napolese

the best indy has to offer for true naples style pizza. the pizza is excellent, but pricey. small dining room with very little waiting area. service has overall been very good here.

a friend and i decided to catch up last friday night and were both in the mood for pizza. since it was close by, we quickly decided on napolese. i decided to order the smoked salmon.

so, what's on this pie? the base "sauce" on this pizza is dill creme fraiche. on top of this goes smoked salmon, capers, and roasted leeks. i ordered this item becasue i love smoked salmon with cream cheese on bagels, and often have capers and onion along with it. so, this combination sounded good to my ears (and stomach).

and, it was good. definitely an above-average pie. my one quibble is that is seemed a bit "heavy" on my pallette. i was surprised by this because the smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels do not strike me that way. i think it may be because the pizza is hot, which makes the rich smoked salmon and creme fraiche noticeably richer-tasting. the pizza would be even better if it could be lightened a bit.

however, as i said, it was an above-average pizza that i would be more than happy to eat again.

food: 3
service: 3
atmosphere: 3
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explanation of rating scale:
1: does not meet expectations
2: meets expectations
3: exceeds expectations
4: far exceeds expectations
so, on this scale, a 2 is a respectable score. 4s will be very rare. (and hopefully so will 1s).


-----02 apr, 2011-----

pfg/aphrodisiac. i have had this place on my wishlist for a long time, and finally made there to give it a try. we decided to go with an appetizer and then share two pizzas.

the appetizer we started with was the spinach and artichoke dip. it was rich and oh so good. i especially enjoyed the very large pieces of artichoke.

our first pizza was the pfg, which is a white pizza topped with pancetta, roasted fingerling potatoes, and gorgonzola. i am a fan of blue cheeses, and it went well on this pizza. the hit of blue was softened by the potatoes. the pancetta added a nice, meaty savoriness. i thought it was creative as i have not seen this combo on a pizza before.

the second pizza is called the aphrodisiac. it was topped with a touch of red sauce, prosciutto, green and white asparagus, leeks, and provolone. again, it's a combination i don't remember running across. thinking about it, it's a bit of a surprise this combination is not found more often given that asparagus wrapped with prosciutto is a classic italian antipasto dish. so, it was a smart move that worked well with this pizza.

i would also add that the service was good throughout the meal, so we had a good first experience.

for this meal:
food: 3.5
service: 3
atmosphere: 3
****************
explanation of rating scale:
1: does not meet expectations
2: meets expectations
3: exceeds expectations
4: far exceeds expectations
so, on this scale, a 2 is a respectable score. 4s will be very rare. (and hopefully so will 1s).

all in all, hubby agreed with me that napolese has some interesting sounding combos for their pizzas, and we both enjoyed the food and wine we had. the downside, as i have said in the past, and hubby agreed, was the noise.

i wanted to like it..... i was excited to finally try this place as i've heard good things and indianapolis monthly voted it one of our best restaurants. the decor was stylish, but the service was lackluster and slow. we came in on a tuesday evening at 5pm for a quick bite, and it took us 2 hours for a salad and pizza. the menu looked fantastic, but we decided to go for a simple salad and a traditional pizza to see how it stacked up to our trip to naples. we ordered a ceasar salad and a margarita pizza. the salad was a mess. the romaine was brown and wilted. it felt like a week old salad. and, it cost $9. the pizza was okay. the crust was the star of the show, but the sauce was a bit heavy and the slices were wet and runny on the inside corners. we ended with a bowl of gelato. another disappointment. it was grainy and icey...seemed to have freezer burn? i was bummed because they are opening a gelato place next door. i'm really sad that we didn't like this place. maybe we'll give the pizza another chance in the future?

can't wait to go back!. i want to try every pie on the menu. tonight we had the meridian kessler and the blt. both scrumptious but the espresso poured gelato made my night. hello espresso and gelato, thats all i have to say.

delicious artisan pizza and salads. point blank - if you appreciate "upscale" pizza you can't miss with napolese.

if you think papa johns/dominoes/insert crappy chain here is the best pizza in the whole wide world then you might not want to come here.

i sat outside (last fall) so i can not comment one way or another on the "volume problem" indoors but the outside seating was perfect, comfortable, and the service was flawless.

if you havent yet done this, guys, grab your lady friend, get two pizzas, split a salad, and order a bottle of wine. you'll have variety, maybe some leftovers, a good meal and a great time!

