Cafe Porta Alba now open
By MadisonDining.com on Dec 11, 2006 in New Restaurants
Cafe Porta Alba
15 North Butler Street
Madison
441-0202
Cafe Porta Alba has opened on Butler Street. Promoting their offering as “Pizza crafted in the Neapolitan Tradition”, this restaurant, this restaurant claims to adhere to the defined by Italian law. When we figure out what that means, we’ll let you know.
Look for a Madison Dining Online review, coming soon. In the mean time, if you have tried this restaurant out, write your own review, or comment here and tell us what you think.
I have visited Cafe Porta Alba twice since it has opened, and both the food and service have been fantastic. The menu is mostly pizzas with a couple of salads thrown in there. The restaurant also serves beer and wine.
If you’re the type of person who prefers to eat the meat lover’s pizza from Pizza Hut, this place is not for you. If you like handmade European style pizzas with fresh ingredients, then you’re in luck. The crusts are tossed by hand after you order, and then topped with things like good olive oil and garlic, fresh tomatoes, olives, herbs, and cheeses. You can watch the chef make your pizza and watch it bake in their wood fired pizza oven. Most of the pizzas on the menu are vegetarian like a fabulous pizza margherita made with vine ripened tomatoes and fresh basil, but some come with hand cured Italian meats like parma or proscuitto.
I heard a diner at a nearby table tell his partner that he thought the pizza would be more like Sal’s, the previous restaurant in the space, and that he was disappointed in it. I personally think that if he thought that Sal’s was better, then he should stick to ordering delivery from Dominos and leave places like Cafe Porta Alba to people who really appreciate the tradition, love, and fantastic ingredients that go into their pizzas.
Cafe Porta Alba is small, intimate, and affordable with great food. It will make a great date restaurant. I hope that it does well!
Refreshing… nice place to go when you would like a simple night out. The deserts are to die for and the pizza is a healthly choice with all the right ingredients. I recomend this Porta Alba to everyone I know, at little taste of true Italy.
Excellent food!! Quantity of pizza is is not enough for the money spent. Atomosphere is was pleasant and the waitstaff is very friendly.
Please consider a pizza size for two grown adults.
FOOD WAS EXCELLENT AND SERVICE WAS THE BEST,VERY DIFFRENT PIZZA,BUT VERY GOOD. A BIT ON THE PRICEY SIDE FOR WHAT YOU GET BUT VERY DELICIOUS!
It didn’t look or taste like any pizza i have ever eaten! If this is pizza in the “neapolitan tradition” i think it would be best kept there! Overpriced and pretentious.
BEST FOOD IN MADISON
I was very disappointed by Cafe Porta Alba. Every time I had a pizza there, the toppings were not very fresh and far from what is truly Italian (salami smelly and awful, prosciutto sliced too thick). I am a pizza lover I was very happy to find a Neapolitan pizza place in Madison but this one is just a mistake!!!
If you have no idea about Italian pizza you might like it though…