Chef Of S’pore’s Hottest Italian Private Diner Opens Rustic Restaurant Serving Famous Pizza

Just two days after opening his restaurant on 13 August, Antonio had an unpleasant encounter with a couple of irresponsible guests. “We had a walk-in customer who was vaccinated. He told us he was waiting for his wife. He sat down, ordered and when his wife came, she didn’t really want to show anything [proof of vaccination status]. Then we found out she had the second jab but it hasn’t been two weeks. We had to let them go. We didn’t charge them anything.”

The new chef-owner was understandably frustrated. “It is every citizen’s responsibility to know what the law is, not just ours. They try to ignore [the rules] because the burden is on the restaurants. Actually, I don’t think that is right. If somebody happens to be dining and not vaccinated, they should also be convicted, because they should be aware of the rules. Otherwise, they will try to sneak in, because now if they’re caught — only the restaurant gets shut down.”

“The hardest part [about opening a restaurant] is not having enough time with my kids, especially after the time we spent together in Italy. A hundred percent of my time was with them – even if we were not doing something together, I was in the house with them. Now, it’s very challenging. My children are very understanding but we can see that they are missing my presence.”

However, Antonio tells us he does not regret joining the F&B industry. His eyes light up as he expands on the new culinary freedom that he enjoys as a chef-owner. “There were many styles of pizza that I wanted to do at Casa Nostra, but couldn’t. For a group of eight, I can make dough for maybe three of the same pizza. If I want to make two different pizzas, I have to make too much dough – there is a volume issue,” he says. “Here, I can do four or five different types. The volume is there for me to make different batches of dough.”

What’s in a name? A lot, if we’re talking about Neapolitan pizza. “If you call it a Neapolitan, it has to follow a certain method, which to me is outdated,” says Antonio, who has opted for a new moniker – with a dash of wordplay – for his creation.

His Newpolitan pizza shares certain characteristics as the Naples-style pie that gained UNESCO heritage status in 2017: Both are made from fine-grained doppio zero flour, feature charred, bubbling crusts and are softer and floppier than most of the pizzas we’re familiar with.

While traditionalists keep the toppings simple with either marinara (tomato, oil, oregano and garlic) or margherita, with the addition of cheese and basil, Antonio has introduced five different combinations – from homemade sausage to Amalfi lemon.

His pizzas are also less soupy in the middle compared to the traditional Neapolitan, which is usually so damp that it has to be eaten with a fork and knife.

There’s also the Newpolitan a 2 Temperature, adapted from the crispy, deep-fried Montanara pizza from the mountains around Naples (thus named ‘montanara’). After frying the dough in hot oil, it is quickly baked in the oven to give the pizza a crunchy, airy texture – essentially cooking it at ‘two temperatures’. Toppings are added to the pie right before serving. “With this pizza, I can showcase ingredients like gambero rosso (a bright red wild prawn that’s served raw) which does not need to be cooked in the oven.”

“People may not see the Focaccia di Recco as a pizza, but I do. You could say any flatbread is a pizza, or any flatbread is a focaccia. The difference in my view is regional,” shares Antonio. Originated in Recco, a town near Genoa, this savoury pastry is made with only dough, stracchino (think of it as a saltier and funkier mozzarella), olive oil and salt.

Grab a seat near the pizza counter to watch the intriguing prep: Unleavened dough is stretched into a very thin, almost-translucent circle and placed over a pan, where it’s dotted with creamy cheese.

Another thin layer of dough is placed on top, forming a balloon due to the trapped air, before little holes are cut to let the steam escape during the bake. The top layer is brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt before popping into the oven until crisp and golden.

While Antonio has built a name for himself as a pizza maestro, his other passion lies in another traditional form of ‘cooking’ – curing meat. His enthusiasm is evident in the salumi (Italian for cured meats) cellar in his restaurant, which is packed with an impressive array of preserved meat products.

“In my hometown, I used to make salumi every winter. When we stayed at a family friend’s place in Umbria, I learned from the gardener, who is also a salumi master. He has his own cellar which he dug, raises his own pigs and cures the meat. When we came back from Italy, I bought a dry-ager and started curing meats for Casa Nostra guests. I enjoyed the experience and thought it should be part of the restaurant.”

“I love this neighbourhood. I’ve always been in this 1km radius since I’ve been in Singapore,” he says. Casa Nostra was based out of his Joo Chiat condo. “With everything that’s happening, why open in the CBD? This is the right place. I wouldn’t want to be in a mall or a modern building.”

The 38-seater is designed by Antonio and his wife, based on their favourite eateries in Italy. “It’s made to look and feel like the ambience we like when dining out in italy. We like to sit outside on the street, where there is a buzz. That’s the feeling we want to give.”

Despite his homage to classic pizza recipes, Antonio is surprisingly not a traditionalist when it comes to ovens. Behind the counter are two electric open-mouthed Moretti Neopolis ovens from Italy – one specifically for baking Newpolitan pizzas.

