This cavernous pizza joint takes its style cues from Belgo and Wagamama, with long, convivial tables and lots of stripped pine. Comfortable red benches add a pleasant New York feel.
There are far too many Pizza restaurants in London that simply borrowed the formula from Pizza Express, so it’s nice to see somebody trying to do things a little differently. It's all pizza – but not as we know it. The aim is to create a round-the-world menu, so there’s a 'Koh Samui' featuring green chilli paste and coconut, a 'London' with sausage, bacon, black pudding and a fried egg, a 'Marrakech' featuring cumin-spiced lamb and mint yoghurt, and so on.
The bases are thin and crispy, the portions are sizeable, some excellent salads and Italian starters provide alternatives for non-Pizza eaters, and the menu offers a pleasant change from the run-of-the-mill options. The only flaw is that the more exotic pizzas were definitely the worst. ‘Koh Samui’ simply didn’t work, the coconut flavour combining unpleasantly with soft cheese and dry, flavourless chicken. The 'New York' was inexplicably covered in dense roast potato. Too many came with sweet chutneys – fine for that weird minority who like pineapple on a pizza, something for the rest of us to scrape off.
On the other hand, the Acapulco was an excellent version of the American hot, with the inspired addition of guacamole; the London was a fry-up on a pizza base, and who could complain about that; the Andalucia replaced pepperoni with chorizo to delicious effect.
This is a good pizza restaurant hidden behind a silly gimmick. The simple options are delightful, adding clever twists to familiar favourites. The wackier ones are bordering on inedible. Just don’t stray too far from the beaten track when ordering.
This cavernous pizza joint takes its style cues from Belgo and Wagamama, with long, convivial tables and lots of stripped pine. Comfortable red benches add a pleasant New York feel.
There are far too many Pizza restaurants in..
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