Spacca Napoli

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

From Backyard Ovens to Canada's Top Pizzeria

Spacca Napoli has a straightforward origin: two lifelong friends, Davide Di Giovanni and Danny Pero, driving between Port Moody and UBC and talking about opening the best pizzeria in Vancouver. Danny's father ran the beloved Casa Del Pane and Italia Bakery; Davide was already deep in Vancouver's Italian food scene. Rather than rush the idea, they installed wood-burning ovens in their backyards, made yearly trips to Italy to refine their craft, and opened on St. Johns Street in 2016 only when they felt ready to do it properly.

That deliberateness paid off. In 2024, Spacca Napoli became the first and only Canadian pizzeria to receive all three "spicchi" of the Tre Spicchi designation from Gambero Rosso — the Italian authority on food and wine established in 1986. The recognition places Spacca in the top 1% of pizzerias worldwide and confirmed what Port Moody regulars already knew: this is Neapolitan pizza made without shortcuts.

The Spacca Way

The philosophy is visible in every ingredient choice. Dough ferments for 48 hours. The tomato base is San Marzano DOP. Mozzarella is fior di latte or DOP bufala depending on the pie. Flour is 00, imported from Italy. The pizzaioli on the line are from Italy too — carrying the tradition with them, working a wood-burning oven that has no dial, only flame, feel, and instinct.

Even the small details are considered. In Naples, pizzas are traditionally cut with scissors rather than a wheel, keeping each slice intact. Spacca imports those scissors from Europe to preserve exactly that experience.

What's on the Plate

The menu reads like a confident tour of southern Italian cooking. Antipasti include potato croquettes with warm pomodoro, supplì, and prosciutto di Parma with fresh bufala on rosemary focaccia. Pasta courses — tagliatelle al ragù, lasagna bolognese, gnocchi alla sorrentina baked in the forno — sit alongside the pizzas without feeling like an afterthought.

The pizza list spans both rossa and bianca styles. The Margherita DOP (DOP bufala mozzarella, San Marzano base, fresh basil) is the purist's choice. Among the award-winning pies, the Alla Facciazza — arugula pesto base, porcini mushrooms, 18-month prosciutto di Parma, toasted pistachios, truffle oil — won the Vancouver Pizza Challenge in 2017. The Cafonata, the 2020 winner, layers 'nduja, sausage, roasted potatoes, and a ricotta-stuffed crust. A collaboration with chef Pino Posteraro produced The Pino: burrata cream, gourmet mushrooms, Bresaola di Valtellina, shaved Moliterno truffle cheese, and 20-year-old reserve balsamic of Modena.

Desserts lean traditional — cannoli from the "Cannoli King," pistachio tiramisù, zeppole with Nutella — and the drinks list covers Italian wines by the glass and bottle, a full aperitivo and cocktail selection, and a thoughtful zero-proof menu.

The Room and the Experience

Spacca Napoli operates as a walk-in restaurant for groups under fifteen, which keeps the atmosphere spontaneous and the room lively. Outdoor seating is available, and the space handles lunch through late-night on weekends. It is, by design, the kind of place that feels less like a restaurant and more like someone's idea of what a neighbourhood pizzeria in Naples should be — because that was always the point.