Via Tribunali’s wood-fired pizzas are not for everyone. The vaunted Margherita DOC pizza, for all its fanfare and EU certifications, has a floppy crust, thin tomato sauce, and huge rubbery pools of melted buffalo mozzarella. Now, some defend this style—buffalo mozzarella naturally has a lot of moisture that can sog out a crust—while some deride it, claiming that only fior di latte (cow’s milk mozzarella) should be used. They’ve got that here, too, so you can compare and contrast. The lasagne pizza, with chunks of ham and tangy ricotta, is a little more complex, but such creations still seem to fall flat compared to what Serious Pie and others are turning out. Fortunately, happy hour offers discounted pizze, so you can give Via Tribunali’s pies a taste while saving room for the stuff they do well.

Salads are pretty standard in construction, but good, especially the “Tricolore.” The starter of acciughe marinate is outstanding—it’s an entire bowl full of white anchovies in olive oil and lemon juice. There are a few calzones, too, but they’re nothing special.

The wine list—all Italian—is excellent, and more importantly, the light style of many of the wines is particularly well matched to pizza (which really matches best with beers). Most Via Tribunali branches are dark and moody, though definitely not elegant or spiffy. The Capitol Hill location is goth-ish inside, with ominous heavy chandeliers, stained glass, and marble—nothing (the crowd, space, cuisine) seems to match up here. The other locations are a little homier.