La Perla Pizzeria (Amsterdam)

Pizza isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Amsterdam or its food scene, but with this being the last city on our nearly 3-week European adventure, we were looking for something comforting and unpretentious. Plus, La Perla Pizzeria is raved about on Eater's 38 Essential Amsterdam Restaurants list (see #20).

As noted on Eater, there are actually two building locations (across the street from each other) that are part of La Perla Pizzeria. One spot houses its authentic wood burning pizza oven plus very limited seating; the other provides ample seating and the workers run the pizza across the street over to you. We sat, perched at one of the windows near the gigantic oven, while the pizzaiolo worked his magic, and curiously observed what every day life in Amsterdam looked like to some.

Quattro Formaggi

This perfectly thin, crispy-yet-chewy charred crust came topped with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, gorgonzola, taleggio, and parmigiano reggiano DOP (what is DOP?) cheese. While this sounds like something you could easily get over here, the cheese had a certain freshness to it that I can't say I've come across often here in Vancouver. It was so good that my husband finished the entire pizza, crust and all.

Prosciutto San Daniele

I have this weird aversion to ordering pizza without any meat on it (I hope to get over this soon). The pizza I selected came with the same, perfect crust, topped with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto di san daniele, rocket (AKA arugula), and parmigiano reggiano DOP. While the flavour profile of the pizza was to die for, I found it kind of difficult to eat with the large slices of prosciutto. I had to basically hold it to keep it on top of the pizza while I tore off a piece with each bite. Also, and it pains me heavily to say this, I felt there was a bit too much prosciutto (something I never thought I'd say in my life time). The nuttiness of the parmigiano reggiano and bitterness & peppery flavour of the arugula helped offset the salty prosciutto, but it still ended up being a bit much. Nevertheless, I tried my best to finish the whole thing (unsuccessfully) because it felt like a crime to let any go to waste.

I would certainly recommend this restaurant to someone in the neighbourhood in a heart beat, especially if they're looking for something comforting and somewhat familiar, just at a much higher quality. Though I will say that the wait time is not short - this is a very popular spot!