Dining room capacity is 38 seats
Orders are accepted over the phone starting each day at 4pm with scheduled pickups from 4:30pm to 5:15pm. Carry-Out Service is limited and not offered during dinner service.
The backbone of authenticity for our pizza – the dough, the crust, and ingredients that fall in line with Neapolitan values – aim to achieve creativity not seen in street-side pizzerias. Our standards start with artisanal flour imported from Northern Italy, which defines the flavor and texture of our crust. We proof a specific amount of dough daily, no more, no less, to achieve that certain signature taste.
“The #1 Margherita Pizza in the D.C. area”
“#6 Restaurant in Washington DC”
“The crust’s ghosting nature is cruel, and yet you willingly accept its cruelty for those few seconds of sheer pleasure...one of the best pizzas anywhere. And I do mean anywhere.”
“...crusts, with their ragged, super-charred edges are glorious...”
“The last time I sank my teeth into his rounds it was like eating pizza for the first time. The flavor, chew and char on his crusts are unlike anything out there, at once complex and ephemeral.”
“Nothing beats Inferno to me....Tony’s pie is like listening to your favorite timeless song.”
“There’s reason the locals love Conte’s pizza. He has developed a dough like no other.....The bread at the base of your pie is, by turns, airy, complex, ephemeral, perfect for any topping...”
“Could it be that the best restaurant in Montgomery County is a pizzeria? The answer is yes to just about anyone who has been to chef and owner Tony Conte’s Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana...”
“...for folks who dream of puffy, wood-torched crusts, the trip to Tony Conte’s strip mall gem is undoubtedly worth the effort.”
“You might not typically stray beyond your own neighborhood for pizza. But Tony Conte’s pizza is destination pizza. ”
“The best way to taste the brilliance of Tony Conte’s pies is through a simple Margherita.”
“The thin, light, crispy-bottomed pie is a true elevation of the pizza form.”
“This isn’t pizza—it’s a revelation...Conte traded decades in fine dining to pursue his passion, which shows: Airy, char-pocked crusts are the best in Washington, complemented with toppings such as fior di latte cheese with mushroom Bolognese.”
“The Washington Post, “Best Margherita Pizza in the D.C. Area”
Conte, a former fine-dining chef, produces a neo-Neapolitan margherita, informed by tradition, but not a slave to it. His pizza is bright. It’s bready. It’s brilliantly constructed.”
“Best of Bethesda - Editor’s Pick
Don’t let the suburban shopping strip fool you. Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana, which opened in October 2015, has a decidedly downtown sensibility. Owner Tony Conte, former executive chef at the Oval Room in D.C., graces his thin, blistered Neapolitan pies with non pedestrian toppings such as garlic confit and n’duja.”
“Chef Tony Conte is turning over the six-seat counter and eight-seat communal table at his Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana to a “Pop-In” Chef Tasting Series. The dinners will be reminiscent of the fine-dining fare Conte showcased at his former post at the Oval Room”
“Inferno, it turns out, is heavenly.”
“Conte is doing pretty much what he’s always done: making intricate, layered food that pops on the plate and in your mouth.”
“While the 40-seat space near Conte’s home will be far more casual than his previous posts—which include the prestigious Jean-Georges in New York—the chef’s serious approach hasn’t changed.”
With the culinary pedigree of chef-owner Tony Conte – developed around his past as executive chef at Washington's accredited multi-starred Oval Room, and as executive sous chef at the acclaimed Jean Georges in New York – Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana, his unexpected and beloved pizza restaurant, remains very close to his artisanal approach. Conte, who lives nearby, brings his community its own source for authentic Naples pizza.
Chef Conte's affinity for old-school cooking methods long pre-dates his rarified professional experience and his formal training: his father and grandparents had emigrated from a small town near Naples, and life at home revolved around Old World cooking traditions. Bringing fine-dining standards to his casual 44-seat pizzeria, Conte keeps the menu strictly seasonal and based on the local agriculture of Montgomery County and surrounds. A custom-tiled wood-burning oven, handcrafted pottery dishware, and interior surfaces of reclaimed oak and walnut carry Inferno's artisanal touch beyond the menu and into its comfortable home-town atmosphere.
The pies coming out of Chef Conte’s oven have evolved drastically since Inferno’s inception. Originally planning to abide by strict guidelines set forth by the ruling bodies of Neapolitan pizza in Italy, he’s strayed in an effort to make a more modern product. There is an updated style of pizza, called canotto, finding increasing favor from, amongst others, the younger generation of pizzaiolos in and around Naples. Canotto translates in Italian to ‘dinghy’ or ‘inflatable raft’ - alluding to the airy outer ring serving as crust. A higher water content allows this dough to puff up and in places, bubble and char, whereas a more traditional Neapolitan pizza produces a flatter, breadier, more evenly-colored crust.
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HOURS
Wed - Sat:
5pm - until the dough runs out
CONTACT
(301) 963-0115
contact@inferno-pizzeria.com
LOCATION