Overview
Surry Hills isn't short on pizzerias. You'll find traditional woodfired versions at Via Napoli, Neapolitan-style ones at Vacanza, pizzas with a side of award-winning cocktails at Maybe Frank and untraditional toppings at The Dolphin. When the inner-east suburb's newest pizza spot opens later this month, though, it won't be slinging your usual doughy rounds. Set to launch on the corner of Crown and Foveaux streets, Pizza Fritta 180, as the name suggests, will be serving a lesser-known Neapolitan dish: fried pizza.
The corner store is the brainchild of Luigi Esposito — the founder and head chef of Crown Street's Via Napoli, which also has outposts in Lane Cove and Hunters Hill — who grew up selling pizza fritta on the streets of Naples with his grandparents. And he's still using his nonna's recipe today.
Expect to tuck into the calzone-like Nonna Rosa (stuffed with salami, provolone, ricotta and pomodoro sauce) and the Pizza Elena (stuffed with pork cheek, provolone and creamy ricotta). These function as the ideal bar snack, to be eaten pizza in one hand and drink in another.
The restaurant will also champion another type of fried pizza: the montanara. Instead of being stuffed and folded like pizza fritta, these mini pizzas are flat and topped with the likes of prosciutto and bocconcini or, even, an entire ball of burrata. Many of the ingredients for both dishes have been imported directly from Naples, too. And there's a full on sweets menu too, including fried Nutella calzones and hot cinnamon doughnuts called graffa.
The restaurant's vibe will emulate the lively laneway bars of Naples — and you can bet aperitivo hour will be on the menu. Expect Aperol spritzes, negronis and Italian beers, of course, as well as cured meats hanging from the open kitchen, where chefs will be tossing and kneading the pizza dough throughout service.
Pizza Fritta 180 will open in late February at 428 Crown Street, Surry Hill.