Can’t Make It to Naples This Week? Try House Pizzeria

Editor’s Note: House Pizzeria closed on Sept. 24, 2017.

When you want to find a new restaurant, you come to The Austinot. But when we want to find a new restaurant, where can we go for help? We rely a lot on word of mouth, tracking the buzz around town. But, admittedly, we have been known to reference Yelp for customer-sourced reviews and recommendations.

On one such day, Austinot Eric had a desperate craving for pizza. Everyone knows about Home Slice in SoCo, and we also love Little Deli in Crestview, but we wanted to try something new. Through Yelp, we discovered House Pizzeria, which had extremely high reviews from a large reviewer base.

Driving up to House Pizzeria at 5111 Airport Blvd., just a short ways west of I-35, we realized that we’ve driven past it countless times without even noticing it was there. The building is extremely unassuming and easy to miss if you’re not looking for it.

A Taste of Naples at House Pizzeria

We were greeted by a friendly employee at the register, who was eager to make recommendations and help us navigate a menu that was new to us. We quickly discovered that House Pizzeria serves up traditional Neopolitan pizza (with love from Naples, Italy), with a selection of salads and appetizers. They’re serious about their Neopolitan roots, so our oft-favorite Canadian bacon and pineapple topping choices were unavailable.

Unfazed, and excited that Saint Arnold Root Beer was on draft, we selected a simple pepperoni pizza, with Italian sausage added to one half.

A few notes on the menu: the drink menu at House Pizzeria is even more extensive than the food menu. There is a generous selection of Italian sodas, coffee drinks, hot tea, wine and beer. Adventurous pizza connoisseurs will be fascinated by the topping combinations, including vegetarian choices like Potato and Goat Cheese and the “Subterranean” (caramelized onions, fontina, mushrooms, rosemary roasted potatoes and basil).

Our Positive Food Experience

Our Saint Arnold Root Beer was delivered to our table immediately, with a cup of crispy breadsticks to munch on while we waited for our pizza.

We took in our surroundings – a clean and minimalistic environment, a jukebox to the side of the room, and a patio at the rear of the restaurant that could be used for private parties. Given the enthusiastic reviews we had read, we were surprised to have the restaurant to ourselves, not too long after the regular lunch hour.

Our wood-fired pizza didn’t take long to arrive. To keep you from suspense, it looked amazing and it tasted at least as good as it looked. The toppings were fresh, homemade and high quality. Despite the fact that we choose relatively normal toppings, those three factors created a significantly superior taste to the pizza I’m used to having elsewhere. The thin crust was delicious, and made me feel like I was dining at an outdoor patio in Naples.

The Bottom Line on House Pizzeria

If you’re looking for a pizza place with every topping imaginable, this isn’t it. But if you’re looking for a spot where the pizza creators are masters at their craft, serving only the freshest and highest quality products without making you pay more, I direct you to House Pizzeria. Let me know what you think!

 

@QuasiBrit asks:

What is your favorite pizza joint in Austin?