West Seattle restaurants: Pizzeria 22 preview party

Admiral’s new wood-fired Pizzeria 22 had a full house tonight – but don’t worry, you didn’t miss opening night. This was an invitation-only preview party, with owner Cary Kemp getting the chance to give the oven a workout:

Since we don’t dine on the job, sorry, no review (if you were there, do leave yours as a comment!), but we CAN say it smelled wonderful – and looked good even before it went into the oven:

Also looking good – though we stopped by too early in the evening for a good photo – the new blue neon sign out front, stacked letters reading simply “PIZZERIA.” As reported here earlier this week, Pizzeria 22 officially opens on Monday; lots of menu info and other details can be found online.

Mike June 25, 2011 (12:00 am)

Ohhhhhhh I so look forward to this place opening on Monday!

Meghan June 25, 2011 (7:52 am)

Looks great! Oh, I want to move back to North Admiral!!

Deb June 25, 2011 (8:03 am)

Yummm! Can’t wait to try it

redblack June 25, 2011 (8:32 am)

wow. very nicely appointed restaurant. via tribunali, eat your heart out!
.
congratulations, cary, and welcome to the neighborhood.

LatteRose June 25, 2011 (8:57 am)

We did stop in for a short bit (workday wasn’t over yet), had a sample of pizza with chicken & garlic – yum! Wood-fired pizza is definitely superior. Cozy place (they may need to turn the oblong tables 45 degrees!). The oven is at the back, and you can watch them making pizza from almost every seat. We -will- be back!

rick June 25, 2011 (9:46 am)

I thought it was a health dept regulation for cooks to wear gloves????

k June 25, 2011 (10:27 am)

can’t wait to try this! met cary last year and really want to support him!

Steve June 25, 2011 (11:08 am)

Do we really need another overpriced pizza place to join Talarico’s and Zeek’s? I’ll stick to Spiro’s.

Admiral Janeway June 25, 2011 (11:46 am)

Looks like a cozy place. I don’t think I ever had a wood fired pizza. Looking forward to it.

west seattlite June 25, 2011 (1:28 pm)

wonderful turnout last night for the absolute best pizza on the westside. an experience to be had by all. wishing you the very best cary + can think of no one more deserving. thrilled you’re local now + we get to see more of you. :: akd

More WS Family June 25, 2011 (5:40 pm)

Nice to read about a man that’s obviously passionate about pizza and Italian culture — in West Seattle! All best wishes to Ventidue!

Pizzeria 22 June 26, 2011 (9:43 am)

Hey What? Our restaurant is not 21 and over. I have 2 beautiful children that would have my neck if I did such a thing. This is a kid friendly, neighborhood establishment that will welcome all walks of life. So PLEASE help me spread the word on this and correct this piece of misinformation. I am sorry you were given the wrong info.
22

WSB June 26, 2011 (1:08 pm)

I’m deleting the comments that spin off erroneous information. There were indeed lots of kids there on the private-party night. – TR

Jose from Shorewood June 27, 2011 (8:38 pm)

Just wondering if my wife could get in with her manual wheel chair. Looking forward in trying this kind of pizza. Hoping the kids will like the style. I don’t understand what you mean about mail above.
thank You
Jose

April June 28, 2011 (1:20 pm)

Questions:
Will they be doing take out?
Delivery?
How many people/servings will one pizza feed?
What is the size of the pizzas? i.e. 12″, 16″, 18″…?
Will they be adding prices to their online menu?

I’m hoping the owner/proprieter might see this and add some info since i see he commented above. Thank you!

WSB June 28, 2011 (1:24 pm)

Takeout yes, was mentioned in one of our earlier stories. Delivery, not at this point. For the rest, gotta ask someone who’s been there :)

Heidi June 28, 2011 (8:33 pm)

We went for opening night and sat at the bar. Very nice place, warm and friendly, great neighborhood feel and we’re so happy to have wood-fired pizza. I saw takeout boxes leaving, so that isn’t an issue. We made it in time for happy hour and had two 8″ pizzas, $5 each (you get choice of pepperoni or margherita). Also had stuffed mushrooms, which were good but a bit bland. Our only complaint is how tight it is between the bar stools and the tables – servers and patrons were brushing against my back the whole time we sat at the bar while the bartenders lounged with plenty of space. An extra 6″ in the dining area would have made a big difference. I think turning the tables to make more throughway is a thought. Overall, we enjoyed it and we’ll be back soon!

C and C June 30, 2011 (7:30 am)

Went this past Tuesday at 4:30 and want to share impressions:

Decor is great. Simple, clean, and modern.

Service was pretty good. Waiter (owner?) did not share with us the Happy Hour specials which we overheard after ordering. Would have been nice to to have it as an option. Servers were really pleasant and inviting. Nice.

Drinks: Bottled Coke from Mexico (yum). House table red (not so yum, but cheap).

Started with the Bufala Viaduct special salad (basically a caprece). Very nice. I liked the stacked presentation.

We shared the Cascioppo pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, sausage, and mushrooms). Good! Sausage wasn’t overpowering; mushrooms were great. A little on the bland side, but really good overall.

We were pleased to see the “No Minors” sign upon entering, only to be disappointed to see/hear small children populating the room. No offense to parents/grandparents, but not everyone enjoys other people’s children. I understand that it limits the business’s potential income: still, it would be nice to have some place to sit and enjoy a meal without chaos and noise that too often accompanies children (I know: maybe it isn’t the children, but the parents).

Left a little hungry as the pizza is very thin (the crust is fantastic). Our own fault for not going for seconds.

Overall, we would rate it a B+. Pretty darned good for a brand new restaurant that hasn’t even been open a week. We will definitely go back and explore different items.

Travis July 1, 2011 (1:06 pm)

As a true neopolitan pizza fan who lives nearby, I went last night (immediately after hearing about the opening!).

As expected, the brains behind Via Tribunali has delivered.

Authentic pizza, a la Naples, though I didn’t eat at the Pizzeria 22 there. Good wine, salads, pizza, calzone. Bartender Jesse was great, the rest of the staff friendly. A cozy place, easily one of our top 3 favorite restaurants in W. Seattle already.

We will be back.

Many times.

Soon.

North Admiral Family July 1, 2011 (1:30 pm)

I went to Pizzeria 22 on Thursday June 29th at 6:30 with the wife and three kids/teenagers for dinner. Was told it was a 20 minute wait…turned into 1.5 hour wait. During this time we watched multiple couples go and get seated in the dining area during the marathon wait. The person doing the seating was very polite and apologized multiple times during the wait, but did nothing but assure us for over an hour that it would be another 15 mins. Was curious why she never set aside the tables while we waited to insure we would get in. Anyhow, we bailed after an hour 40 mins. They did say they were sorry. So down the road we went. The thing that had me totally hacked was the kids/teenagers were very excited to eat there, but can’t say they are anymore. New restaurant, I get that! But at least don’t keep stringing us out to fill the seat. First impressions…nuff said.

Sorry, comment time is over.