It’s been a pizza filled week, but when you are Italian, it’s the way it should be, right?

Last week I walked into Claudia’s office to find a news paper article with a picture of the most amazing pizza ever on it. I asked her what it was about and she told me there was a new pizza place in Gastown serving up authentic Neapolitan pizza. She had already scheduled a date to go check it out and I couldn’t wait to hear about her experience.

Monday morning she was filled with excitement about how good the pizza was at Nicli Antica Pizzeria. She told me, as an Italian, I needed to check this place out. It was by far the best pizza she had ever had. The only sour point of the night? When her friends husband gave away her leftovers to a homeless guy. Sweet gesture, but THE PIZZA! Give him anything but the PIZZA! She spent the rest of the weekend craving the pizza she never got to finish.

So, when it came to deciding where we would go for dinner on Thursday night there really was no other option.

Born in Naples and widely considered to be the best, every Neapolitan pizza we serve is a labor of love. At Nicli Antica Pizzeria our pizzas are made with passion and attentiveness, using only the finest and freshest ingredients in our wood fired oven, made from the stone of Mt. Vesuvius.

We got there around 6 and had to wait 45 minutes for a table of 4. Some might be put off by that kind of wait time, but trust me when I tell you it is well worth it. The atmosphere in the restaurant was great. Nice and open, well lite, clean lines and beautifully designed. Our table of 4 was spacious and comfortable which I was not expecting in such a small restaurant. I didn’t feel cramped at all.

We met up with one of our web models Natassia. Claudia and Alicia work with her a lot more then I do so I don’t know her that well, but she is absolutely adorable. Full of stories and hilarious. She was the perfect addition to our usual table of 3.

We decided on sharing a bottle of wine amongst the four of us. I gave wine up for Lent, so don’t tell anyone I had a small glass ;) I kind of haphazardly pick the bottle based on the price and kind of wine and it turned out to be an excellent choice. I loved this bottle of wine. We all wrote down the name so that we could look it up he next time we were at the liqour store. The perfect beverage for the evening.

Claudia ordered the Insalata Mista to start and shared it with us.

mixed greens, roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes & shaved fennel drizzled with our red wine dijon vinaigrette

The roasted garlic on the side was a special treat. Why I don’t roast garlic and eat it on a regular basis is beyond me! So good!

Alicia and I ordered the Bianca pizza.

extra virgin olive oil, parmigiano, roasted garlic, roasted onion, oregano, gorgonzola

I can say this with out a doubt, best pizza I have ever had. Better then anything in Italy. Why is it better then pizza in Italy? Because of the flavour combinations. Roasted Garlic, Roasted Onions and Gorgonzola. Talk about an explosion of flavour in your mouth. You would never find something like this in Italy. Yes, I still love all the classic Italian pizzas out there, especially the Prosciutto and Rucola pizza, but as a special treat, this pizza went above and beyond.

Natassia and Claudia went for the classic Margherita pizza.

pomodoro, parmigiano, fior di latte, basil

They were nice enough to swap a piece of pizza with us so I had the joy of tasting it. The tomato sauce on this pizza was so fresh and delicious. It had such amazing flavour for its simplicity.

For dessert the girls ordered a Tiramisu. Since that particular dessert is not my cup of tea I ordered some of their Nocciola Gelato. The ice cream was perfect and reminded me of Bacci gelato in Italy, which was one of my favorites. The girls were dying over their Tiramisu so you know it was good.

Just as we were having dessert we started raving to the waitress about how good our meal was. She quickly pointed out that the chef was sitting right beside us if we wanted to pass along our messages of praise to the person who deserved it the most. I swear to God we screamed like we were sitting beside a celebrity (it may have been the wine). We would not stop about how amazing the food was and how much we enjoyed ourselves. Four crazy girls obsessed with pizza.

The prices for the pizzas were pretty standard. Unlike in my post about Nook, I realize now that no restaurant in Vancouver is ever going to charge the same price as some small town restaurant in Italy, so I should just get over the fact that a $17 pizza in Vancouver would actually cost me 9 euros in Italy. The pizza was amazing, the atmosphere was great, and the service was excellent. What more could you ask for?

As far as authenticity goes, I give this place top marks. FINALLY Vancouver has a place where I can go and eat pizza just like in Italy. Sorry Marcellos, but Niclis got you BEAT. I’ve read a couple of reviews where people have complained about the temperature of the pizza when it has arrived at their table, and the whole “but they didn’t slice it for me” ordeal. Pizza in Italy is never served smoking hot. Do you really want to burn your mouth a piping hot cheese? No, you don’t. I had no problems with the temperature of my pizza. It was hot and steamy, but not so hot that I had to let it cool down before I attempted to eat it. I also get that North America doesn’t understand this whole knife and fork thing. In Italy, you eat everything with a knife and fork, even pizza. Chad actually won’t eat an Italian pizza if he DOESN’T have a knife and fork. So, it makes total sense to me, someone who spent a month eating pizza in Italy, that they don’t slice it up for you. This isn’t Panago people, it’s authentic Neapolitan pizza!

Nicli Antica Pizzeria has only been open for 2 months and it is already a hit. It’s been less than 24 hours and we’ve already told everyone we know that they need to go and eat their pizza. Go early, put your name down, have a drink at the bar and just wait until they serve you the best pizza you have ever had.