Neapolitan pizza sets Brick Fire Tavern apart from isle competition

There’s a lot of eatery action and a lot of competition all of a sudden in Chinatown, as a handful of restaurants have moved into the building rehabbed by Real Office Centers at the corner of Hotel Street and Nuuanu Avenue, joining new joints to the north, south, east and west in the district.

Into this scrum comes Brick Fire Tavern, rising above the fray with a better bite — and one-of-a-kind pizza in Honolulu. There’s still a time and place for quickie pizza or greasy pies to keep your hangover at bay, but Brick Fire Tavern is different. Try it and you may feel the way I do, as if your pizza dreams have come true.

The experience

There is good light from the west-facing windows, and when the spot isn’t mobbed (as it sometimes is, especially on weekends), the brick walls and simple decor give it a relaxed vibe. But it’s not the ambiance that will draw you here — it’s the pizza. It’s exceptional.

Owners Inthira Marks and Matthew Resich traveled to Naples, Italy, to apprentice with a master pizza maker, and came back as acolytes of an approach to making handcrafted Neapolitan pizza that is unmatched by anything I’ve tasted elsewhere in the islands.

The food

The owners have a philosophy drawn from European practices, making their wares by hand and in limited quantities, with an emphasis on fresh, quality ingredients and flavors. Combining traditional and innovative approaches, they impress and delight.

The pizzas, made with a distinguished, imported flour and a specialized, superhot oven, are simultaneously “pillowy,” as the owners boast, and filling. The flour has a rewarding, chewy characteristic, completely unlike the sugary, over-milled flour used in fast-food dough. The 12-inch pies are richly flavored, with the freshest, mostly local ingredients, and all under $20.

We tried a traditional Prosciutto e Rucola pizza ($18), topped with prosciutto, arugula, mozzarella, shaved Parmesan and olive oil. It was a great blend of flavors, and disappeared in a flash. A classic.

Other classics offered include the “Pepperoni,” made with Soppressata salami (there’s no pepperoni in Italy) for a less salty, more satisfying pie, and a vegetarian option, the Funghi, with white sauce and a mushroom medley; both are $15.

From the modern side of the pizza menu, Da Shrimp Truck pizza ($19) was a joy and a revelation. I was wary, though, before I tried it: If you’re seeing “white sauce” (here called Besciamella) and Shrimp Truck comparisons, you might expect the bland, oily and gritty beschamel that’s drooled onto pizzas elsewhere, along with the tasteless, oil- and garlic-drenched shrimp that many local purveyors push on local diners. But the Brick Fire Tavern’s take on this baby is so, so good. The sauce is smooth and light-tasting, and the shrimp tastes of the ocean. There’s mozzarella, roasted garlic and a garnish of flat leaf parsley here, along with lemon on the side for a refreshing accent; nothing is heavy-handed.

Speaking of mozzarella, the cheese is hand-pulled daily here, to be served at peak taste. For a real treat, try the Beet Caprese Salad ($8), made with red and golden beets, glowing-green basil-infused oil and mozzarella cream. Lightly sweetened by the beets, the “cream” is a delight, as is the entire salad.

I’ll need to go back for the Prosciutto e Pineapple ($7), a variation on the usual prosciutto-melon appetizer, made with sweet Maui Gold fruit and embellished with mint oil and balsamic glaze.

The drink

Brick Fire Tavern’s pau hana offer is $1-off draft beer and $6 glasses of house wine or sangria, served from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

I was extremely happy with my glass of Waikiki Brewing Company’s Skinny Jeans IPA, $4 during happy hour.

The full drinks menu includes a variety of Italian wines, by the glass or bottle, Hawaii-made, Japanese, German and Italian beers, and a variety of cocktails, including a NapoliTai ($10) made with rum and the Italian liquer Aperol.

The verdict

You need to try this pizza, and pau hana beer or wine specials are an incentive. See you there.