After visiting Napoletana in City Mall and keeping a very positive impression, it was time for me to visit the ABC branch. Napoletana, like many say serves one of the best Pizzas Lebanon has experienced in years... and it is true.
Located on the highest floor of the ABC Dbayeh mall, Napoletana, another great concept by Boubess Group, cannot be missed. The biggest restaurant out there with an impressive black facade covering more than thirty meters of the alleyway taking you to the cinemas. A beautifully decorated place, I would say specially when seen lit at night. A new kind of concept seen in Lebanon.
A decoration I like: an impressive restaurant around the ABC food court...
- Black, white and brown wood blending perfectly good together
- You are welcomed by the impressive pizza furnace
- Wine bottles, tomato cans and a chalk black board next to white stones cover the long wall
- An impressive thick wooden floor
- Brushed stainless individual seats
- A large table that can host six with its relaxing leather sofas
- Four side tables with their benches
- A mix of marble and wood tables
- A high and large glass facade standing on black metal frames
- A long bar with its high black and yellow chairs
- Lights pending from the ceiling on thick heavy chains over the side tables
- Paper place mats telling you about Italy's little secrets: "14 Italian ways to drink coffee... bet you didn't know about pizza... we owe it to these Italians"
Some changes I appreciated:
- I love the new menu compared to the childish coloured one of City Mall
- New colours and the identity of the restaurant
- A new green signboard on a black background: a success
The menu sections:
- Anti pasti
- Bruschette
- Insalate
- Dolce
- Bibite
- Pizza forno a legna
- Pasta
- Pasta al forno
- Secondi platti
Phrases accompanying you through the menu pages:
- Ask your waiter for our daily special
- Naples in the Middle Ages, the sweet aroma of pizza spreads in the streets
- King Ferdinando di Borbone violates court etiquette to taste this peasant dish ever since
- Neapolitan has spread around the world
- The oldest olive tree in Umbria Italy is over 1700 years old
- There are more than 599 different types of pasta eaten in Italy today
- Tiramisu means pick me up. Wives made it for their husbands who fought in World War Two. Caffeine and sugar providing a bit if boost
We were four persons... We ordered four pizzas... That amazed us...
One of the thinner crusts in town, simple and not chewy, filled generously with fresh ingredients. Fresh mushrooms, premium ham, tasty tomato sauce, oregano and non oily cheese. You might have heard about Napoletana's pizza from friends and know that you are missing a lot if you don't try it soon. Order any, or maybe I would suggest the Quattro Stagioni and jump into its 30cm circle of delicious ingredients. Every bite has a unique feeling on its own... Cracks of the dough mixed with the colorful flavors pod the ingredients move along your taste buds gently and softly. We were looking at each other and saying: yummy, bravo and even delicious!
Quattro Stagioni: Tomato, mozzarella, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, ham.
I would change:
- Heinz is not a ketchup to be served with Italian pizzas. Its sweetness and American taste degrade the flavor pizzas Italian treasure
- I would add another layer of dough on the sides of the pizza to give it a stronger hold and crunch of the last bite
Delicious food under a beautiful roof in a perfect ambiance at ABC Dbayeh. Go check it out.
Neapolitan pizza (pizza napoletana): Authentic Neapolitan pizzas are typically made with tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese. According to the rules proposed by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, the genuine Neapolitan pizza dough consists of wheat flour, natural Neapolitan yeast or brewer's yeast, salt and water. For proper results, strong flour with high protein content (as used for bread-making rather than cakes) must be used. The dough must be kneaded by hand or with a low-speed mixer. After the rising process, the dough must be formed by hand without the help of a rolling pin or other machine, and may be no more than 3 millimetres thick. The pizza must be baked for 60–90 seconds in a 485 °C stone oven with an oak-wood fire. When cooked, it should be crispy, tender and fragrant. There are three official variants:
pizza marinara, which is made with tomato, garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil, pizza Margherita, made with tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil and extra-virgin olive oil, and pizza Margherita extra made with tomato, mozzarella from Campania in fillets, basil and extra virgin olive oil.
