Pizza, Pasta and a Patio Meal at Ciao! Pizza and Pasta

A chewy, relatively thin pizza crust is a fine reason to stop for lunch or dinner, especially when it arrives with fresh-tasting tomato sauce and rich mozzarella. At Ciao! Pizza and Pasta, Neapolitan-style pies share the table with house-made pasta, Italian sweets and a handful of comfort-food dishes that make a small meal easily become a longer one.

The setup is compact: order at the counter, then settle into the indoor dining area, at the counter, or outside on the small patio. It has the easygoing rhythm of a neighborhood restaurant, where a quick slice-and-salad meal is possible, but so is lingering over a pizza, a bowl of pasta and cannoli.

Wood smoke around the restaurant provides an immediate cue that pizza is serious business here. The staff adds to the welcome, offering recommendations with a friendly, engaged manner rather than treating the ordering counter like a barrier between kitchen and table.

The pizza dough has enough chew to be satisfying without overwhelming the toppings. Its thinner profile keeps the meal from becoming heavy, particularly useful if a pasta course is also in the plan. The crust has drawn special notice on the fig-jam prosciutto pizza, where the sweet-and-salty topping gives it a different direction from the usual red-sauce pies.

The Margherita is a good place to see the kitchen’s restraint. Sauce, mozzarella and crust stay in balance, with no single piece trying to overpower the others. It is a straightforward pizza, which is often the best test of whether a place has its fundamentals in order.

For a more assertive topping, the Soppressata adds a clear level of spice to that same chewy base. The Americana goes the pepperoni route, with a pleasantly spicy edge rather than a full-on heat challenge. These are useful choices when the table wants familiar pizza with a little more punch.

The menu also gets playful with pies such as Uovo and Funghi. Uovo gives regulars and return visitors an option that goes beyond classic Margherita-style combinations, while Funghi brings mushrooms into the mix. A fig-jam prosciutto pizza makes a particularly good sharing choice when someone at the table prefers sweet-savory flavors.

A split Margherita, with one half plain and the other topped with prosciutto, has been accommodated before. It is worth asking about simple changes, though the menu should not be treated as endlessly customizable.

Pizza may get people in the door, but the house-made pasta deserves equal attention. The signature order is gnocchetti with red-wine-braised short rib, a generous bowl built around tender beef, root vegetables, Parmesan and a rich, wine-forward sauce.

It is the sort of dish that changes the shape of a pizza dinner. The sauce is full and savory, the beef brings depth, and the small pasta makes every bite feel substantial. Order a pie alongside it and the remaining crust becomes handy for scooping up what is left in the bowl.

The house pasta has a fresh, flavorful quality across the menu, making it more than an obligatory alternative for the person who did not want pizza. Shrimp scampi offers another pasta-oriented route, while Pollo Arrosto gives the menu a chicken-based choice when a plate of braised beef sounds too rich.

Buffalo-style wings may seem like a detour at an Italian-focused restaurant, but they have their following here. The skin is crisp and the meat stays tender, a combination that makes them easy to put in the middle of the table while everyone waits on pizzas and pasta.

A chopped salad offers a lighter counterpoint to all that dough and sauce. Mozzarella has been substituted for feta, an appealing adjustment for diners who want the salad to stay closer to the rest of the meal’s Italian flavors. As with any substitution, it is best handled as a request rather than an assumption.

These smaller dishes make Ciao! workable for mixed appetites. One person can keep it simple with a salad and a few slices, another can go directly for short-rib gnocchetti, and somebody else can turn the meal into wings, pepperoni pizza and dessert.

The natural closing move is freshly made cannoli. It is the dessert most closely tied to a meal here, and it has the right scale after a rich pasta or a pizza shared between two people: sweet, familiar and satisfyingly Italian without needing much explanation.

Tiramisu and mousse add other options for diners who prefer something softer or more coffee-leaning. The menu includes additional Italian sweets as well, so dessert does not have to be an afterthought saved only for a special occasion.

Ciao! Pizza and Pasta does not spread out into a large dining room. There is a small indoor area, counter seating and a separate-looking seating space near the ordering counter, along with limited patio tables outside. That scale keeps the restaurant intimate and casual, though it also means a table is not always waiting.

The patio is a particularly pleasant option for a relaxed meal, with music adding to the outdoor atmosphere. It is weather-dependent, however, and not a year-round certainty. Inside, music and the room’s activity can sometimes make conversation more difficult.

The counter arrangement works well for a fast lunch, while the patio better suits a meal that starts with an appetizer and gradually adds pizza, pasta and sweets. Ciao! has also served weekday afternoon diners, not just the typical dinner crowd.

Takeout is available and can be especially useful when the dining area and patio are occupied. Pizza travels naturally, of course, but a pasta-and-pizza order also makes an appealing take-home dinner when the short-rib gnocchetti sounds too good to leave for another visit.

Parking is limited to a small on-site lot that has been described as holding about eight cars. Nearby street parking may be available when the lot is full, but it varies. A ramp leads to the front door, and high chairs are available inside.

Because seating is limited, arriving earlier can be helpful for diners hoping to eat on-site. Once seated, though, the format is simple: choose a pie, consider the gnocchetti, and leave enough room for a cannoli.