While there are plenty of excellent traditional Italian restaurants that serve more delicious food, Scoozi’s winning formula of “authentic” (they’re not strictly traditional, but they don’t pander, either) pizzas and pastas, reasonable prices, contemporary décor and courteous service places them—or at least this outlet—at the top among casual Italian eateries in the capital. The pizzas are by far the highlight, although it’s nice to have options and Scoozi also offers a half-dozen or so (of each) salads, appetizers, sandwiches and pastas. The salads are fairly pedestrian: the Caprese is a bit of a stretch (fresh cheese but bland, crunchy tomatoes), for example. Better are the hot antipasti, such as Italian sausage with mashed potatoes or eggplant parmigiana. The pasta portions aren’t very big, but they’re nearly always good and good value: our linguini with pesto sauce was superb, with textbook al dente pasta and fresh, bright-green pesto. The house special black fettuccine with seafood, olive oil and chilles proved to be another smart choice; though the pasta was a bit on the mushy side, the seafood (mussels and prawns, especially) was fresh and perfectly cooked. There are over 30 kinds of pizza on the menu, ranging from a naked flatbread with oil and rosemary to posh pies with luxury toppings like champignon mushrooms, four kinds of cheese and truffle oil on the Tartufo. What separates Scoozi’s pizzas from greatness is that the dough tends to be slightly too thick and upsets the delicate crust-sauce-cheese balance. They’re still excellent, however, and without question among the best in town, thanks to tangy sauce, quality cheese (especially the “special recommended” pizzas that are topped with mozzarella di bufula—at a premium, of course), premium toppings, and a blistered, smoky crust. It’s not easy to make up your mind when there are so many choices, so we appreciate that they’ll let you choose two sets of toppings for one pizza.
