L’antica Pizzeria Da Michele — 154-year-old Naples Pizza joint using age-old recipe opens in Singapore

Like the saying ‘old is gold’, L’antica Pizzeria Da Michele stays true to its authenticity by dishing out Neopolitan-style pizzas since 1870. They use the same age-old recipe that has been passed down through generations— that’s like 154 years old, woah!

And guess what? Now that they’ve finally arrived on hip and snazzy Club Street in Singapore, we now have the chance to savour it.

The original restaurant in Naples was actually featured in the 2010 movie Eat, Pray, Love, in which Julia Roberts is seen enjoying their pizza while conversing with a friend.

Keep your eyes glued to the open kitchen, where a custom-made domed brick oven from Italy takes centre stage. Recognisable by its large 15-inch thin base, the ‘wagon wheel pizza’ is crafted by using quality Caputo flour for its dough.

The restaurant also directly imports key ingredients from the south of Italy to render a pizza that is as authentic as possible.

Believe it or not, each pizza requires just 30 to 50 seconds to execute as the temperature of the oven can be as high as 500 degrees Celsius— wowza!

The classic Margherita (S$28) has tomato sauce, pecorino Romano cheese, Agerola fior di latte and aromatic fresh basil. The crust was light as a cloud and had a satisfying chewy texture that I didn’t want to end.

The Friarelli & Salsiccia (S$36) contains friarelli napoletani (Italian leafy greens) and Italian sausages. The vegetables possessed almost the same texture and taste as mei cai (preserved mustard greens), making me feel as though it was a Chinese-Italian fusion.

The Cetara (S$34) is a heavenly mix of tomato sauce, Agerola fior di latte, pecorino Romano, Cetara anchovies, Leccino olives and capers. The anchovies are highly sought after for their intense and refined savoury notes.

The menu also features various appetisers such as the Gamberi Rosso Di Mazara (S$38), a plate of red wild Mediterranean raw shrimps, served with extra virgin olive oil.

You can also enjoy the Burrata Alla Puttanesca (S$28), which comes with rocket lettuce and cherry tomatoes. I didn’t think that anchovies and burrata would go hand-in-hand but I was pleasantly surprised at the lovely pairing— now, I can’t go back!

If you’re a seafood buff who loves fried food, the Fritto Di Mare (S$26) hits the sweet spot with battered calamari, prawn, zucchini and breaded mussels.

Craving some pasta? No problemo! Try the Orecchiette Alla Positanese (S$34) which has Italian sausages, fresh cherry tomatoes, basil and burrata.

The restaurant also serves up a range of desserts. We had the Cannoli (S$16) featuring Sicilian pastry tubes, filled with a sweet and creamy ricotta mixture.

With a history longer than the age of my late grandfather and me put together, L’antica Pizzeria Da Michele is like the wise old sage of pizza joints. To all the pizza enthusiasts out there, I beckon all of you to come give it a try!

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