Pasquale's Pizzeria Napoletana

“Pasquales is hands down the best pizza in Rhode Island. The service is always great!! The atmosphere is always enjoyable. I highly recommend coming here!!”

“Pasquale's was the sixth and final spot on today's fourth leg of the RI FOOD FIGHTS Lord of the Pies event, and the place was humming. Families everywhere, noise bouncing off those decorative ceiling tiles (the kind designed to look old but aren't). A big stone fireplace anchors one wall, giant decorative pepper mounted above it, and through the open kitchen you can see the wood-fired oven doing its work.. Our server was excellent. Friendly, very communicative, knew the menu inside out, and checked in without hovering. We ordered two Margherita pizzas because that's the test for Neapolitan. No place to hide. The pizza arrived in what felt like a few minutes, which makes sense when your oven's running at 900 degrees. Classic VPN style. Puffy cornicione with those leopard spots, soft center, the whole thing about twelve inches across on a white plate with blue trim. First bite: chewy. Not crisp, not trying to be. The crust has give to it, especially toward that rim where all the char happens. Those black spots aren't burnt, they're flavor, the natural result of high heat on good dough. The basil came through strong, maybe too forward for some people, but fresh as you can get. Tomato sauce had real tang to it, the kind that tells you these aren't tomatoes from a Sysco truck. Turns out owner Pasquale Illiano sources specific varieties, including something called cannellino flegreo that most American pizzerias have never heard of. The fresh mozzarella isn't creamy like American cheese. It's mild, provides moisture, cuts the tomato acidity in the right places without taking over. This is what Neapolitan pizza is supposed to be. Simple ingredients, each one doing its job, nothing trying to be the star. I'm not generally a Neapolitan guy. I like my crust airier, crisper, more structure. But this was legitimately excellent for what it's trying to be. The sauce was the standout, that brightness and tang you don't get from cooked-down Americanized pizza sauce. The chewy crust delivers exactly what it promises. Nothing's trying to be something else. Our server knew when to check in, when to leave us alone, brought the check when it made sense. The whole operation runs tight, which matters when you're slammed on a Tuesday and pumping out pizzas every ninety seconds. This isn't the kind of pizza you fold and eat standing up. It's fork and knife stuff. It's its own thing, and it does that thing really well. If you want authentic Neapolitan without flying to Italy, this is as close as you're going to get.”

“We just love the food here and have been back many times! This time, Addison B. was our server and went above and beyond to make sure we had a great dining experience. One of us loves the Neapolitan style pizza, and the other the New York style. We’ve never been disappointed! And the tiramisu is heaven on a spoon!”

“Tried Pasquale’s for the first time and was looking forward to authentic Napoletana pizza from their wood-fired oven. We order the Margherita and Arturo. They were simple and made with very good ingredients. My disappointment came from the texture of the pizza crust, it was a bit too soft and floppy. Maybe it steamed a little on the platter after it came out of the oven…?”

“Big expectations, average experience. Went here for a special occasion as a party of three. The restaurant was busy when we arrived and we were quoted about a one-hour wait, but ended up being seated in roughly 20 minutes. While that was a pleasant surprise, the initial estimate felt way off and could use better accuracy. Service started off decent, but dropped off pretty quickly. Our server was attentive for maybe the first third of the meal, but after that it felt like we were forgotten. We weren’t offered refills or asked about additional drinks, and overall attentiveness was about a 2/5. He seemed overwhelmed juggling too many tables. Thankfully, another server stepped in at one point to check on us, brought boxes, and offered to notify our server that we were ready for the check. Not surprisingly, he showed up quickly after that. Overall service lands around a 3/5, largely thanks to her stepping in. The food itself was good, about a 4/5. The vodka pasta and Calabria pizza both tasted great. That said, we did order an upgraded Margherita pizza with buffalo mozzarella and received one with standard mozzarella instead, which was disappointing. For a first visit, it didn’t leave a strong impression. We even accidentally left our leftovers behind, and honestly didn’t feel compelled to go back for them, which kind of says it all. It’s unfortunate, especially since this was meant to be a special celebration at a place that comes highly recommended.”