Pizza Pomodoro has been making Neapolitan pizza in Te Aro since September 2000, and it was the first shop to open on Leeds Street, years before the narrow lane filled up with bars and places to eat. It remains a family business, occupying a ground floor unit of Hannah’s Warehouse Building in Hannah’s Courtyard, which can be reached on foot from Ghuznee Street or from Eva Street off Dixon Street. The pizzeria stands on its own and has no connection to any other business of the same name in Wellington or the rest of New Zealand. Its stated aim is to give Wellington the original pizza experience of Naples, made by hand and baked the traditional way.
The pizzeria holds certification from the Naples association that safeguards authentic Neapolitan pizza, and the kitchen follows the method closely. Its oven was imported from Naples and is fired entirely with wood, a blend of manuka and other timbers that the team credits for much of the flavour, with no gas or electric elements involved. Each pizza bakes for only 60 to 90 seconds at 400 to 450 degrees. The dough is made on the premises with no premixes, and it is meant to stay soft and pliable with a moist centre, while the cornicione, the puffed outer rim, should be light and fluffy enough to fold as you eat. Toppings bring together fresh local produce and imported ingredients.
The menu divides into pizze rosse, built on tomato sauce, and pizze bianche, which use garlic olive oil or pesto instead. A single large pizza is designed to feed two people, or one very hungry one. Among the reds, the margherita keeps to mozzarella, basil, parmigiano and extra virgin olive oil, the Siciliana layers eggplant, salame, chilli and ricotta, and the Cacciatore pairs smoked chicken with roasted capsicum, kalamata olives and rosemary. On the white side, the Tartufo brings prosciutto, porcini and mixed mushrooms together under truffle oil, while the Bomba piles on roasted potato, garlic, salame and spreadable nduja. Pizza bread and pesto bread make easy starters, and the chef’s special board has featured creations such as Pinoli e Pesto with chicken, toasted pine nuts and feta.
Vegetarian pizzas are marked throughout, the Boschetta and the cheeseless Marinara DOC suit vegans, and bases made without gluten come in a smaller size, though the shared kitchen means traces of gluten remain. Diners can also split a pizza into two halves or build their own on the Fantasia base. For dessert there are chocolate and vanilla pannacotta, tiramisu in coffee, lemon and pistachio versions, and a calzone for two filled with chocolate custard and Wellington Chocolate Factory chocolate. Most orders leave as pickup or delivery around the central city, and the shop keeps just two tables, serving pizza straight from the box. It sells no alcohol, but its menu is also offered next door at Golding’s Free Dive, so a pizza can share the table with a craft beer or some wine from the bar.
Address: Unit 24, Ground Floor, Hannah’s Warehouse Building, 13 Leeds Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
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