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Nella Pizza & Pasta (Hyde Park)

Nella Pizza & Pasta (Hyde Park)
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  • Nella Pizza & Pasta (Hyde Park)

    Post #1 - September 28th, 2017, 1:45 pm
    Post #1 - September 28th, 2017, 1:45 pm Post #1 - September 28th, 2017, 1:45 pm
    This has to be a very provisional, conditional account, as they're still very new, I've only had one encounter, only tried the pizza, and didn't eat in but took it away.
    The space is large, bright but handsome and inviting. Overall the vibe is fun and lively. Bustling but not crushingly loud or oppressive.
    The menu seems well proportioned, with a dozen apps., a half-dozen salads, 16 whimsically named pizzas, etc. Pizzas only come in one size and are all priced in the mid-teens. Apps seem a bit expensive, but also tend to be built around expensive ingredients (e.g., burrata, prosciutto, various seafood).
    We had the Margherita and Troisi pizzas. (That's not what we ordered, but it's what we got. More of that anon.)
    I liked the pizzas a lot. The thin but still chewy, foldable crust worked for me. It felt like the right amount of dough-to-topping, it didn't collapse, and was very tasty.
    For me, both from a value and a taste perspective, I found the toppings on the scant side. Tasty, but really could have used a bit more. The basil on the Margherita was visible, but barely registered as a flavor. Likewise, the crumbled sausage on the Troisi was tasty but pretty lightly applied, and the rapini was just not present enough to supply the desired bitter green contrast to the meat. One wanted both more rapini-to-meat proportionally, and more of everything. Not a ton more. But definitely some.

    Now to the service which, one hopes, will get tweaked as they find their sea legs. We called in the order. A very simple order: 1 Margherita, and 1 Amalfi pizza. Full stop.
    The hostess (calls seem to come into the host station at the front, which probably lowers the odds of accurate communication during busy times), seemed to have never heard the word "Amalfi" before. She said "what?" three times before finally responding with "Oh." (Despite the fact that they have a modern, computerized ordering system, it was not a very convincing "oh," and experience bore out my doubts.)
    I showed up at the appointed time, waited a not great 15 min. for the pizzas to be retrieved, during which time both the hostess I had spoken with earlier and then a more managerial type quizzed me about my name and my order and appeared confused by my answer. So, between my initial call, and our face-to-face dialogue, I had occasion to repeat that I had ordered an Amalfi pizza at least 6 different times to 2 different people.
    The pizzas appeared. I paid. I walked home. My pizza had sausage and rapini on it, not mozz., parm., artichoke, spinach, and goat cheese.
    I checked my receipt to see if by chance it included the order as well as the credit card info. Indeed it did. "Troisi" pizza, right there on the ticket.
    Called them right back. She says, "Do you want to bring it back?"
    No, I do not. I just walked 4 blocks each way in 90-degree heat. I want you to send me the right pizza, or at the very least credit me for the wrong pizza.
    Nope.
    Frankly, for an enterprise that's been around the block a few times, I find this inexplicable. The location is new, but these folks run several successful businesses. They know how this works. There is no digital phone system so bad that "Amalfi" sounds like "Troisi." That aside, you confirm your orders. That's just basic. At the end of the phone call, and then when you turn over the food, you run it down. Every tiny taco stand and stir-fry store front knows that.
    And if you get it wrong, you make it right. The onus is not on the customer.
    All that said, I'll certainly be back to try again. Plenty of potential there. Hoping they can make it happen.

    Nella Pizza & Pasta, 1125 E. 55th St., (773) 643-0603, open 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
    "Strange how potent cheap music is."
  • Post #2 - September 28th, 2017, 2:31 pm
    Post #2 - September 28th, 2017, 2:31 pm Post #2 - September 28th, 2017, 2:31 pm
    Like the OP, this opinion is based on one visit.

    Four of us went to lunch. We were seated promptly and service throughout the meal was excellent. They had a lot of people working at lunchtime and they seemed exceptionally well trained. Everyone we saw was doing something all the time, waiting table, serving, cleaning tables, whatever. All busy. The pizza guys were slinging pies in and out of the oven continually.

    The food was OK. There are now several reviews on Yelp and I agree with the sort of 4 star average. We experienced the same issue mentioned by several, the tomato-based pizzas are runny and soggy in the middle. It seemed by be because the sauce is fairly runny. The second you cut into the pizza the water from the sauce finds its way under the crust and turns it soggy. The outside of the crust was perfect and delicious. A couple had salads and were happy. One had a non-tomato based pizza and the entire crust was perfect.

    I was surprised to see on their online menus that seemingly identical dishes are several dollars more at dinner than at lunch. I don't see this flying in Hyde Park where the crowd is very cost conscious. I think of a pizza and pasta place as the sort of casual restaurant where the prices are the same all day, and since they're open continuously I now wonder when the magic cutover time is.

    But, all in all acceptable and we'll put it on our lunch rotation.
  • Post #3 - October 19th, 2017, 9:08 pm
    Post #3 - October 19th, 2017, 9:08 pm Post #3 - October 19th, 2017, 9:08 pm
    Consummate oddball Hyde Park service, here towards the nervous part of the spectrum instead of the lackadaisical, removing salad plates with half the salad left, insisting on replacing bread service plates (like, insisting, as if it were a health code violation to have some olive oil on the saucer you were going to hold a piece of pizza over), pouring beers like the head was the point.

    That out of the way, this is a beautifully designed room and the pizza is a delight, especially of this style in these parts. I still think vs. the best from Nella I've had at two previous spots the pies are slightly underseasoned and slightly too evenly cooked (seems like they're going lower temp longer time - possibly in response to reasonable feedback like the above - instead of the nuclear blast approach I like at Stop 50 and Coalfire), but the ingredient quality and flavors are all there. I have always loved their pear and gorgonzola salad and it's right on here. Great neighborhood addition and I hope they can relax.

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