Midtown Lunch

I can’t quite figure out why more people aren’t buzzing about Bella Napoli and their pizza. It was Brownie’s pick (she’s into their vodka slice) for the 2011 readers’ poll, even though the ML community favored Previti and Pizza by Cer Te. But Bella Napoli’s pizza has been consistently good for years now, and even though it’s on West 49th — a street with a lot of really good lunch options — it’s definitely worth ducking into. More specifically, look past all the pies covered with fancy toppings and go straight to the simple grandma slice.


Free soda isn’t really the thing that’s going to entice me to eat here, but it’s nice that they’re trying new lunch specials.

I was going to order two grandma slices anyway, because they’re smaller than the regular slices, so I accepted the soda and paid $6.

If you’re a fan of thin crust pizza that can hold its own when topped with sauce and cheese, this is the pie for you. Although the crust was thin, it was definitely not cracker crust — it maintained its nice chewy texture.

Melty mozzarella, a dollop of red sauce and a single basil leaf made up the simple slice. There’s nothing worse than bland pizza, so the fact that these slices were a little salty and lightly sprinkled with herbs was comforting and very satisfying. Bella Napoli offers numerous kinds of pies with countless topping options, but to me, it’s the simplicity of the grandma slice that keeps this spot in regular lunchtime rotation.

Bella Napoli, 150 W. 49th St. (btw. 6+7th) 212-719-2819