Toss Up
No-Frills Neapolitan Pies in SoMa

You might’ve already heard about this guy...

He was known by people who know to have the best pizza in New York.

He did things one way and one way only.

He made every single pie himself.

Then one day he left his oven, took everything else and disappeared.

And now he’s surfaced here, in SF.

Introducing Una Pizza Napoletana, a bare-bones, Naples-driven pizza joint sticking to a traditional old-world roster of pizza and essentially nothing else, opening next Wednesday in SoMa.

To make a long story short, we are the beneficiaries of UPN’s owner/pizzaiolo’s abrupt relocation of his cultish temple of pies (meaning: there are a lot of jealous New Yorkers out there right now). And you can expect this spot to be a near-exact replica of that eatery—a one-man operation offering four permutations of tomato, cheese and dough, along with Calabrian wine, a few beers and coffee.

You’ll see that the spartan, white, high-ceilinged interior matches the offerings in its no-frills zeal. The only real standout is the turquoise wood-fired oven he brought over from Italy (think: the blue Mediterranean contrasted against white-walled buildings).

Since it’s walk-in only on Wednesdays through Saturdays—and he only makes 150 pies a day—you’ll have to be strategic about your visits (like come early). But once there, everything is easy: order the tomato and cheese pie and a carafe of Sangiovese, and you’re good to go.

It’s the simple things...