Napoli Contemporanea brings a Naples-rooted pizzeria, bar and cucina to Parnell Road. Owner and pizzaiolo Rocco Pezzullo leads a kitchen focused on craft, simple ingredients and soft, airy Neapolitan dough. The room is casual and convivial rather than formal, allowing a table to approach dinner as pizza and wine, move through several courses, or share antipasti before choosing pasta and dessert.
Antipasti balance cured ingredients with fresh dairy and vegetables. The house platter brings together Italian meats, cheese, olives and bread, while bruschetta combines tomato, basil and stracciatella. Porchetta, bresaola with pecorino and truffle oil, and a large figliata burrata offer contrasting richer plates. Cacio-e-pepe arancini bridge into pasta, where spaghetti alle vongole, Genovese beef ragù, Trapanese pesto fettuccine and four-cheese gnocchi show several regional directions.
Pizza is the restaurant's centre of gravity. The Regina Margherita keeps to San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil, while the Vesuvio layers nduja and salami over the same red base. Sausage with friarielli follows a classic Campanian pairing. Bronte combines pistachio, mortadella and stracciatella, Positano uses mushroom and truffle pesto, and the fried calzone folds ricotta, guanciale, tomato and mozzarella inside the dough.
Dessert maintains the Italian focus through pistachio tiramisu, ricotta-filled cannoli, gelato, cappuccino panna cotta and affogato. A folded Nutella pizza and fried pastry fingers provide more playful endings for a shared table. Homemade gluten-free pizza bases, pasta and bread give diners broader access to the savoury menu, while table bookings and service across lunch and dinner periods make the restaurant suitable for both a focused pizza visit and a longer meal.
Address: 297 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland 1052, New Zealand
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