Cafe Porta Alba got new life (and bigger crowds) when it moved from the building that houses Capital Fitness to Hilldale Mall. This summer, it spun off a sister restaurant on the far west side called Novanta.
The first thing that caught my attention was how few items were on Novanta’s menu, especially compared to Cafe Porta Alba. The former has 12 pizzas (eight with crushed tomatoes, four without), three salads, two paninis and a mozzarella bar compared to the latter, which has 19 pizzas (plus one kids pizza), five salads and four paninis, plus appetizers and pasta dishes.
That said, you will find quality here. For example, I enjoyed the Salsiccia ($8.25), topped with Italian sausage, basil, mushrooms and garlic. The sausage and mushrooms were plentiful and the crushed tomato sauce was wonderfully subtle, letting the cheese and toppings shine.
Meanwhile, the Parma ($8.50) with house mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula and cherry tomatoes was a nice balance of the salty flavor from the meat and the sharp flavor from the arugula. All pizzas are 10″ and Neapolitan style, meaning you could order one for yourself, or split one along with an appetizer or dessert with a friend.
Speaking of apps, you’ll only find the aforementioned mozzarella bar, which offers four different kinds of mozzarella to be paired one of six different sides. I tried the buffalo mozzarella ($8.50), which is imported from Italy, with the side of prosciutto, ham, salami, spicy salami, olive oil and balsamic oil ($3.50). Both versions of the salami had a wonderful, rich flavor and weren’t too chewy, but the ham was oddly bland. I thought the mozzarella portion was really small for its price.
Novanta is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout. I always felt Cafe Porta Alba had a sterile atmosphere, but it’s like a rave compared to Novanta’s even more dull environment (which includes TVs that seem like a last-minute throw-in). With that in mind, I recommend carrying out.
