» Bella Napoli
Andrew Kay on hitting the right spot with Bella Napoli
It doesn’t take a genius to spot that I am not very athletic. In fact I have an almost pathological hatred of sport. At school I would hide or invent charitable projects to avoid playing games. On the few occasions that I did get into kit, then it would be more likely that I could be found doing Four Tops routines by the goal posts than kicking the ball.
However, last year, I discovered cricket. Alex Mackay introduced me to it. I accepted his invitation and within an hour Alex found me glued to the play and working out batting averages – hooked!
What I did like about cricket was the food, afternoon tea with nice sandwiches, cakes and scones. I do think there are foods for certain events, a place for pies and burgers and the like, even if they don’t hit the gastronomic heights. A good meal is not entirely dependent on the food served but also the company, the location and the ambience. A few weeks back I joined a group of friends to go Bowling in a Winter Pride BLAGSS tournament at Brighton Marina. Now I have no bowling skills to speak of but at the tournament I won both our games and came an overall 18th. Afterwards we decided food was needed to balance the excitement, that and the beer consumed.
I steered the party over to Bella Napoli. For years Latest’s offices were at Brighton Marina and this well-established trattoria became a regular haunt. Back then it was affordable – I’m pleased to report it still is. Pizza and beer it was to be and very soon the staff had found us a large table by the pizza ovens. I liked it there because it was warm and I love to watch the pizza chef spinning the dough in the air.
I‘m not really a pizza fan. On the whole I think it is rather over-rated cheese on toast – but it is a dish that when done properly can be deeply satisfying. Bella Napoli do a very good job. I chose a spicy sausage pizza diavolo with green chilli to which I added capers.
I know it’s a predictable but I really do like the combination. It was good, as was a big mixed salad dressed with one of those thick Italian herby dressings. Everyone agreed that these were really very good pizzas, the service was charming and the prices were great. With pizzas priced from £4.90 to £7.25 for the most exotic, the bank is not going to be broken. We all had beer and it came to just over £10 a head.
Bella Napoli has a strong family feel and I was delighted to see that the proprietor had fetched out his accordion.
There is an extensive list of delicious starters and main courses that over the years have never disappointed me. In particular, I love the penne aurora with aubergine and prawns.
I will be back more often too, now that I have a season ticket for the cinema. Cinema and pizza, an appropriate coupling and it has to be said far cheaper than indulging in popcorn, pick’n’mix and giant buckets of fizzy drink in the multiplex. I suggest avoiding the cinema snacks completely and heading off to Bella Napoli for a decent feed for about the same price as a tub of popcorn, a few sugary sweets and a vastly oversized and watery cola.
Bella Napoli, 19 Waterfront, Brighton Marina, 01273 818577
www.bellanapoli.co.uk | Map
