PizzArte is one of those casual Italian pizza-esque restaurants in the Midtown area. Their goal is to deliver the spirit of Naples with affordable costs. We ended up here after looking for a cheaper Italian restaurant in the area that also had lasagna since we had more expensive plans the next day. We were able to walk in without reservations on a Friday evening around 7:30 PM and were seated upstairs.
Ambiance & Service
The upstairs area was fairly no frills. It was just a casual restaurant with tables, seats, and lots of white decor with modern artsy splashes. Think of it like going to a modern art museum. We noticed that there were small tourist families that went here. My guess is due to the price not being as expensive as other Italian restaurants in the area.
The service was pretty fast and accessible. It was easy to flag the waiter down.
Food
The Pineapple Mule ($12) was non-alcoholic and came with pineapple juice, lemon juice, dried orange, and mint. This tasted kind of how it sounds like. It was sweet, and the pineapple juice was canned.
The Frittura di Mare ($21) came with crispy fried calamari, gulf shrimp, and a side of Arrabbiata sauce. The calamari and gulf shrimp were crispy and cooked nicely. What we liked about this was that it wasn’t as oily as other fried seafoods in other restaurants. The side of slightly spicy tomato sauce was a nice complement to it. Everything here tasted fresh.
The Calzone Classico ($23) came with ricotta, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and salame. The dough was chewy and warm. If you enjoy eating that type of dough texture, then you will enjoy eating this. It reminded me a bit of the dough at Paulie Gee’s. At first glance, this looked like nothing like a calzone that I’m familiar with. What they did though was pack the salame in between the dough and put the sauce and cheese on top. This backfired a little because the salame made everything pretty salty until my palette adjusted. I probably would order ham next time if I ordered this, and I also wished there was much more tomato sauce. Despite these criticisms, it tasted good for the price, and it was quite filling for 1 person.
The Lasagna Napoletana ($25) came with Neapolitan ragú, meatballs, boiled eggs, and mozzarella cheese. This was decent, but it felt like there wasn’t enough sauce or meat. Nonetheless, my partner did eat it all and thought the portion was on the smaller side of things.
Final Verdict
PizzArte is basically a very accessible and affordable Italian restaurant in the area close to the 5th Ave shops. If you ever want to save some money and have some pretty decent Neopolitan style food, check this place out.
Yelp Jabs
Those without one were offered the bar or the front two tables, then once that was filled were turned away. I’m still surprised when the place was empty they turned business away… Speaking of the dough it tasted like flavorless naan. It was chewy in some parts as if it was not completely done.
This Elitist comes from Florida, so they aren’t familiar with NY style pizzas and dining. Generally if you didn’t make a reservation, the host will want to make it seem like the restaurant is busy. If there are seats in the front and it’s not claustrophobic, don’t be surprised if they ask you to sit there to create a perception of traffic. As far as the chewiness is concerned, this is pretty common in many brick oven pizza places in the city. It sounds like this Elitist wasn’t familiar with those details.
Just look at the picture. Undercooked and slimy.
I looked at the picture, and this Yelper ordered this either for delivery or take out. Depending on how long it took for them to eat, it’s not surprising that some of this broke down and got a bit soggy from the box and the parchment paper. In the picture you can tell the Yelper tried to tear with their hands, and some of the dough stretched. I wouldn’t say it was slimy, but it seemed like the Yelper wasn’t handling the pizza with more finesse.
Revisions
- Jun 16, 2023 - Initial revision.