Naples in Qattamiya

Although it’s mainly open air and full of restaurants and shops, Qattamiya's Downtown Mall may be a bit of a distance for most. If you don’t live in the area, it may seem like traveling the ring road to end up at the same restaurants you can find in your neighborhood. Rossopomodoro is the exception. The restaurant’s fabulous Italian food: pizzas, buffalo mozzarella and outdoor/indoor seating options make it a destination worth driving out for.

Rossopomodoro opened in Down Town in April 2013 – a chain that started in Naples, Italy, Rossopomodoro prides itself on making the most authentic Italian pizza outside of Naples. Chef Salvatore (who is from Naples) mans the open-air kitchen at the venue, and the main dishes and appetizers were consistent and fabulous.

To start their awareness campaign, Rossopomodoro held a competition last June for Qattamiya schools AIS, MES and BCCIS. Students from the schools learned how to make pizza and came up with ideas for marketing and awareness campaigns for the restaurant.

With wood floors and a simple interior, Rossopomodoro is clearly casual Italian dining. It’s also a great place for a group dinner, the upstairs area is relatively private. The chairs are comfortable and whether seated downstairs or up, the windows make for a well-lit eating experience.

Rossopomodoro’s pizzas are “the real thing”. Their dough is salty, thin and freshly baked, their cheeses delicious. The tomato sauce (if you order pizza with tomato sauce) is fresh and flavorful and their ingredients seem to be picked from a garden hidden around the corner. Take time to pick your pizza, the names and descriptions will not be familiar if your only pizza experience involves Pizza Hut, Dominoes or Papa Johns. The salad with arugula is particularly delicious and fresh tasting while the simply cheese pizza is in itself a masterpiece.

If you like mozzarella, order the Caprese salad – the freshness of the mozzarella is yet unparalleled in Egypt. Rossopomodoro also serves pastas that are delicious and full of fresh ingredients as well. The fried calamari also makes for a delicious appetizer and the pastas – gnocci in particular – are flavorful and make you feel like you’re doing your body good.

The only complaints we had were service related. It seems the wait staff doesn’t get assigned tables and with four waiters coming and going with our orders, things came late and went wrong. Dessert was sometimes good, and sometimes bad – the nutella fritters are out of this world but the nutella tiramisu is an insult to tiramisu. The gelato falls in the middle – we suspected Movenpick, but it tastes good.

Expect to pay approximately 100 LE per person for pizzas and appetizers.

For larger groups, reserve by calling +20 100 674 7209.