The experiment is over at the Academy

Nicholas Pallone was the new chef masterminding Academy Bar and Kitchen.

Nick Pallone was the chef behind the Academy Bar and Kitchen. Photo by Marc Gamboa.

PIZZA IS BACK. The rebirth of long-running Pizza Inferno as the Academy Bar and Kitchen — with former Florio chef Nick Pallone bringing a more adventurous dining experience to the corner of Fillmore and Sutter — is over. Though the Academy name will remain, Pallone is gone and the previous menu consisting mostly of Neapolitan pizzas has returned.

“I regret to inform you that my time at Academy Bar and Kitchen has come to an end,” Pallone said in a Facebook post. “Due to logistical constraints, my partners and I have come to the conclusion that it is best to go our separate ways.”

Pallone and owner Peter Fogel reportedly tusseled over whether pizza should be offered at the Academy and it disappeared from the revamped menu. Then last weekend the restaurant closed, less than six months after its debut, with a sign in the window citing “restaurant maintenance and upgrades.”

By the end of the week the old pizza menu had returned.

EARLIER: “Pallone’s passion will rule the menu