Me and my girlfriend had one night in Naples after a whirlwind tour of Rome and the Amalfi Coast. We didn't have much time and not any plans, although we were interested to experience pizza from its very birthplace in Naples, especially having heard recommendations to do so from our friends who had just visited. During our travels we had tried the very good to the very bad and the moderately expensive to the very cheap of pizza. We were intrigued to see what Naples had to offer!
I looked on Trip Advisor and found La Campagnola as a top pizzeria and noted most of the reviews to be fairly positive. The only apprehensions we had were to do with the service after some of the comments, although we were not going to let this stop us trying out some great food on our last night. Given other users had noted limited English from the staff and on occasion not so good service, I thought it would help to have a few prepared lines in Italian. This would hopefully demonstrate an effort from us and would be reciprocated with good service. I must point out that Trip Advisor also allowed us to book a table, which was helpful and would ensure we would not have to wait if the place was full.
We walked to the restaurant which is fairly central in Naples. After arriving in what appeared to be a bit of a rundown area, we certainly had some reservations and then eventually found the place. We were greeted by a female member of staff and by that time all my preparation had gone out the window and I just asked for a table for two in English. After waiting five minutes for it to open to properly we were seated without issue.
The restaurant itself is a small venue and menu with an extensive range of pizzas all very cheap. The female waitress was extremely polite, friendly and patient, even in the absence of my prepared lines! Now for the most important part - the food! We both had I think was called 'sole', mozzarella, yellow cherry tomatoes, spicy salami and onions. It was simple and extremely tasty all for €7 for each pizza. It was more than enough to meet my appetite and my girlfriend could not finish hers, so gladly I helped her out! The waitress was also kind enough to provide some sugar doughnuts for free afterwards which we struggled to finish. She also taught us some Italian all with a smile on her face. The bill was a total of €22 for two pizzas and three soft drinks. We were that happy with the food and service we tipped €8.
If you want simple, traditional and tasty pizza without the full trimmings of a restaurant experience and for a fraction of the cost, then you will likely enjoy this place and I would absolutely recommend. Remember, it's a pizzeria and not pizza express.