New Downtown Pizzeria Offers Traditional Italian Counter Service

A unique and interesting addition has just opened in downtown Kelowna and it will definitely please locals and tourists alike.

Chef Tony Katsabanis opened the doors to Antico Pizza Napoletana earlier this week, giving Kelowna its very first authentic Neapolitan pizzeria. Katsabanis has been in the food business since he was 14 years old, and comes from a family of Greek restaurateurs. He began his love for pizza in the 1980s, and owned restaurants in Manitoba and Toronto before falling in love with B.C. and opening up shop on Vancouver Island.

Tony Katsabanis in front of Antico Pizza Napoletana (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

“Neapolitan pizza was also a hobby of mine, because it wasn’t really marketable back then,” explains Katsabanis. “I had gone to cooking school in Naples, Italy and became certified with the AVPN, the Neapolitan Pizza Association. Now, the timing is right, and it has become very popular in Canada.”

With the certification and membership with the AVPN under his belt, Katsabanis decided to follow through with his dream of opening a counter service restaurant in Kelowna. Saying that this style of pizza suits today’s lifestyle much better than traditional pizza, Katsabanis has opened his business along Bernard Avenue.

The Margherita Pizza available for just $9 at Antico Pizza Napoletana (Photo Credit: Contributed)

In the former Perpetual Bloom location at 347 Bernard Avenue, Antico offers Neapolitan pizzas, fresh salads, soups, and much more. The restaurant isn’t the usual sit down affair that has been popping up around downtown, but rather a place to grab a pizza, a glass of wine, and get on with your evening. Antico offers more than half a dozen pizzas with fresh ingredients at very affordable prices. Perfect for those wanting to catch a movie, show or hockey game and get out the door, Antico will deliver lunch or dinner in a matter of minutes.

The interior of Antico Pizza Napoletana (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

“It’s about a third of the calories of a traditional pizza. People’s palates are more sophisticated these days than they were 20 years ago,” Katsabanis says. “A Neapolitan pizza cooks in about 60 to 90 seconds. People are in a rush downtown, I thought this would be the perfect fit for high volume, fast service, and food.”

Counter service will have people in and out as quickly as they need, or they can stay as long as they like (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

The restaurant is fully licenced, including the patio, and children are welcome. Inside Antico, you will find the space to be very minimalistic, partly because all of the tables have yet to arrive jokes Katsabanis. The Customers are invited to choose their selection, head to the counter, and order their meal and drinks. Then, table service is provided and pizza brought to them, coupled with the convenience to leave whenever they are finished. The stand out feature of the restaurant, besides the pizza, is the traditional pizza oven, which was specially built and delivered to Kelowna from Italy.

The pizza oven was made in Naples and is specific for Neapolitan pizza as it can reach 900 degrees and maintain that heat all day long. The entire 55,000 pound oven was shipped to Katsabanis and set up in the restaurant.

Fully licenced and offering a good mix of local and Italian products, children are welcome (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

“Neapolitan pizza is registered with the EU and it is a very specific recipe, which needs to be made in a certain way with certain ingredients or it cannot be called Neapolitan pizza,” he goes on to say. “With that in mind, the tomatoes can only come from a certain region in Italy, so we bring that in. The mozzarella de buffala is registered and brought in every week. The flour is even special flour that is imported, which is lower protein. It’s all very traditional and authentic.”

Just one of the pizza choices available (Photo Credit: Contributed)

All the other vegetables are locally sourced and Katsabanis keeps local wines and beers on the drink menu. Antico Pizza Napoletana is open Monday to Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., and Thursday to Saturday until midnight. For more information about Antico visit their Facebook page.

A few weeks ago, KelownaNow wrote an article about a unique café in downtown Kelowna, as part of our bi-weekly restaurant features.

Do you know of any fun and yummy restaurants to check out in our community? Let us know in the Facebook comment section or by e-mailing KelownaNow at news@kelownanow.com.