Tossing on the Hilltop: SeventhHill Pizza

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IT MAY HAVE only opened a few weeks ago, but SeventhHill Pizza is already garnering buzz on the D.C. dining scene.

The menu is simple — 11 pizzas with a range of toppings, a daily panino and daily soup. Pizzas are named after Capitol Hill neighborhoods, such as the Navy Yard, with tomato, Toulouse sausage, oregano and pecorino, while a daily soup might include a rich and multi-layered chestnut and bacon.

SeventhHill is the brainchild of Stephane Lezla and Christopher Raynal, co-owners of French bistro Montmartre, which is next door, so it's not surprising to see French influences on the pizzas. On a recent visit, I chatted with Anthony Pilla, a pizzaiolo (male pizza chef), who came to SeventhHill via Cleveland and Chicago.

Pilla says he developed the dough and that Lezla worked on the menu.

"Each pizza is an experience," he says, tossing dough into the air. "When you put heart and passion into something, it can be beautiful."

SeventhHill's pizzas are indeed beautiful, from the marriage of roasted red peppers and prosciutto on the Seventh Street pizza, to the rich goat cheese, herbs and Portobello mushrooms that adorn the Eastern Market pizza.

"We're about keeping it simple," Pilla says. "Less is more when it comes to pizza."

Pilla says the flour comes from Naples and that some of the ingredients are sourced from Eastern Market, which is a half-block away.

Eight-inch pizzas are $10.95, and 12-inch ones are $15.95. Pair your pizza with South African wines or beers including Red Hook and Leffe.

The restaurant seats 25 indoors and 16 outdoors — sit at tables or at the wooden bar, where you can see right into the brick pizza oven. Pizza peels in different woods adorn one wall, and bright yellow stools add a splash of color to the interior. It may be small and cozy, but SeventhHill offers big flavors and taste.

SeventhHill is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch (11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) and dinner (5-11 p.m.).

» SeventhHill Pizza, 327 7th St. SE, 202-544-1911, Seventhhill.com. (Eastern Market)

Written by Express contributor Amy Cavanaugh
Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo for the Washington Post