Vacation Concept Napoli Pizzeria, Surry Hills

The savoury equivalent of birthday cake has to be pizza, right? Think about it. There's the ceremony of cutting, the sharing around of slices, and then the unstoppable grin that spreads from cheek to cheek. It's communal eating at its finest, no cutlery required.

It's my birthday this week and I kicked off early celebrations with some of my favourite peeps on the weekend. We descended on Via Napoli Pizzeria in Surry Hills, taking over the former Franco Franco site on Crown Street.

Open dining room looking onto Crown Street

Via Napoli started off as a small pizzeria in Lane Cove but has expanded steadily over the past three years to open up branches in Hunters Hill and Surry Hills. The Surry Hills outlet is packed out on a Friday night, manned by an army of staff. They tend to customers with Italian friendliness but there's a sense of urgent efficiency behind every interaction. The large dining room opens right up the street, but even then the noise levels among the tightly packed tables are on the shouty side of loud.

Two-metre antipasti board

We skip the upsell on the antipasti board of charcuterie, cheeses and more, but most groups around us take up the offer. The larger tables have theirs served on a two metre plank. It's not hard to get caught up in the spectacle of it though, with waitstaff whooping like manic soccer fans as they carry it, dramatically bouncing the board up and down before it's laid down on the table.

Prosciutto parma with 600 grams burrata $28

We have our eyes on the burrata instead. The 600 gram option rewards us with three glistening pouches on a bed of prosciutto parma and rocket leaves.

Cream inside the burrata mozzarella ball

Slice open the burrata and you'll be greeted with a river of mozzarella and cream. Its a dairy fiend's dream of rich butteriness sloshed over with olive oil and a twist of black pepper. Alternate mouthfuls of this with gently salty prosciutto and peppery rocket and just try and stop your eyes rolling to the back of your head with satisfaction.

Wood-fired pizza oven

But what Via Napoli does best is pizza. Owner Luigi Esposito earned membership of the AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana) at age 15, a strict non-profit organisation that certifies "true Neapolitan pizzas" cooked in accordance with "International Regulations". While Via Napoli is yet to be certified, it follows the same strict principles, including two stages of proofing the dough, a base that is no more than 4mm thick in the middle, cooking directly on the stone surface of a double-dome pizza oven at 485C for no more than 90 seconds, and the mandatory addition of fresh basil to finish.

One metre pizza $6

Siciliana eggplant; Quattro salumi; and margherita

The pizzas come in 13-inch circles, half-metre rectangles or one-metre diving boards. They do two-metre pizzas too, although these have pre-set toppings that can't be changed.

Siciliana 

San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, eggplant, basil and parmesan

The one-metre pizzas give you free rein to choose three different topping combo's. I'm a sucker for eggplant on pizza, and the Siciliana offers a comforting medley of squidgy roasted eggplant, fior di latte fresh mozzarella and sweet San Marzano tomatoes.

Quattro salumi

San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, ham, sausage, mild salumi, hot salami and basil

In the middle we have Quattro Salumi, a four-meat combo of ham, sausage, mild salami and hot salami. Trailing down the far end is the classic margherita, a purist's staple of San Marzano tomato, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil.

Airy rise of the cornicione pizza crust

The cornicione is a key identifier of the Neapolitan pizza, gently puffed with a soft and yielding chew.

The pizza upskirt shot

And I'm never one to shy away from the pizza upskirt shot, looking for evidence of a smoky wood-fired base.

Pizza time!

And then everybody's in, grabbing giant slabs of pizza and rejoicing in the puddles of molten mozzarella cheese, the sweet tang of tomato and that soft pizza base with a smoky aftertaste.

Pandan chiffon cake with cream and fruit made by Chocolatesuze

Chocolatesuze made me my favourite cake: chiffon smothered in cream and laden with fresh fruit.

Pandan chiffon cake sandwiched with cream and fresh strawberries

There is nothing finer than the marriage of fluffy chiffon cake against fresh whipped cream. Or dear friends. Or delicious pizza with all of the above.