Review: Pizzeria 22

[Homer]

Just got a chance to try them recently. Pretty darn good for the most part, some odd quirks though that I thought I’d mention so everyone is informed.

1. Very good pizza, tasty and true to the authenticity!

2. They don’t cut your pizza. You have to do this with a fork and knife which is kinda hard to do with the size of the tables! Even in Italy they cut our pizza’s.

3. Small space in general and the tables are no different. Eating there is a bit cramped so don’t to be able to relax too much. You do, however, get to know your eating neighbors!

4. Service was not bad, though had to request refill of water glasses several times without them noticing on their own. Not a biggie and probably just working out the kinks since opening.

Best pizza in W. Seattle in my opinion for authenticity, though I still really do love Pagliacci’s for a fully loaded pie! On the other hand, overall, I still think Via Tribunali in Capitol Hill is the best. The flavor of the sauce and crust there is amazing.

Anyway, pretty darn good here, just remember to bring your own pizza cutter!

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[SpeakLoud]

Have you been to Proletariat yet? Just across the WS/WC border-it’s absolutly the best pizza around IMHO although I do love the goat cheese & pesto and pagliaccis.

Will have to give this new joint a try-sounds good and I love the wood fire taste.

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[datamuse]

Sounds like we should’ve tried it last night when both Proletariat AND Stellar were closed–sigh!

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[shed22]

Thanks for the review. If I remember correctly, Via Tribunali does not slice their pizza, either. I’ve been there a number of times and it always intrigues me how my guests will choose to cut the pie – some horizontally and some diagonally. I am sure, if requested, they would be willing to slice your pie any direction you’d like.

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[JanS]

the guy who owns Pizzeria 22 was instrumental in Via Tribunali, I understand…so…

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[cjboffoli]

shed22: Correct. Via Tribunali gives you a pair of scissors for pizza cutting. It is more of a Roman thing than Naples.

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[RarelyEver]

My son and I ate at Pizzeria 22 on opening day – the pizza was as close to the kind we had in Naples as I’ve had in Seattle. Very, very yummy!

Sadly, Dad is gluten-intolerant, so unless they add gluten-free crust we won’t be eating there as often as I would like… :(

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[Traci]

We tried it and were VERY impressed! The pizza was delicious and reasonably priced. Welcome to the neighborhood!

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[St. Towns]

Not a West Seattle place, but I was over on Lake Washington a few weeks ago and ate at Mioposto in Mt. Baker. It. was. awesome. They’ve changed their recipes and ingredients. Plus you can make your own now…which is a favorite with my family..:)

And there is a great park right across the street.

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[Sue]

Do they only have one size of pizza there, or do they also offer smaller versions? Didn’t see mention of it (nor prices) on their website.

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[redblack]

i have to say that i’m not a fan of 22. too cheesy and damp for my liking, and not at all what i would have expected from a wood-fired pizza oven.

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[Homer]

redblack, can you elaborate? I do agree in some respects as it seems they made a huge bar to the sacrifice of the actual eating are and I hardly see anyone at the bar other than overflow when the tables are full….

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[redblack]

i can elaborate – though i’ll probably be pilloried by semi/professional epicures.

this is just my opinion, mind you, and i’m judging the one pizza i’ve ordered there. [edit: actually, we ordered two; obviously, they were cooked similarly.]

i think that their oven isn’t hot enough, and the crust didn’t have much crispness to it. i like to taste a little charred flour on the bottom of a wood-fired pie.

secondly, i think the cheese was excessive and maybe not of great quality, giving the whole pie more of a gooey texture.

boffoli will probably scold my ignorance on the difference between roman and neapolitan pizzas. but i’ll take that risk and say that via tribunali delivers a better wood-fired pie for my taste. i.e. hotter fire, better ingredients/toppings.

if anyone from 22 is reading, i’m not saying that i didn’t enjoy your food – or the cocktail while i was waiting for carry-out – or that i won’t enjoy it again. it simply didn’t meet my expectations.

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[Sue]

We went there tonight to give it a try. It was okay, but nothing spectacular enough to get me back in there again. The pizza seemed short on cheese and dry (the bianco “white” pizza). Pizzas were about the size of the ones at Phoenecia, but Phoenecia’s have a richer, more blended flavor. The pizzas were about $13-$15 or so for anyone wondering, and will feed one hungry person without a salad/appetizer.

Homer, they put a bottle of water on the table to refill our glasses, so that alleviated the need for them to come back and refill. Service in general was very quick – was amazed at how quickly the pizza came after ordering.

The door was open because the oven heated the place up, but if you sat by the door (as I did) it was really drafty this evening and I had to eat with my coat on.

I don’t eat much pizza these days, but if I do, I’ll continue to go to Giannoni’s or Proletariat, which are a much better value and taste, IMHO.

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[cjboffoli]

While I have yet to try Pizzeria 22 and find this early feedback interesting, there are a few things that I think are important to remember:

This place is just getting started. Professional restaurant critics will usually give new restaurants a grace period of a month or more to give the proprietors a chance to work out the kinks.

Pizza ovens (including electric ones but especially the wood-fired variety) can be really quirky in terms of hot and cold spots. It takes time to learn the thermal geography (so to speak) of the cooking surfaces. They’re all unique.

Due to the broad availability of fast food, we Americans are spoiled by the uniformity of fast food. But pizza is an artisan product, with a quality and texture that varies. Even your favorite pizza joint might have an off night. Maybe it is the Italian in me speaking, but I have to say that, even the worst pizza I’ve ever had was still pretty damn good. :-)

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[Sonoma]

The pizza we had from them was excellent AND sliced. I love mozerella, but not when some other pizzerias glop it on so heavily that I feel like a massive greaseball after one slice. P22’s pizza had just the right amount of cheese. And the crust had just the right amount of crunch combined with bendy-ness that I like in NY-style pizza. Yum!

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[squareeyes]

Second visit last night. We split an insalada verde and a cascioppo pizza (sausage and mushroom). The salad was great. Re the pizza, the crust was thinner this time, which made me happy as last week’s version was thicker than I like. Neither of us likes a super cheesy pizza and both last week and this week the pizzas had an appropriate amount of cheese. The flavor of the toppings were a little dull on the cassioppo, but we were given a bottle of chili oil which we used pretty liberally. I would have preferred red chili flakes in addition, or as an alternative, to the chili oil just so we didn’t have to oil it up quite so much. The $5 house wine continues to be a winner. We’re both hearty eaters who try to share courses to save money and [hopefully] eat less. A shared salad and pizza was the right amount of food for two. Service was fast and friendly.

They’ve added a couple of picnic tables outside for people with kids, as the interior is too small to create a barrier for underage patrons.

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