza in other areas, like the south (e.g. TX.) This level is still good enough to make me crave it when away from real NY stuff for a while.

Tier 3: A step below Tier 2, but still decent. e.g. definitely better than nothing, and will actually crave it to an extent when tier 2 isn't available.

Tier 4: Not so good. Always dissappoints someone with my standards, and I would prefer to avoid it even if it's the only pizza in town.

THat said, Texas has mostly Tier 4, a bunch of Tier 3, and a small handfull of Tier 2. No Tier 1 that I've found...

I rate Napolis as a strong Tier 3 (e.g. just shy of making the Tier 2 grade). As North Dallas pizza joints go, for example, it's not in the category of say, Luigis in Frisco, which is one of the few solid tier 2s, and I would say just a tad bit under say, Eddy's in Plano, which is a low tier 2. But better than so-called good places like Sals or Napoli (not related) in Garland, or Pizza by Marco, just to name a few that are "average" tier 3's.

What I liked and dissliked about Plano Napolis: Crust was good (but not great) in terms of flavor and texture. Cheese was good, but not great in terms of quality, where great NY quality = whole milk, creamy, gooy mozzarella, and bad quality = barely recognizable as real mild cheese. Sauce was average, where great sauce = fresh, standout, but not overbearing flavor, and bad = literally ruins the pizza.

Good pizza = a delicate ballance of crust, sauce and cheese where each stand out as fresh and flavorful, yet not any one overbears the others in terms of quantity or flavor.

The weaknesses of Napolis I found were: Inconsistent crust thickness. Some areas were appropriately thin, while others were too thick, and sloighly "English muffin" like. (certainly NEVER an attribute in real NY pizza. SKimped on cheese. THis is important to me. There is a minimum standard, and a pizza with an ultra thin, even transparent layer in some areas doesn't quite cut it. It surprises me that a mall mom and pop place like Napolis would skimp on cheese. Sauce amount/balance was however correct, thought he sauce it self was just average (which is OK, at least not bad).

Overall, again, not bad pizza, but not worth a drive over if you're not already int he area, and not the outstanding reviews others have given it (which is why I felt...

Update: I have been frequenting this location several times a week since my previous post 8 months ago...and it has become my favorite lunch spot! Lindsey is super sweet, TJ always takes time to chat, Larry is massively knowledgeable and Makayla has great energy. The manager always stops by to check on me during my visit and the food is top notch! 10\10 for lunch in East Plano!

ORIGINAL RATING: This is a very mixed review. I speak from 17 years in the restaurant business. Their daytime bartender Jackson seem to be undertrained though he was very personable. Serenity was running the entire rest of the restaurant which looked amazing! Jackson seemed overwhelmed with just a few people and as you can see from the picture I posted he was choosing to check something on his phone with an earbud in before removing any of the dishes on the bar. I took this picture because each place at the bar was filled with someone that was there when I arrived all of which left within the course of my visit and yet none of these dishes were cleared. It is clear that they are understaffed at the moment and I intend to return for the food was delicious and both Jackson and serenity were very friendly, despite the fact that Jackson took quite a long time to even come get my order resulting in me or during my lunch as a to go for I feared I would not get it in time otherwise.

I look forward to coming back to this establishment and raising my rating because I feel like at another time I might have received a different...

Honestly I’ve been hard pressed to find good and authentic Italian food since I’ve moved to Plano. So my first order to Napoli’s was small. I’ve had enough Italian food to know that dessert and the red sauce tells you all you need to know. So ordering a salad, some mozzarella sticks, bread and a cannoli.

Well all I have to say is I was floored. Truly the BEST I have had in years. Since I’ve lived back east or been to little Italy. That sold me alone.

Let’s talk sauce, or gravy as some know it. I make my own sauce and so I’ve sadly become picky. The sauce at Napoli’s is a perfect balance of a rustic and smooth purée. Balance with the herbs and a touch of sweetness. Again I knew when I tried it that it was amazing.

Pasta salad is not what most people think. Now let me say this, my 8 year old ate the whole thing by himself over an entire day. It’s lettuce, with some penne, black olives, mozzarella cheese, and ham. The house dressing is a must. Very similar to one from another restaurant I’ve had here in TX but another city. Again something I can eat and never get sick of.

We have had pasta as well from here. My mom had seafood and she loved it. Chicken Parmesan I had and enjoyed it while my little one had pasta and sauce.

This is a place I will continue to come to, especially since it’s so close to where I live. It might be hidden but it is well worth the money you spend on it. Quality is what you...