Pizza Fritta 180

Overview

Surry Hills isn't short on pizzerias. You'll find traditional woodfired Neapolitan-style pizzas at Vacanza, Romanesque iterations at 170 Grammi, fresh Italian ingredients at DOC and untraditional toppings at The Dolphin. However, next door to sister restaurant Via Napoli on Crown Street, you'll find a spot that isn't slinging your usual doughy rounds. Pizza Fritta 180, as the name suggests, specialises in a lesser-known Neapolitan dish: fried pizza.

Luigi Esposito — the pizzaiolo who helped ignite Sydney's love of woodfired pizza — 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, provola cheese, ricotta, San Marzano tomato, basil and pepper) and the Pizza Elena (stuffed with pork cheek, provola cheese, creamy ricotta and basil). These function as the ideal bar snack, to be eaten pizza in one hand and drink in another.

The restaurant also champions 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. And there's a full on sweets menu too, including fried Nutella calzones and hot cinnamon doughnuts called graffa.

The restaurant's vibe emulates the lively laneway bars of Naples — so pop a trip down for aperitivo hour in your diary. You can sip Aperol spritzes, negronis and Italian beers and vinos, of course, and tuck into a range of classic Italian bar snacks. Our tip: try and nab a seat near the open kitchen, where chefs are tossing and kneading the pizza dough throughout service.