nNea Pizza

I need to start with a warning: do not show up to nNea without a reservation. My friend Sophie tried this on a Saturday evening and the host basically looked at her like she had suggested something deeply unreasonable. nNea is booked out weeks in advance. This is not an exaggeration.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you why it is worth the hassle.

nNea makes the best pizza in Amsterdam. I know that is a bold claim and I know every neighborhood has a pizza place that some guy swears is "the best." But nNea is different. This is proper Neapolitan pizza, made by people who clearly spent serious time in Naples figuring out how dough works. The crust is pillowy, charred in exactly the right places, with that chew that makes you close your eyes for a second. My coworker Marco, who is Italian, says it is "the only pizza in Amsterdam that does not make me angry." From an Italian, that is a Michelin star.

The restaurant is tiny. And I mean tiny. Maybe 20 seats. It is on Bilderdijkstraat in Oud-West, and from the outside it does not look like much. But inside it is warm and buzzy, with an open kitchen where you can watch the pizzaiolo working the dough and sliding pizzas into the wood-fired oven. The heat from the oven fills the room and there is this incredible smell that hits you the moment you walk in.

The menu is small because it does not need to be big. Classic Neapolitans: margherita, marinara, a few others with seasonal toppings. The margherita is perfect — San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil. Simple, and that simplicity is the whole point. You taste every ingredient. My friend Sophie, who eventually got a reservation after her walk-in disaster, said the margherita was "the closest I have been to Naples without a plane ticket."

The dough is the secret. They ferment it for 72 hours, which gives it this depth of flavor and lightness that you cannot fake. You can eat an entire pizza here and not feel like you swallowed a brick, which is more than I can say for most pizza places. My coworker ate a whole pie plus half of mine and felt fine. I was impressed and slightly resentful.

Wine selection is small but good, and they have a few Italian beers. Keep it simple — this is not a cocktail destination. A glass of red, a margherita, maybe a burrata to start if they have it. That is the perfect nNea dinner.

Practical stuff: book two to three weeks ahead for weekends. Weeknight reservations are slightly easier. They have a few seatings per evening, so check their reservation system for times. The restaurant does not do walk-ins. Period. Do not be Sophie. Also, the address is a bit hidden — you might walk past it once before you find it. Look for the small sign.

The price is extremely reasonable for what you get. A pizza costs around 12-16 euros, which in the Nine Streets area is almost suspicious. You can have a full dinner with wine for under 40 euros per person. My coworker Marco said paying these prices for pizza of this quality in Italy would be normal, but in Amsterdam it feels like you are getting away with something.

One more thing: they do takeaway but I would not recommend it. The pizza is best eaten immediately, in that tiny room, with the heat of the oven nearby. The crust changes in a takeaway box. My friend learned this the hard way.

Book ahead. Get the margherita. Feel like you are in Naples for an evening. nNea is the real deal.