There’s one very big problem with this new Italian restaurant cum pizzeria which has opened on Southwark Street SE1 – it’s worryingly close to my flat. The authentic Neapolitan pizzas are that good (and available to takeaway) I’ve had more than my belly cares to remember in just a couple of weeks.
It’s a glass fronted corner spot with a stone floor and white walls which could feel a little sparse but in fact it’s beautiful. The cutlery is gold, there’s a sprig of lavender atop each table, all of which are different, along with the chairs, and there’s an open kitchen out the back.
It’s not all pizzas on the menu so we started with a particularly lovely truffled burrata (£10), where the truffle surprisingly enhanced the flavour of the cheese without drowning it out. The pancetta arrotalata (£7) was another winner; the ribbons of soft pig with oodles of fat were wonderful.
A simple Margherita (£9), admittedly my favourite choice of pizza, and a Regina (£13), using buffalo mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, was all you could wish for. They make the dough using sea water so no extra salt is added. They also leave the dough to prove for longer than most pizzerias resulting in a light and fluffy crust – one which doesn’t leave you feeling podged afterwards. With a sweet San Marzano tomato sauce it was some of the best pizza I’ve had in a long time.
For pud, a cookie sandwich with a filling of ricotta cheese dusted with half a bag of icing sugar was right up my street. Soft, gooey, sweet; it was a creation most enjoyable.
‘O Ver might need a few weeks to settle in – on our visit we had to wait 10 minutes after our reservation time and service, although super friendly, was a little manic at times, but once they’ve ironed out a few creases they’ve got themselves a belter of an Italian restaurant.
Would we go back? Yes.