We spent a delightful week with family in  Seattle and were treated to our weekly pizza in outing at Tutta Bella. This is pretty darn impressive pizza, conforming to the standards of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napolitana. (Who knew?) That’s real Neapolitan, my friends. Cooked in beautiful wood-fired ovens, you cannot get much closer to Naples-style than Tutta Bella.

Note the flame-blackened blister on the rim of the crust. True sign of a wood-fired oven.

We started with a salumi board and caponata. I have to say it was the best caponata I have eaten in the U.S. and competed favorably with my favorite, which Ric makes at home.  The salumi board, while high quality, was sparse. We would easily get twice as much meat for the same price in Roma. This was barely enough to split.

Caponata hit the spot, although the portion was pretty small for sharing.

The pizza menu has some creative ingredients, but as in Italy, they were not overloaded, allowing the crust to stand up to the ingredients and not become soggy. Pies also come in two sizes, one being a bit smaller than the Italian version intended for one person, and the larger option being big enough to share between two people if you have some antipasti or salads.  At $15-16 for a large pizza, it is not cheap, but not a bad deal for two people. Wine is, as everywhere we’ve dined so far, expensive. I would guess, however, that the wineries still are not making a profit while the restaurants pocket the 3x to 4x markup.

The pizziaolo station is fascinating to adults and children.

Like many restaurants we have visited during our U.S. stay, it is a noisy place. With cavernous ceilings and little fabric, conversation and music reverberate.  Great for boisterous families, but not a romantic hotspot.

Tutta Bella has five locations in the Seattle area. Give it a try if you are in Seattle. Go early or expect a line!

Little people are treated very well, with bambino-sized pies and toys for the wait time.

Pizza Quality: 2.5  I am breaking my rule about half-points. This pizza is truly better than a 2, but the crust was just not special enough for me to give it a 3.  Nostrana had a better tasting crust

Service: 3  Not as familiar and invasive as some U.S. restaurants and excellent with small children. Our food was delivered promptly and piping hot. 

Tutta Bella interior, filled with happy eaters. Busy busy busy even at 6:00PM.

Tutta Bella street side is not the charming place it could be….

Ambiance: 2   Cavernous and loud with minimal outdoor seating. Outdoor seating had little charm. A fun feature is the pizziaolo station where you can watch the pies being made and the prominence of the dual wood-fired ovens, Filomena and Pietro. 

Total Points: 7.5

Returnability: Go-to Place –  If you are in the Seattle area you will be happy you went to Tutta Bella

Filomena is one of two ovens named for the owner’s great-grandparents. the other is Pietro.