Ribalta Pizza is one of the most under the radar pizza spots (in addition to 11B). I love a good restaurant that you don’t have to plan a date at a month in advance or even a reservation. Walk in on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m., and they’ve got a table for you. Their Neapolitan Pizza style beats all of the rest including Keste which the founder is a part of. The pie is doughy and soft but still has a little added crunch to give it some life. You can pull it apart easily and the bread just keeps getting better and better with each bite. The menu offers appetizers such as Fried Calamari, Sautéed Shrimp, Salads, Cheese Platters and even Gnocchi. Skip the Seafood Salad and go for the familiar Mediterranean Salad and a side of Broccoli Rabe to incorporate some greens. Obviously, the main attraction is the pizza so choose a few on the Rossa (Red) side and a few on the Bianca (White) side. You can also make your own pizza by choosing toppings from: Extra Basil, Garlic, Grilled Peppers, Broccoli Rabe, Zucchini, Artichokes, Pancetta, Goat Cheese, Shrimp, Grilled Chicken, etc. They also offer Gluten Free pizza.
We tried a simple Margherita Pizza with Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Basil and added that Pepperoni. Easy peasy, yet delicious. The dough and ratio to tomato sauce is perfect and empowering to the pizza world. The Vegetariana comes with Mozzarella, Basil and Baked Vegetable such as squash, cabbage, eggplant and baked peppers. We kept switching bites between these two pizzas unable to decide which was better. It’s the crust! I definitely want to try the Margherita Bianca with Mozzarella and Basil. These kept flying around everywhere.
The casual setting makes it comfortable for every type of occasion. Whether it be a first date when you’re unsure if you want to load up that credit card just yet, meet up with friends, place to meet friend’s parents, last minute dinner spot on the weekend at primetime or even a spot for your best friends parents to meet your boyfriend’s friends (true story). They have big screens TV where they have showed the World Cup and have even brought in fun and humorous Italian singers who jump on the table in the evenings singing Frank Sinatra. You never know what is going to pop up here. Regardless, Ribalta is for everybody. These guys are good.