[New Eats] Capri by Bottega: Traditional-style Napoli Pizza

Shanghai's pizza game just got even stronger. Enter stage right, Capri by Bottega.

The Snapshot

Yes, you read that correctly, the busiest restaurant group in town, the Bottega Group (Bottega, Atica, La Diosa), is launching its third venue in the last six months with the opening of Capri by Bottega in Xintandi Galleria, a new semi-outdoor shopping, dining, and lifestyle hub off of Taicang Rd.

Soft opening kicked off in early October with a menu chock-full of coastal Italian fare, like meat and cheese trays (perfectly paired with your spritz or aperitivo of choice), fresh salads, traditional Naples-style pizzas (more on that later), pastas, mains and desserts. While the menu does see some crossover with favorites from Bottega, the majority is new, leaning into the island getaway vibes that Capri is all about.

The Menu

Before diving into that ooey-gooey cheesy goodness, some backstory: Bottega landed on the Beijing dining scene over a decade ago with the goal of educating the masses on authentic Napoli-style pizza. After 10-plus years of service, multiple branches across Beijing, Shanghai and beyond, and numerous spinoffs from previous employees, China now truly knows and embraces what modern Napoli pizza is all about. Emphasis on the modern.

So what is modern Napoli pizza anyway? Well, I also just received my Bachelor's in the Art of Pizza Making, being schooled by the Bottega (and now Capri) team on modern versus traditional Napoli pizza, the key difference between Bottega's and Capri's pizza making process.

And let me tell you, my blood now runs red with tomato sauce, my skin sprinkled with flour, my heart laden with cheese.

In short, Bottega is all about the modern Napoli style pizza – what you would find at a trendy new pizzeria on the backstreet of Naples. Capri, on the other hand, embraces authenticity and tradition. This is the kind of pizza that you'll find at those historic Naples pizzerias, like L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, Antica Pizzeria Di Matteo, and Pizzeria Starita a Materdei, with over a century of history.

The difference lies in the dough prep – indirect (for modern-style Napoli pizza) and direct (for traditional-style Napoli pizza). When the dough is made at Bottega, it's fermented for 24 hours, then refreshed with water and flour before being split into individual dough balls, lending to a higher hydration rate that translates to more elasticity in the dough but a slightly wetter finished crust.

Conversely, when the dough is prepped at Capri using a time-honored method, it's immediately split into separate dough balls before fermentation begins, which results in a lower hydration rate, a faster bake at a higher temperature, crispier crust, and a pulled, asymmetrical final pizza (hence the slightly pulled/oblong shape of the pizzas at Capri).

Congratulations, you are now ready to crush a Napoli pizza trivia round (and, probably, a slice or two).

Like Bottega, there are over a dozen pizza toppings and add-ons to choose amongst, from the conventional – Margherita (RMB89), Quattro Formaggi (RMB109), and Diavola Calabrese (RMB109) – to the creative – Fiocco (RMB109) with smashed potato croquettes stuffed with smoked provola cheese and Italian sausage, or Caruso (RMB109) adorned with fior di latte mozzarella, salame Napoli, and grilled artichokes.

There are also the same signature Calzones (RMB99-119) as Bottega, but baked with the aforementioned – addictingly crushable – traditional style dough.

Outside of pizza, all of the pastas are rooted in conventional southern Italian nonna-style homecooking recipes. Case in point, the Tubettoni Patate e Cozze (RMB109) sees short, tube-shaped pasta swaddled in a luscious provola and parmesan cream sauce, studded with potatoes, mussels, and guanciale – or caramelized pork fat slivers – for a bite that is undeniably southern Italian. "This is a dish everyone's mamma cooks in Italy; it's pure comfort fare," adds Daniele Salvo, co-owner of Bottega Group, whilst slurping down a wriggly, pesto-coated fusilloni.

Other noteworthy pasta plates include the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (RMB89), a signature on any Sorrento menu, featuring plush pillowy puffs smothered in a tangy tomato ragù and melted cubes of provola cheese; Penne all' Arrabbiata (RMB79), a classic red sauce pasta with garlic and basil; and Fusilloni al Pesto (RMB89) finished with sun-dried tomatoes and freshly shaved parmesan cheese.

For those looking for nibbles to go along with their Happy Hour bevvies (Monday-Friday 3-9pm, with Prosecco, house red and white, beers, spritzes, negronis and G&Ts going for just RMB25-45 a pop), there's an array of cold antipasta – like Mortadella (RMB89), Taglieri di Salami (RMB79), and Prosciutto Crudo with Burrata (RMB169) – and hot antipasta and fritti (or fried snacks) – like Soutè di Frutti di Mare (RMB129) – a light seafood soup brimming with clams, mussels, and cubes of focaccia for that necessary scarpetta, Arancini al Ragù (RMB49), Montanara (RMB32) fried pizza, and Mortazza Mia (RMB39), a mini-fried pizza sandwich with mortadella, stracciatella cheese, and pistachio sauce.

For larger appetites, there's a necessary showing of Tagliata di Manzo (RMB249), a sliced beef tenderloin with arugula salad; Polletto Arrosto con Salsa Verde (RMB199), a whole roasted spring chicken with green salsa; Grigliata di Pesce (RMB328), a char-grilled seafood platter, and more.

In the coming weeks, the already ample menu will expand another 20%, with additional seasonal offerings and a handful of more pizzas and pastas, plus an ice cream trolley with homemade daily ice cream in Italian-inspired flavors, like Amarena cherry, pistachio, Nutella, and the like. Definitely coming back for that one.

The Vibe

The space screams Italian seaside: hues of blue and yellow, Amalfi Coast striped umbrellas, wicker seats, tiled tabletops, and lemons abound. It's bright and beckoning, with the entire front wall open to the galleria's plaza and outdoor dining space aplenty. Or tuck into a table inside to enjoy the show at the pizza counter. You can't go wrong when you have an Aperol Spritz in one hand and a slice of 'za in the other.

Shanghai has no shortage of the holy trinity in which dough, sauce and cheese meet and melt in perfect harmony – from bubbled-up, charred edges on Neapolitan pies to New York slices ideal for rolling like a taco; from hefty, interspersed layers of sauce, cheese and meat stacked 15cm-high as Chicago deep dish to bulgy foccacia-esque servings of Detroit pizza. But there's something about the Bottega Group's pizza that keeps its venues bustling all year round as if it were opening week. And that same special something surely exists at Capri.

If you go

Capri by Bottega

Opening hours: 10am-11pm

Address: A-L105, 111 Ji'an Rd, by Taicang Rd

吉安路111号一层A-L105, 近太仓路