Phone: 626-765-9550
Status: Opened yesterday
Settebello, the only Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN) certified mini-chain in America, grand opened last night for dinner in Pasadena. The pizzeria first launched in Henderson, NV by Brad Otton, an Italophilic former USC quarterback and Rose Bowl star who first caught the thin pizza bug in the early 90s.
With the VPN certification comes guidelines which will undoubtedly also be met at the Pasadena location: imported Caputo 00 flour, San Marzano tomato sauce, hand shaped dough, wood burning oven at 800ºF, etc. While standardized ingredients and methodology do not automatically yield tasty pizzas, the first two branches of Settebello in Nevada and Utah have been well received. The signature pie is crushed tomatoes, pancetta, roasted fennel sausage, roasted mushrooms, toasted pine nuts, mozzarella, basil, and extra virgin olive oil on 24-hour risen pizza dough. The sugarhound may also appreciate the cannoli and gelati (Settebello also operates a gelateria in Salt Lake City) on offer.
The long rectangular bar seats 20, and with its direct view of the massive hand-tiled brick pizza oven, it is clearly the best table in the house. Management confirms the restaurant has a full liquor license, but the Italian micro brews found at the Vegas location are still enroute. Currently the restaurant only accepts reservations for parties of six or more and offers one hour of parking validation.
With the opening of this out-of-town ringer, LA's current artisanal pizza train (Urbano, Mother Dough, Stella Rosa) just got a bit more crowded. And no, there's no condescending placemat printed with VPN guidelines at Settebello.
Additional Photos: Eater LA Flickr Page
Additional Reading: PizzaWire, 1/11
— TC