Pizzelii Brick Oven Pizza

Fast-casual pizzerias have been appearing across the country, as entrepreneurs race to become the “Chipotle of pizza.” To me, this seems like an excellent business model: Neapolitan pizza can cook in 90 seconds in a sufficiently hot oven, so there is no reason it cannot work as fast-casual food. The format also feels closer to the everyday pizzerias of Naples than the higher-end Neapolitan restaurants common in America.

At Pizzelii, you order at the counter, choose your toppings, pay about $8 for a personal pizza, and receive it a few minutes later. My first exposure to this model was Smashing Tomato, a small Lexington chain and a near twin of Pizzelii. It also forced me to abandon my previous rule that you cannot find good pizza south of I-275.

Pizzelii is Cincinnati’s entry into this market. It is located on Route 50, directly across from 50 West Brewing. The “ii” in the name is partly a reference to Servatii, as co-owner Gary Gottenbusch belongs to the family behind the bakery.

The restaurant smells distinctly of wood smoke as we walk in. One of the owners was explaining their cooking process to customers in line - always a good sign.

There are two ovens inside: one wood-fired and one gas-fired oven designed to resemble a wood-burning model. Although the wood-fired oven is operating at full blast, everything we see, including our pizzas, goes into the gas oven.

Pizzelii makes a point of emphasizing its methods, most notably a slow rise for the dough. A longer fermentation generally produces a more flavorful crust and is something I use when making pizza at home. To see what the dough can do, we begin with a Margherita, usually the best test of a pizzeria’s crust.

The crust has some light charring and a generous amount of cornmeal underneath. It is not as well done as I prefer, though perhaps I should ask for another 30 seconds in the oven. Overall, the crust is pretty good, but its flavor is not strong enough to carry a plain Margherita the way the crust does at A Tavola. On its own, the pizza is a little boring.

Pizzelii hits its stride with our second pizza, the Carne. The various meats are spicy and flavorful, giving the pizza the intensity missing from the Margherita.

The sauce is a traditional, understated, tomato-heavy sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes. We find it a little plain. Pizzelii provides both olive oil and a version of chili oil filled with crushed red pepper. The latter looks extremely spicy, though the actual heat is more restrained than its appearance suggests.

Pizzelii makes a pretty good crust, but the pizza benefits from assertive toppings. I recommend skipping the simpler combinations and ordering something substantial (Note: Goetta is an option).