Inside Dodici, the new pizzeria from one of Sacramento’s top Italian restaurants

The Abridged version:

• The Adamo family, owners of Adamo’s Restaurant in Midtown Sacramento, opened a new pizzeria called Dodici on Tuesday.
• Chef Jackson Wells bakes the 13-inch Puglia-style pizzas, which range from $15-$23, in a Cuppone oven.
• Adamo’s Caesar salad, tiramisu and cannoli are all available at Dodici, but the pizzeria does not serve pasta.

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For years, people have asked John and Chiara Adamo, “Why don’t you make pizza?” Now, they can answer “we do.”

The father-daughter duo, operators of Adamo’s Restaurant in Midtown Sacramento, opened Dodici Pizzeria on Tuesday at 12th and D streets just north of Downtown Sacramento.

“It’s still the same idea — just using simple ingredients that are as local to the area as possible to make good food,” Chiara Adamo said. “We try not to be pretentious, just try to have a good time with everybody and do something nice.”

Dodici, Italian for “12,” serves Puglia-style pies — similar to Neapolitan but even thinner, with a flatter rim and using Type 1 flour in addition to the standard 00. At 13 inches, they’re meant to feed one person.

Norvegese, Diavola pies among offers

Pies range from the traditional Margherita ($15) to the Autunno (pumpkin spread, guanciale, porcini mushrooms and rosemary, $23). The Norvegese (smoked salmon, cream cheese droplets and chives, $21) riffs on the pizza that made Wolfgang Puck famous, while the Diavola ($17.50) with soppressata, basil and San Marzano tomato sauce is as close as Dodici gets to a pepperoni pie.

A short list of salads includes the Campagnola (shredded zucchini, pomegranate seeds, mint, basil and vinaigrette, $10) and the Sofia (arugula, quinoa, Kalamata olives, roasted chickpeas, feta cheese and lemon vinaigrette). Adamo’s Caesar salad, tiramisu and cannoli all made the journey across the grid to Dodici, as did longtime employee Jackson Wells, the new restaurant’s chef. He’s been training on the Cuppone pizza oven with Joe Ciardiello, a friend of a friend who’s visiting from Italy as a consultant.

The Adamos, along with Chiara’s brother Polo (now a sous chef at Localis), opened their namesake restaurant in 2014 and eventually established it as one of Sacramento’s top Italian restaurants. People regularly fill the brick-walled Midtown Sacramento building for creamy carbonara (expressed on a Dodici pizza as well) and hearty Bolognese, with pasta-making classes available during off hours. A second Adamo’s location opened in September in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Yearslong journey for Dodici

Limited kitchen space and staff kept Adamo’s from incorporating pizza over the years, but John Adamo bought the 12th Street building about seven years ago, and the family had planned to launch Dodici around the start of the 2020s. Then Chiara got pregnant with twins, and they rented the space instead to Chris Jarosz, who founded Anonimo Pizza in it.

Jarosz’s death in a 2023 car crash left a vacuum at Anonimo’s top. His partner Juanes Ramazzini kept the business going until October 2024, then transitioned it to a concept called Luccas Pizza. That lasted less than a year before Ramazzini folded it into his Midtown restaurant Bambina’s Pizza & Pasta.

Now, finally, the Adamos are moving into the space themselves. Expect pizza-making classes once they get their feet set. There’s no pasta, but the owners can point you toward another restaurant in town.

Dodici Pizzeria

Address: 400 12th St., Sacramento

Phone: 916-754-2649

Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Monday

Website: dodici-pizzeria.com

Vegetarian/vegan options: Salads, desserts and four pizzas are vegetarian.

Drinks: Canned Italian sodas for now; beer and wine to come.

Reservations: No.

Benjy Egel is the senior food editor at Abridged. Born and raised in the Sacramento region, he has covered its local restaurants and bars since 2018. He also writes and edits Abridged’s weekly food and drink newsletter, City of Treats.