“If I was in the countryside like in Umbria, you could grab the wood from the surrounding woods. It doesn’t make sense [to use a wood-fired oven here], they have to cut trees and burn wood in the city creating pollution and ultimately, you’ll send out a pizza with ashes — for what? It doesn’t make sense.”

The piazzetta (small square) tiles in the al fresco area were specifically designed to evoke Italian piazzas (town squares or marketplaces).

To create an authentic ambience, Antonio has imported most of the decor from Italy – from the tables, chairs, lights and menu boards to the traditional Italian mailbox bearing the restaurant address at the entrance.

Knick-knacks like retro Italian posters on the brick walls create a homely, welcoming vibe.

All guests have to order the six-course tasting menu if you dine indoors. The $138 menu includes a cichetti (savoury snack), an appetiser, two slices of his signature Newpolitan pizza, a slice of Newpolitan a 2 Temperature, a small pasta and dessert. But you can top up the somewhat modest portions with whole pizzas and the chef’s selection of cold cuts and cheeses from the a la carte menu. Here are some highlights from the tasting set.

Paper-thin, salty house-cured beef paired with the wonderful crunch and mild sweetness of white fennel from Italy and shaved parmesan make this a refreshing starter to your carb-heavy meal.

Truly the best pizza in town. Antonio’s signature pizza dough undergoes 48 hours of fermentation, resulting in an irresistibly light and tender texture. We enjoyed biting into the charred domes rimming the puffy crust, which add acrid notes to the otherwise delicately flavoured bread.

If you’re dining in groups of two, Antonio will serve a full pizza with split toppings (you get two slices each). The classic combination of savoury Parma ham and peppery rocket leaves, rounded off with sharp parmesan shavings was a crowd-pleaser, and we were particularly fond of the warm, rustic flavours of the fried shallot, homemade sausage, tomato and mozzarella version (offered as a daily special).

The dough in this pizza is partially fried but not at all greasy — it’s puffy, sturdy, crunchy and one way to describe is as a more sophisticated version of you tiao. Pretty good, but we still prefer Antonio’s fully baked version above. Of the two toppings on offer, we’re more partial to the gambero rosso (a Sicilian bright red prawn served raw), which won us over with its almost creamy, melt-in-your-mouth sweetness on equally lush ricotta, topped with moreish slivers of crispy fried courgette. The flavours of the house-cured mortadella and ricotta pairing, with a crunchy sprinkle of toasted pistachio, were milder but still tasty.

Springy, semolina flour house-made noodles tossed in a robust ragu made from tomatoes that Antonio buys directly from a shop in Pachino, Sicily and simmered with homemade sausage, pancetta (belly bacon) and guanciale (cured pork cheek). The handmade pasta – “guitar spaghetti” in Italian, named after the traditional pasta cutter used to make the noodles that resembles the instrument – has a fantastic bite to it and carries the hearty sauce well.

For outdoor dining, you can order from an a la carte menu featuring house-cured charcuterie and cheese plates, as well as light bites like:

Not quite a pizza in the traditional sense but it kinda looks like a very thin version. Straight out of the oven, the crust is thin, bumpy and browned – the lack of leavening in the dough renders the focaccia with a memorable crunch. We recommend eating this asap to enjoy the incredibly light and flaky texture, similar to a crispy cracker, and melted, oozy cheese within.

The fourth “pizza” on the menu is based on a Roman-style pie known for its super crispy crust. Pillowy, plush bread that’s flaky on the outside and chewy inside is the highlight of this sandwich. Fillings are kept simple – homemade sausage, robiola (a soft-ripened cheese) and friarielli (broccoli rabe). The nutty earthiness of the sauteed greens is a pleasant contrast to the rich, creamy cheese.

While Antonio is a multi-talented cook and doesn’t want to be known only for his pizzas, it’s an inescapable fact that pizza-making is his super power. He fastidiously studies the ancient art of the dough, then improves on it with his artistic wizardry. While he has four unique varieties of pizza on offer at his new restaurant, our fave remains his signature baked Newpolitan, an aptly named upgrade from the traditional Neapolitan, with a more assertive, puffy-edged crust that’s less soggy in the middle, yet still tender and crispy where it matters. His delicious handmade pasta is not to be missed too. We love the charming Italian countryside vibe of the space, where members of the public can finally taste his food since snagging a seat at his private diner Casa Nostra used to be virtually impossible.

That being said — we found the price of the mandatory $138 tasting menu if you dine indoors a little steep without a cooked meat or seafood main course to make it feel complete. But it’s still worth a try, considering the quality ingredients and meticulous pizza-making prep required. We suggest you go in a group of four or five so you can order an extra whole cheesy focaccia or Newpolitan pizza, plus perhaps some grilled meat skewers to share. Also, the varied pizza menu is a bit complex even for us to digest — so best to ask the servers or Antonio himself for tips on what to order. Meanwhile, we look forward to more inspiring Italian creations from the passionate chef as he gets more comfortable in his new culinary playground.

346 Joo Chiat Rd, S427596. Open Tue-Sat 6-10.30pm and Sun noon-3pm.

Visit www.labottega.sg to make a reservation. Instagram.

All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Photos: Kelvin Chia