overhyped? maybe.. how can you not have high expectations when the owner of patachou decides to open a new restaurant? it's pretty hard to top perfection.

the overall look of the restaurant is sexy and sophisticated, but i agreed with other reviews in that it was very loud and difficult to carry on a conversation. from the floors to the ceiling, sound bounced off of everything. it felt a bit cramped with the tables tightly arranged and the small space.

we ordered the bruschetta to start, which was very nice. the bread was light and airy. dinner took at least 45 minutes to come out, and the server was very apologetic. i ordered the three-cheese (mozzarella, provolone and gorgonzola), and was disappointed that the bottom of the crust was burnt. i'm not one to return a meal, so i ate it anyway, but the burnt taste took over the entire pizza, the gorgonzola was also very overpowering. it didn't taste very balanced.

on the flip side, the hostess and staff were very attentive and friendly. the server gave us a free dessert for the delay of the main course, and we didn't even complain about having to wait - very courteous of them. the seasonal apple dumpling was absolutely delicious!! flaky, crusty pastry to soak up the flavor, tart apple cooked to perfection and a delicious, syrupy sauce.

we went to napolese when it first opened, so i think they may have just had a really busy night that didn't go as well as usual. we look forward to giving it another try!

amazing. i just love this place. i had the smoked salmon artisanal pizza. it was amazing. the atmosphere was so comfortable and warming. we had great service as well. must go if you love pizza!

a real gem for indianapolis. i don't write many reviews but many of the negative reviews i have read about napolese were not accurate according to my own experiences.

i've now been to napolese twice. both times the food and service were excellent and rivaled the best indy has to offer.

concerning the price:
this is not papa john's. if you are looking for a $5 three topping large; go elsewhere. however, you get exactly what you pay for (at napolese and at papa john's). the portions are not small. 1 salad and 1 pizza is plenty of food for just 2 people. there person who had 1 app, 1 salad, 2 pizzas for 2 people took home at least 2 full meals with them. my birthday dinner with my wife was 1 salad, 1 pizza, and 2 glasses of wine. total cost was $38 (we even took home 2 pieces of pizza).

concerning the pizza:
again, this is not a crappy chain pizza place. it is artisan pizza. the toppings are different than you are used to and so is the crust and cooking style. the crust is supposed to be burned to perfection. it is supposed to be chewy. the toppings are supposed to be sparsely tossed onto the pizza. if you don't know what to expect from a restaurant, how can you know if what you got was unexpected?

concerning the noise:
this is not the olive garden. you don't get your own 8'x8' private booth for your private conversations. it is a fun atmosphere and a shared experience among all of the patrons at the restaurant. if you wish to dine in solitude, please do so at home and stop complaining. it can be loud at times, but why does this bother you? unless you have a migraine, there isn't anything to complain about.

if you ignorantly walk into a restaurant with a set of preconceived notions; how can you be upset when you are proven wrong? i know this is 'merica and you can always have it your waytm ; but this is not an american restaurant.

tasty. enjoyed everything but the chocolate pizza. pizza, salads, soup and torte were all very tasty!

excellent, maybe best in indy. this is authentic italian pizza. i studied in rome and napolese has done a wonderful job of re-creating delicious, italian pizza.

i waited to say anything about napolese until i had eaten there a handful of times and so far i've sampled most of what they have to offer. while the rest of the menu is decent, i've been blown...

very good, in the indy artisan pizza market it's the best!

called ahead and got on the list and didn't have to wait long. good wine selection to start. had the goat cheese app; would've been better if the bread had been hotter and crisper, but the cheese was yummy. got two pizzas to split among three people and it was a good amount. the casanova delight pizza (prosciutto and taleggio cheese) was just off ... the combination of salty pork and very pungent cheese did not please the nose or the taste buds. but the meridian kessler pizza (italian sausage, aged provolone and mushroom) was delicious! the place has a great vibe, awesome menu, good wine list, and we were pleased with our service. we will definitely go back!

disappointing. we went on a tuesday so no waiting. as others have said i wanted to like it and i liked the menu right away. had a blt, a hamakers and a vegetarian something. the first were so salty they were inedible. bacon and sausage chunks way too big, way too salty, no subtlety here. the crust on all three was soggy in the middle and tough bready on the edge. a lighter and more skilled hand is needed in the kitchen. i will be back, i want this to work.