“Brick oven pizzas the size of surfboards,” “Meatballs that taste like bricks,” “Waiters who are completely brickheaded.” These are all comments that have come from patrons of this Grand Centrally located, sprawling pizza/pasta joint. Mostly made up of lunching suits, Naples 45 has pleasant decor, good pizza and service that ruins both of these things. Actually, it’s a crap shoot. With a place this big and this crowded, you are bound to get the newbie waiter who has been on the job for exactly four hours, and has no idea how a kitchen works. If you do manage to get a guy who knows what he’s doing, enjoy one of the restaurant’s giant, thin-crust pizzas that end up being way less-filling than they might appear. It’ll also make you nostalgic for the days when bread, cheese and tomato sauce used to be a cheap alternative to a real meal. [MF]
200 Park Ave.
212/972-7000