Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Siamo Napoli embraces its Italian identity

Neapolitan pizza is only part of the coastal town’s cuisine

Sausage and rapini over capunti, a shell pasta shape
Sausage and rapini over capunti, a shell pasta shape

We are Naples. That’s what the name means of San Diego’s latest Italian restaurant operated by people from Italy, means. Siamo Napoli recently picked up where Il Postino left off in a large North Park restaurant row space. If you’re looking for a way to distinguish this one from what has become many worthy Italian options around town, it would be that Napolitano identity.

Place

Siamo Napoli

3959 30th St, Suite 105, San Diego

I’ve never been to Naples, but if bread service there includes a dipping bowl of basil pesto, sign me up. That and the breezy elegance of the place made a good first impression, brightened by leafy hanging plants, a white and blue tiled bar (serving wines and apertivos), and the site of a wood burning pizza oven. I dove straight into a margherita pie (generous grating of parmesan optional), and relished munching on the simple yet effective ingredients and pliant Neapolitan crust ($11). It’s gotta be tough to go wrong with other pies at a few bucks more, highlighting such toppings artichoke, soppressata, shrimp, and the house sausage.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Margherita pizza in a Neapolitan restaurant

I always have to try the house sausage, but did so on the pasta menu, going for the capunti, thought to be the only example of this shape of shell pasta in town; though, as I mentioned, there is no shortage of quality Italian food in this city, so who knows? Here the soft little shells — shaped almost like tiny cannolis — are topped with fennel sausage, rapini, and chili flakes, with a light, buttery coating of sauce, and more generously added parmesan. I found it a little mild on the chili pepper front, but the fennel had a sort of sharp, peppery kick of its own that got my attention.

Cherry- and custard-filled pastries

Siamo Napoli doesn’t have a humungous menu, but there seem to be plenty of compelling options in every section of it. In the case of pasta further highlights would seem to include eggplant parmesan ravioli ($18), lamb ragout over cabernet infused pappardelle ($21), and seafood risotto ($21).

Elegant and casual interiors needn’t be mutually exclusive.

But my seafood craving leans decidedly branzino, so I returned for the Mediterranean bass, which came out fileted and sautéed (light, edible skin on but easy to remove if you wish) with fingerling potatoes, artichoke hearts, and olives in a pool of lemony oil ($27). Though lumped together on the plate, I didn’t get the feeling these were meant to eaten in the same bite. Perhaps if I knew Naples better, it wouldn’t seem so unusual a combination. Nevertheless, led by the moist, white flakes of branzino, I enjoyed nibbling through the oil-drenched fare.

Branzino with olives, artichoke, and potatoes

What really cinched my newfound Naples interest was the zeppole, a donut-like pastry filled with custard and amarena cherries, served over a drizzle of hazelnut syrup. I didn’t expect to eat this; one of the owners sent it out to convince me Neapolitan desserts are worth considering. Not because he suspected I’m a food writer (I dine anonymously), but because just about everyone at Siamo Napoli is impossibly friendly, with the accents to prove they didn’t learn that sort of behavior here. Anyway, color me convinced. From now on, I leave room for dessert.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood
Sausage and rapini over capunti, a shell pasta shape
Sausage and rapini over capunti, a shell pasta shape

We are Naples. That’s what the name means of San Diego’s latest Italian restaurant operated by people from Italy, means. Siamo Napoli recently picked up where Il Postino left off in a large North Park restaurant row space. If you’re looking for a way to distinguish this one from what has become many worthy Italian options around town, it would be that Napolitano identity.

Place

Siamo Napoli

3959 30th St, Suite 105, San Diego

I’ve never been to Naples, but if bread service there includes a dipping bowl of basil pesto, sign me up. That and the breezy elegance of the place made a good first impression, brightened by leafy hanging plants, a white and blue tiled bar (serving wines and apertivos), and the site of a wood burning pizza oven. I dove straight into a margherita pie (generous grating of parmesan optional), and relished munching on the simple yet effective ingredients and pliant Neapolitan crust ($11). It’s gotta be tough to go wrong with other pies at a few bucks more, highlighting such toppings artichoke, soppressata, shrimp, and the house sausage.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Margherita pizza in a Neapolitan restaurant

I always have to try the house sausage, but did so on the pasta menu, going for the capunti, thought to be the only example of this shape of shell pasta in town; though, as I mentioned, there is no shortage of quality Italian food in this city, so who knows? Here the soft little shells — shaped almost like tiny cannolis — are topped with fennel sausage, rapini, and chili flakes, with a light, buttery coating of sauce, and more generously added parmesan. I found it a little mild on the chili pepper front, but the fennel had a sort of sharp, peppery kick of its own that got my attention.

Cherry- and custard-filled pastries

Siamo Napoli doesn’t have a humungous menu, but there seem to be plenty of compelling options in every section of it. In the case of pasta further highlights would seem to include eggplant parmesan ravioli ($18), lamb ragout over cabernet infused pappardelle ($21), and seafood risotto ($21).

Elegant and casual interiors needn’t be mutually exclusive.

But my seafood craving leans decidedly branzino, so I returned for the Mediterranean bass, which came out fileted and sautéed (light, edible skin on but easy to remove if you wish) with fingerling potatoes, artichoke hearts, and olives in a pool of lemony oil ($27). Though lumped together on the plate, I didn’t get the feeling these were meant to eaten in the same bite. Perhaps if I knew Naples better, it wouldn’t seem so unusual a combination. Nevertheless, led by the moist, white flakes of branzino, I enjoyed nibbling through the oil-drenched fare.

Branzino with olives, artichoke, and potatoes

What really cinched my newfound Naples interest was the zeppole, a donut-like pastry filled with custard and amarena cherries, served over a drizzle of hazelnut syrup. I didn’t expect to eat this; one of the owners sent it out to convince me Neapolitan desserts are worth considering. Not because he suspected I’m a food writer (I dine anonymously), but because just about everyone at Siamo Napoli is impossibly friendly, with the accents to prove they didn’t learn that sort of behavior here. Anyway, color me convinced. From now on, I leave room for dessert.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

National City to junk permissive land-use code

Airbnb regs would be like Chula Vista's
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Bending the stage barriers in East Village
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Sept. 24, 2019
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader