Amalfi Portland

Noel: There is a pizza restaurant in Portland called Amalfi.  Can you divine what genre of pizza they offer?

Copilot: Amalfi in Portland isn’t a “genre‑bending” pizza place — it’s an old‑school, Portland‑Italian, 1950s‑era pizzeria, the kind that predates wood‑fire trends, Neapolitan certification, sourdough crusts, and all the modern fuss.

Amalfi serves classic American‑Italian, 1950s‑style pizza.

The kind Portland grew up on.

Evidence from their own menu and history

They were one of the first restaurants to serve pizza in Portland, established in 1959. 

Their pizzas are described as a “local favorite and a Portland tradition since 1959”, using the same dough and sauce recipes for over 60 years. 

The toppings and combinations are classic American‑Italian:

Pepperoni, salami, Italian sausage, mushrooms (“Legendary Combo”)

Bacon and tomato (“Novinger”)

Pesto, artichoke, feta (“Mediterranean”)

Alfredo‑sauce pies (“Webber’s Milano”)

Build‑your‑own with a long list of traditional toppings

This is not Neapolitan, New York, Detroit, Chicago deep dish, or modern artisan pizza.

It’s the Portland red‑sauce parlor style — the kind of pizza you’d expect from a family‑run Italian restaurant that’s been doing it the same way since Eisenhower.

Noel: I first went there when it had four or five tables down the street from its current location. 

That was in 1959 or so.  

At the time it was in a re-purposed beauty shop.  

For decades, after it outgrew that location, it has been up Fremont in an abandoned gas station.  

That location has been expanded and remodeled multiple times.  

One thing hasn't changed, and that is that it has the best pizza in the world.  

In the 60s you could always tell when Mary was on duty: the crusts were even noticeably better than their generally wonderful crusts.

Pepperoni, salami, Italian sausage, mushrooms (“Legendary Combo”) and Bacon and tomato (“Novinger”) are my favorite.

I always get half Classic and half Bacon and Fresh Tomato, which is what we used to call the Novinger, (not an intuitively obvious combo, but it works).