La Pizza

Quality and quantity

La Pizza is the brainchild of owner Gennaro, the Chinese representative of the Naples Pizza Chefs Association, who has three other restaurants in China.

The new restaurant is in an un-prepossessing corner of the Solana mall and has an outdoor terrace. Though it’s nothing much décor-wise, it somehow feels Italian – partly due to the rotund Italian pizza chefs in the open kitchen and the fact that many of the guests (Italians) seem to know Gennaro.

Other than the pizzas, there’s not a huge amount to entice. The Mozzarella Salad (45RMB) is decent, with tasty cheese imported from the Campania area, but the Prosciutto Capricci Salad (45RMB) is a disappointment, marred by an excess of fried pizza bits.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, La Pizza is about the pizzas, which come in sizes of 12 inches, half-metre and a metre, and are made to exacting standards in genuine Neapolitan ovens using Italian wheat fl our dough.

Part of Gennaro’s job involves importing genuine Neapolitan ingredients into China, so the ingredients here are the real thing. Italians say that you can judge a pizza joint by the quality of the Margherita (48/100/200RMB), and this one is good, with a rich, full flavour.

We’ve had it twice, and while the fi rst one was perfect, the second was slightly under-cooked, with the oil causing the dough to sag.

The Diavola Devil (78/170/340RMB) is another cracker, with delicious peperoncino and salami toppings, and drizzles of delicious olive oil. The Capricciosa (78/170/340RMB), though, is slightly overcooked with mushrooms that taste frozen.

The speciality Calzone Ortolano (110RMB) comes crammed full with prosciutto, ham, rucola, eggplant, vegetables and more. It’s good, but the ingredients merge into a slightly gooey, carb-heavy morass.

The service is friendly and quick, even on a busy night just a month or so after opening. Toby Skinner

La Pizza SA-48, Solana Mall (at the east end of the central plaza, by Muji), 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang district (5905 6106). Open 11ammidnight daily. Meal for two around 400RMB. 朝阳区朝阳公园路6号 SOLANA蓝色港湾商业区SA-48