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| La Bella Napoli |
![[ click to enlarge ]](images/restaurants/15_thumb.jpg)
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Beyond a shadow of a doubt La Bella Napoli, an externally unspectacular restaurant tucked away in the Montjuic side of the Raval/Poble Sec quarter, makes the best Pizzas in town. Perhaps it’s not saying a great deal considering some of the rubbish I’ve eaten, but it may even be the best Italian in Barcelona overall.
The décor is also far more authentically Italian - in my mind at least - than more central alternatives. There are less token cultural references and tacky Italian landscape scenes. All of the tables and furniture are in dark wood and the general design is quite simple, clean and attractive. There is a nice atmosphere with an overall feel that is well suited without being stereotypical. Dining is split up into different areas, there is one space close to the blazing stone oven and another larger back room. There are normally plenty of staff on hand to make service speedy and the waiters, in my experience, are very friendly - not forcing us to drink up when we were the last people in the restaurant after closing. La Bella Napoli is pretty well known and as a result tends to fill up pretty quickly on the weekend and peak nights, so ringing ahead for a table is recommended.
I’ll tell you what’s so special about the pizzas at Bella Napoli: everything. Think, perfect bases, sauces and toppings and you’ll be somewhere close. They are not only extremely delicious but also not too expensive, from about €6.50-10. My favourite that I have tried is the prosciutto pizza, but that’s the great thing about that most wonderful of Italian creations, everybody has their own preference. Pasta dishes are a little more expensive (€7.50-15) but are far better than in most of the Italians I have eaten in in town. The seafood pasta dishes are excellent and all the dishes I have tried have been well cooked and generally tasty. Their Sunday special lasagne dish is delicious and worth waiting for the weekend.
I can’t say I’ve ever been to a particularly chic Italian restaurant but that isn’t really what Italian food is about. As I said from the beginning, La Bella Napoli is most likely the best Italian in town. When you can make a statement like that, there clearly isn’t much left to criticise about the place.
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Carrer de Margarit, 12, 08004
Raval
Poble Sec
Weds-Sun: 1:30pm-4pm
Tues-Sun: 8:30pm-midnight
€15-20 pp
Italian
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