When I first heard of 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria, I thought the ‘800’ referred to a toll-free number. However, this numerical addition to one of Dubai’s newest pizza chains has a far more significant, customer-oriented reference than that.
800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria is a novel concept. Pizza served in this eatery is baked in a brick oven that is fired up to 800 degrees thanks to the imported almond tree bark used inside as fuel, and pizza is baked and ready to eat in 90 seconds flat!
If this speedy efficiency wasn’t enough to impress you, at 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria, customers can custom-make their very own creations in 3 easy-peasy steps!
Akin to the assembly line at Subway, the pizza line at 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria is broken down into the following steps:
You have two choices here. Choose between the Original Neapolitan crust, or their 95% Gluten Free option. The original crust follows a traditional Neapolitan recipe using white flour, and the consistency of this crust is light, puffy and just a tad bit chewy. The Gluten Free crust on the other hand is made of wholemeal flour, and is a thinner, crisper option.
Between Hubby, myself and our little girl, we decided to go for 2 different pizzas, and chose to try out both options.
If you are not feeling very creatively inclined, 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria also has a number of ready-picked options from their menu (how cool is their wooden chopping board menu?!).
We chose to have their ‘Carni’ pizza on the Gluten Free base. This is the perfect choice for meat-lovers. The toppings include beef pepperoni and meatballs, and is topped with turkey ham and rosemary. Hubby added his signature touch to the ‘Carni’ by asking for jalapeno and mushrooms to top it off.
For the second pizza on the Original crust, I put on my pizza-making hat and got busy creating a masterpiece of my own!
For the base, I went for 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria’s Verde sauce. This is loaded with the goodness of basil, you can just smell it from across the counter!
Next came my choice of toppings. The staff recommend sticking to no more than 5 toppings as a few too many can make the crust go soggy, and also prove to be a tricky mouthful!
Here is what my pizza had for toppings:
- Turkey ham
- Mushroom
- Red peppers
- Sundried tomatoes
- Corn kernels
Isn’t it a colorful masterpiece?!
After all the toppings were assembled, and a few crumbs of mozzarella added, my pizza was sent straight to the oven.
In 90 seconds flat (yes, I timed them!) my pizza came out looking like this:
And here’s how our ‘Carni’ pizza looked like right out of the oven:
We started off our meal at 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria with a platter of Burrata cheese served with a slice of crusty bread, pan-fried tomatoes and rocket leaves on the side. It came with Pesto Verde, and I loved this basil-olive oil dip even more than the cheese!
Given my obsession with basil, no points for guessing which pizza I devoured most of from the two on the table; my green creation ofcourse!
Even my Hubby who is a total carnivore preferred my creation over the ‘Carni’ pizza. Perhaps I should have a go at working at a pizza parlor you reckon?!
While we were munching away at our pizza, the staff offered us some of 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria’s signature chili sauces to try with our meal. Don’t these bottles look feisty?! You can buy them for home use for AED 35.
They also sell bottles of pickled red peppers that go deliciously well with pizza.
After adding the 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria chili sauce to the ‘Carni’ it suddenly came roaring to life! The hit of chili combined with the beefy toppings helped the pizza vanish from the plate in no time. Yes, we love our chili!
For drinks, we had icy glasses of Peach Tea. It was a bit too watered down for my taste, and I would advise asking for less ice to get more flavor per sip.
A shared platter of Buratta and 2 pizzas between two hungry adults and a child is more than sufficient to appease the appetite, and I was looking forward to the dessert round.
At 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria they do Italian gelatos. I was not sure about the size, so I asked for my daughter’s to be made a little smaller. When the minuscule tubs came to the table, I felt quite sorry for my bub, and let her have most of mine as well!
My daughter had the Strawberry Gelato, Hubby went with Mango, and mine was Cookies ‘n’ Cream. By far the best gelato on the table was Hubby’s Mango Gelato. It had the creamy, cool refreshing texture of a decadent sorbet and was loaded with the sweetness of ripe mango. The Strawberry Gelato was pretty good too, but my Cookie ‘n’ Cream had more of a slushy iced texture that somehow contradicted with the cookies. Stick to fruity gelatos I’d say!
Overall, 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria is a novel concept. Picky eaters get to choose exactly what goes on their pizza, and the creative whizzes can go crazy with any odd flavor combination they please. The restaurant itself is well lit, spacious and accentuated with the black and white color combination and typography you would expect to find in a quaint little cafe in Italy.
We dined at 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria’s newest branch in Mall of the Emirates. It is located right next to the cinema, and would therefore make for the perfect quick bite before a flick.
800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria also has a branch in Burjuman Centre, and will be opening soon in Deira City Centre (Dubai). For more information on the brand, have a browse through their website. I’m already dreaming up my next pizza masterpiece!
