L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, Napoli, Italy --- The Best Pizzeria In The World

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Whenever I read an enthusiastic review on a frozen pizza and how delicious it is, I’m overwhelmed with sympathy. “Poor sod,” is what I think, “if only they knew.” A pizza from the freezer of a supermarket can only be OK (Sorry, but I simply can’t use the term ‘delicious’) in comparison with other pizzas from the freezer of a supermarket but never with THE PIZZA as such. The Pizza with capital letters can only be found in Naples, Italy. There are several good pizzerias in this city, but the No 1 is indisputably the L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Via Cesare Sersale 1. Once you’ve eaten there, all other pizzas fade into the B league or worse. The pizzeria is easy to find. Coming out of the Central Train Station you go down the broad street Corso Umberto and turn right at the first traffic lights and walk up the street a bit. From the outside it’s so inconspicuous that you can overlook it easily if you go there at noon on a weekday. If you go there in the evening or any time during the weekend or, God forbid, at Saturday night, you’ll see people queuing outside. When the establishment is full, numbers are handed out to new customers who willingly wait for an hour or longer to get in. What is it that makes this place so special? Not the outside, as I’ve already said, but not the inside, either! The first pizzaiolo (pizza baker) of the Condurro family started learning the trade in 1870, in 1906 a certain Michele Condurro opened the first pizzeria in Naples which had to move, though, because of construction work. In 1930 the pizzeria was transferred to the present site which over the years has acquired the nickname ‘The Sacred Temple of Pizza’. They have been making pizza there for five generations now. The pizzeria still has its original tables. On the whole it’s very simple furniture-wise. The tables seat eight customers each. How many tables there are, I’ve forgotten to count, but not many, that much I remember. The walls are covered with white and black tiles creating the ambience of an old indoor swimming pool. The only ornaments on the walls are a religious statue and two long poems in Neapolitan dialect praising the two kinds of pizza on offer, Margarita and Marinara. Fans and lovers call the M and M pizzas ‘edible poems’! The customers are seated wherever there’s room. If you’re alone or come with a partner, you’re sure to find yourselves at a table with strangers. You can watch the pizzaioli do their job. The oven stands in the room where the guests are sitting. You don’t have to watch too long, though, as a pizza needs only 3 ½ minutes until it’s finished. The service is fast, efficient and friendly. When I was there the waiters were chatting and laughing with each other in loud voices giving the customers the impression that they were sitting in the kitchen of a Neapolitan family. This is definitely not a restaurant for an evening out. It’s a place where you eat pizza and when you’ve done so, you’d rather move on so that others may have their share, too. I’ve found complaints on the net that the waiters made clear that they expected a tip when the customers were leaving. They didn’t when I was there, but what about it? The prices are so low that a tip won’t break the bank. The complainers should go to the USA to learn what molesting customers means. There it isn’t possible to drink a cup of coffee in peace without a waiter or waitress telling the European customer repeatedly that the tip is not included in the bill. So it’s the food that attracts people. As I’ve already mentioned, only two types are on offer (no menu needed!): Margarita with a topping of tomato, mozarella cheese and basil, the colours representing the Italian flag. It was created in 1889 by Raffaele Esposito to honour the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy. Btw, he was the first to add cheese to the pizza. And Marinara, the older of the two, with a topping of tomato, oregano, garlic and extra virgin oil. It’s not called Marinara because it has seafood on it - it never has - but because it was prepared for seamen returning from their fishing trips by their wives, ‘la marinara’ meaning the wife of a seaman. You can choose between two sizes, normal and large, and that’s it. No frills, no junk toppings like pineapple pieces or other aberrations. Contrary to what many foreigners think, one doesn’t drink wine with pizza but beer (or coke or other soft drinks should you so wish). The small pizza costs around 5 Euro (I haven't got the latest price), very little for the quality you get. I’ve been to Naples several times in my life but sadly, I heard about the Antica Pizzeria Da Michele only before my last visit. I don’t know when I‘ll go there again or if at all. The pizza Margarita I had there would certainly be a reason to do so. What my one visit has resulted in is that I can’t enjoy pizza as much now as I did before I savoured the Real Thing. Is that good or bad?