Bainbridge Island's Bruciato delivers light and airy Neapolitan pizzas

I was bummed recently about the closure of Bar Solea , Brendan McGill's trattoria on the edge of Pioneer Square that I thought made some of the city's best pizza. So I decided to board the ferry a few weeks ago to check out McGill's other pizzeria on Bainbridge Island, Bruciato , which focuses on Neapolitan-style pies.

---

The vibe: The place is romantic enough for a date night, but also not so stuffy that you can't bring your carb-loving kid (which I did).

Best bites: I loved the Margherita DOC pizza here, which I always order as a test of a Neapolitan pizza joint.

• This minimalist pie with buffalo mozzarella and basil should be somewhat soft in the middle, with some blackened spots on the crust — but not to the point that you're tasting burned dough.
• Bruciato gets it right, adhering to the laws of Naples pizza (which are very specific ) to a T.
• The result: a lighter type of pie that a single person can easily devour.

The salsiccia pizza at Bruciato. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

What to try: My colleague Christine Clarridge — who joined me for this excursion — and I also liked the amatriciana pizza, which featured dots of guanciale (pork cheek); the salsiccia (sausage) pizza, which will hit the spot for meat lovers; and the mezzaluna, a crescent moon-shaped calzone with sweet chocolate-hazelnut filling.

If you go: The pizza is served whole, with scissors provided to cut slices for sharing.

Stop by: They don't take reservations. 12–9pm Friday through Sunday; 3–9pm Monday through Thursday.

• Address: 236 Winslow Way East, Bainbridge Island

The mezzaluna at Bruciato is more balanced and less overwhelmingly sweet than some versions of this dish. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

Sign up for Axios Seattle for free.