Last weekend, our friend Savatore Di Scala invited us out to eat at Naples 15 (in Madison), his newly opened restaurant. We were not given any menus, Sal said it was going to be a surprise! We ordered a couple glasses of red wine (Cannonau from Sardinia and Sangiovese Grosso from Tuscany) and eagerly awaited the first dish. He presented a cold swordfish and Swiss chard salad. The truffle oil and vinegar dressing was assertive and went well with the fatty swordfish, the uncooked chard refreshing. What a bold start. Next was a colorful antipasto plate with olive oil marinated mushrooms, peppers with capers and black olives, balsamic glazed carrots, and a most excellent version of the eggplant and zucchini parmesan (with layers so thin that we couldn’t tell where the cheese, vegetable, or tomato sauce began). A mouth-watering sausage and mushroom pizza came next, generously topped with truffle oil. After that, the best tasting pasta we’ve had in quite awhile. Spaghetti with clams (a Neapolitan specialty), cherry tomatoes, lots of fried garlic (I counted about 8 or 9 cloves), extra virgin olive oil, and fresh parsley.
The Meal
We thought, we might be near the end of the meal but then Sal appeared from a corner with two pots filled with Neapolitan ragu on top of a pork spare rib and gnocchi. The sauce was rich and delicious from being slowly simmered for several hours. Finally the dessert, angel food cake and peaches sitting in warm milk, Grand Marnier, and ricotta sauce then came a slightly sweet and frothy cup of espresso made with the beautiful Marzocco machine. After the coffee, Sal took a break and we shared a refreshing bottle of Mastroberardino white wine and some vanilla gelato with roasted figs. A breath! Sal’s cooking is exactly like his personality. The flavors were bold and unapologetic. We are grateful for his generosity of time and for sharing his love of food. Go check out the restaurant and say hello. Written on the wall across from where I was sitting was “Quanno ‘o mellone esce russo, ognuno ne vo’ ‘na fella.”, meaning “When the melon is red, everyone wants a piece.” We wish Naples 15 a red melon year. 
All well and good to be invited to dine by the owner, but a true review would be unannounced and the owner unaware of your reviewing. I did this and found the pizza I ordered as a take out at Naples 15 had raw, uncooked dough in the external crust and thick dough underneath an overly acidic tomato sauce. A restaurant and food review really should be impartial.
You’d have a good point…if we were restaurant reviewers. Fact of the matter is that is not what we do. A better description would be documentarians. Just as you’re not going to be able to replicate, say, Tony Bourdain’s escapades on No Reservations, we don’t really expect you to be able to replicate our (significantly less glamorous) adventures.
We do have an obligation to truthfulness (we would never try to pass off an invitation from the owner as a normal restaurant visit), but we’re not (and not interested in) trying to predict what your experiences might be, we’re simply interested in what our own are.
That’s not to say you comments aren’t useful, they very well could be for someone reading this, and we welcome hearing about other’s experiences. If you’re interested in contributing to the body of reviews available, I’d suggest going further (if you haven’t yet) and posting comments to the popular review aggregators like yelp and urbanspoon, or commenting on Chowhound or the Daily Page Forum.
I walked in off the street a few weeks ago and had one of the best meals of my life. Although we did not know Salvatore going in, he gave us special service the way this reviewer received. He disregarded his menu, and customized a wonderful meal for us.
The endearing part of Naples 15, is that the food and staff provide you an authentic Naples experience.
Jeff – I find it interesting that you focus on the restaurant review as being impartial, yet you give your opinion of the place without actually dining in the restaurant!
Just did Naples 15 here and got kinda excited about it; a reaql *Wow!* gastronomic treat! I have visited Napoli (aka Naples, Italy) a few times and this restaurant clearly knows the culinary art it serves up here. . . . . much like what I remember from the wonderful meals I had in Napoli and Ischia and the Amalfi area. . . . . .sopmn’t miss this experience. . . . delicious inviting and fun, , , , ,
Wife and I were taken to Naples15 by a friend last week.
The Chef made our table a awesome pizza (best I have had). Also had a plate of
Risotto alla Carlo Vicentini. Very good.House wine was very good.
Would recommend to anyone.
Will be going back when near Madison again.
Naples 15 offers wonderful, fresh traditional Neapolitan food. I have eaten at this restaurant numerous times and the dishes were always wonderful! Great ambience too! I am from Europe and feel right at home at this restaurant.