Napizza Roman Style Pizza Squares

Napizza opened up to great fanfare in downtown Encinitas. they replaced Vallarta Mexican food which also opened to great fanfare when they opened. Napizza promotes themselves as healthy and local-farm to table pizza.  Napizza features Roman style pizza which is different than Neapolitan pizza in both style, texture and flavors. The crust is crispy and crunchy vs. crispy and chewy like its Neapolitan cousin. It's also square not round. Napizza sells pizza by the piece with each piece priced at $4.75-5.75. For $11 you get the full belly combo which is a choice of two items and a fountain drink, $14 for two items and a microbrew. I got a piece of Porcini Truffle pizza and half a BLTA Panini. The tiny restaurant was fully packed inside and outside and there where a number of to go orders as well. Napizza will deliver to the beach just meet the deliver bicycle at your nearest lifeguard station. The pizza was quite flavorful and the porcini with truffle oil was tasty and rich but not overpowering. Texture wise it was more like a thick flatbread pizza without much flavor from the crust. I know sign on the wall says they let the crust rise and rest for 72 hours so it gets good flavor, but I couldn't notice it.  They also feature salads, which looked pretty good.  Since they sell their za by the slice all of their pies are par-baked (80%) then finished in the hot oven or in your hot oven at home. This might contribute to the crispy crust vs a chewy crust. They also use a conventional oven that is not a wood burning or coal fired oven that give Neapolitan style pizza its character. With Blue Ribbon Pizza and Urbn Pizza literally across the street and down the street there's fierce competition in downtown Encinitas. Pizza is a very personal thing and there are many various tastes in pizza so more choice is a good thing.

Napizza 615 S. Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 (760) 452-2340
www.na-pizza.com

Other locations in: Little Italy, 4S commons, & Hillcrest