Novanta
Novanta is a Neapolitan pizza restaurant on Old Sauk Road near Junction Road, opened in 2013 by Nick Mattioli, then 23. He had been head chef at Cafe Porta Alba at Hilldale for four years[1]. The name is Italian for "90", the number of seconds a Neapolitan pizza bakes at 900 to 1,000 degrees[1].
History
A second Novanta opened in late 2019 at 2903 University Ave., about three months before the COVID shutdown[1]. In January 2023 Yelp put Novanta 83rd on its list of the top 100 pizza places in the United States and Canada[1].
The University Avenue store's last day was June 28, 2025. Mattioli blamed high rent in the newer building and staff turnover, and consolidated at Old Sauk Road; no jobs were lost[2]. Osteria Novella, a southern Italian restaurant, opened in the space in November 2025 and kept Novanta's brick oven[3][4].
Pizza
- Neapolitan, from a wood-burning oven[1]. Pizzas named in the papers: the Salsiccia (Italian sausage, mushrooms, garlic, basil, house mozzarella)[1] and the Lombarda (pear, gorgonzola, arugula)[2].
Locations
- Old Sauk Road, near Junction Road (2013 to present).
Former Locations
- 2903 University Ave. (late 2019 to June 28, 2025).
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Kalk Derby, S. (2023, January 28). "2 Wisconsin pizza restaurants show up on Yelp's top 100, one in Milwaukee, one in Madison." madison.com.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2025, June 11). "Novanta restaurant on University Avenue closing after 5 years." madison.com.
- ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2025, November 19). "Bar Corallini chef opening Italian restaurant on Near West Side." madison.com.
- ↑ Rodriguez, A. (2025, November 26). Osteria Novella opens at 2903 University Ave. The Capital Times. p. O38. Newspapers.com image 1276855680.
