Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria - Wallingford — Restaurant in Seattle

I'm pleased to pen a sweet, simple, slightly sad and ultimately short paragraph regarding my time at Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizza. Today, I leave this restaurant feeling extraordinarily humbled. One of my favorite dishes from my Home Country (Italy) is Neapolitician Pizza, which is what you Americans might consider a delicacy. This peculiar dish involves a meaty cauliflower crust pizza that is flavored exclusively with a tart strawberry paste, basic pure vanilla syrup and rich chocolate drizzle before being blessed by eight politicians and cooked in an easy bake oven. I have not consumed this dish since leaving the Home Country (Italy, FYI) quite a few decades ago. To find this dish on the menu at Tutta Bella....wow. Just, WOW. I was flabbergasted, nauseated, enthralled and GRATEFUL. (Nauseated because of Pizza Hut not having this dish). This dish is only $3.50 for an XL pizza, and they bring the politicians directly into the store to bless it. each time someone orders. THIS DISH IS A MUST. The politicians they brought in to bless the cauli crust were so generous yet degenerative, it really just added to my experience to shake hands with them before they each kissed and maybe nibbled on the pizza simultaneously. My favorite was a local libertarian who is running for office in 2042 who I will definitely vote for if I am a citizen!!!!!! He drizzled that rich chocolate all over my meat pizza!!!!! I love him!!!!!! Anyway, a few of the rowdier politicians knocked over tables and took shots of 151 but the others simply did their political duty - BLESS THIS DISH OF THE HOME COUNTRY (ITALY). The dish was good, like dishes usually are. If you have any type of feelings regarding food or really like food and politics you HAVE TO GO HERE AS SOON...

THE GOOD: The gelato, the Napoli salad, the pizza (we get a margherita with Italian sausage), the wait staff. Seriously, the staff here is really good. Tonight, for instance, the hostess was pleasant and cool and took our names down for a fifteen minute wait; five minutes later, another gentleman came and seated us. Our server, was upbeat and memorized our order despite it being modified. The food comes quickly and there are people there who literally whisked away our salad bowl the second the last leaf touched my plate. The service here is top notch and so is the food, really.

THE BAD: My boyfriend and I regulars at Tutta Bella, but we usually do take-out. Why? Well, mostly because of the cafeteria-style dining room that echoes like crazy. Sometimes, I don't mind not hearing my boyfriend (ha ha, I kid), but it gets irritating constantly saying, "what?" Also, if you are not a fan of children, then get your food take-out. There are more "families" there than people on a date or singles. As a nanny, I don't mind it, but sometimes I am just done with listening to other kids' whining and decide to take-out instead. Also, sometimes they burn the pizza and really, it's overpriced.

THE UGLY: From our table, you could see that they haven't dusted above the windows in a long time (maybe, never?). I kept picturing one of the little dust bunnies floating into my pizza looking like a piece of basil. I know, too graphic. I told you it wasn't going to be a pretty picture.

BOTTOM LINE: Take-out from here whenever you can--it is awesome. If you go in, be prepared for some noise and kids, but the food is...

The food is overall good and we really love their pickled beets with goat cheese. However, they just updated their menus and increased their prices (at least everything for their happy hour) by $2! Their pizzettas are equivalent to about 2 slices of pizza, but at $10 during happy hour, it's equivalent to paying $5 for a slice of pizza (and that's supposed to be a GOOD deal since it's their happy hour prices). If you're looking for NY style pizza, this place isn't for you - check out Turnpike up by Green Lake for greasy flavorful pizzas. Tutta Bella's is more like a California pizza - it's thin crusted, always slightly burnt, and not greasy at all.

The staff is overall very friendly and they're good about bringing your orders to you right when they're ready. Their mixed drinks are also really well made. They have live music sometimes in the evenings. If you do get their pizza, I'd suggest the meatball or Lorenzo. I've tried almost all of them, and the Lorenzo is my favorite from their set menu list. Hazan is okay for when I want variance. Their monthly pizzas are also usually really good (often times better than their menu pizzas). You can order any of their pizzas with either the oil or red sauce bases for free, just ask when you order! We also order ours slightly undercooked so it's only slightly burnt and the crust isn't as crisp.

There's always plenty of seating during their happy hour (by the bar) and late night happy hour times (entire restaurant). You don't need to sit at the bar for their...