Pizza

Lamezia Fresh Pasta & Pizza Restaurant Islington

May 29, 2019 by Adrian Leave a Comment

In another life I would have been born into an Italian family of restaurateurs. As a child we had family friends who ran a trattoria called 13 1/2 in Beauchamp Place behind Harrods and the Papa semi-adopted me and inducted me into the arcane mysteries of twirling pasta efficiently on a fork, eating gelato and foraging for tiny wild fragole (strawberries). These are memories that have never left me and so when asked to review family-run Lamezia Fresh Pasta & Pizza Restaurant in bustling Holloway Road, I approached it with a sense of benign benevolence.

The Calabrian Dell’aquila family are celebrating their 10-year anniversary at Lamezia with a makeover, some exciting new menu items and the daughter of the family, the charming Maria Dell’aquila, taking over the running of the restaurant. The family take pride in their Calabrian roots bringing in authentic ingredients and dishes. One of their innovations was to introduce Londoners to the delights of the spicy ‘nduja pizza ten years ago. But under Maria’s leadership the restaurant has created a ‘Progressive Italian’ menu featuring dishes such as London’s first Hemp Pizza with a brand-new turmeric one, too! With gluten-free pasta and vegan, gluten- and dairy-free cheese on the menu it’s finally possible to eat traditional Italian food that’s not only delicious but healthy too!

The interiors are relaxed ‘trattoria style’ with wooden tables and pink terracotta walls with family photos and delightful bric-a-brac from the eponymous southern Italian city of Lamezia adding atmosphere – and in a romantic touch I loved tthere were candles in Chianti bottles. With outside tables for a morning coffee or an alfresco lunch I could have been in Calabria and not Islington.

There has been a lot of debate about the Aperol Spritz recently but there is a time and a place for everything and my friend and I felt this was one of them. That hint of orange sweetness can give you a real lift before eating.

With pizza and pasta on the menu we went for a light starter. A simple Rucola (rocket) salad (£6.50) dressed with shaven Parmesan and extra virgin olive oil was perfect. The pepperiness of the rocket softened by the oil and the cheese.

All the pasta served at Lamezia is fresh. Rustic homemade large tortellini were stuffed with the savoury richness of porcini mushrooms and then slathered with a creamy mushroom sauce (£12) – delicious!

We had to try one of the new pizza bases and plumped for the turmeric which added an earthy note to the flavours. Our Vegetariana pizza featured tomato sauce, mozzarella, sliced peppers, artichokes, mushrooms and extra virgin olive oil (£12) so lots of flavour and texture sitting on a crisp base with a hint of char on the crust.

It’s rude not to have a dessert but we were quite full by now so we decided to share a cannoli. The crisp light outer shell was filled with a rich orange blossom scented ricotta filling. The perfect end to the meal…

Until Maria arrived with complimentary glasses of Mama’s limoncello and chocolate creams. The rich thick chocolate drink was like a turbo-charged Baileys and the lemon was simply lemony and creamy.

If I was an Islington local it would be perfect to have an unpretentious, reasonable priced trattoria like Lamezia in the neighbourhood. The food offer is health-oriented, generous and honest and the service has that old-school Italian warmth that is a selling point in its own these days. I want them to have a dessert trolley and then all would be perfect in the world!

LAMEZIA CONTACT DETAILS

Address: Lamezia Fresh Pasta & Pizza, 165 Holloway Road, N7 8LX
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lameziarestaurant/
Instagram: Lamezia
Website: lameziaitalianrestaurant.com
Customer bookings: 020 7609 6620
Deliveroo: https://deliveroo.co.uk/menu/london/holloway/lamezia-pizzeria

Pizzicotto – Review

August 2, 2016 by Adrian

Pizzicotto Kensington

020 7602 6777/www.pizzicotto.co.uk

267 Kensington High Street, W8 6NAOccasionally I walk into a restaurant and immediately know that all is going to be well. It was like that at Pizzicotto, an unpretentious family-run Italian restaurant a hop and a skip from Kensington High Street tube. There’s an old soul soundtrack playing and a happy buzz from a room full of punters secure in the knowledge that they are about to be well fed. The restaurant is a member of Slow Food UK which implies a seriousness of intent and I’ve been invited to review their gastronomic USP, an innovative ‘dusky black activated charcoal pizza dough’, rated in the top 20 at the World Pizza Championships.But first things first…We sank a couple of Negroni Spagliati (£8) whilst surveying the menu-it’s the cheery younger sibling of the Negroni, the bad big brother who you don’t want to get on the wrong side of- the Spagliato is a blend of sweet Vermouth, Campari and Prosecco which replaces the gin element that gives the elder sibling its punch. If you like those bitter Italian flavours but find the Negroni too hard to handle then it’s a great summer’s option.Deliciously creamy Burrata (£10) from Puglia came with chargrilled zucchini, a blistered piece of pizza bread and confit tomato from the woodburning oven. Sourcing Burrata is not straightforward as it has to be really fresh and this zinged with flavour.Succulent chargrilled sea scallops (£11) were also grilled over wood with a gentle Parmesan crumble adding some texture.With our mains we were drinking a mineral Verdicchio by the glass which was a good match for my chargrilled sashimi grade tuna with fennel and grapefruit salad (£18). It was seared on the outside but still pink inside with the crisp sweetness of the salad acting as the perfect counterpoint.But the main event for me was the Spacca Napoli Pizza. It was dressed with salted anchovies marinated in garlic and chilli, mozzarella, black olives and capers (£12.50). The charcoal infused base gave the pizza a noticeably lighter feel and made it particularly digestible. The dough flavour did have a distinctive charcoal flavour which blended in effectively with the robust Southern Italian flavours of the toppings.For dessert we tried a classic Tiramisu (£5.75) which did what it said on the tin, and an Amaretto crème caramel (£5.75) with the fun twist of a biscuit base adding an almondy crunch.Doing simple things really well consistently is hard and that’s what they achieve at Pizzicotto whilst not being afraid too innovate. Too often I find myself eating food that is too self-consciously of the moment with the fundamentals of taste, mouth feel and sheer enjoyment being ignored. At Pizzicotto the pleasure principle is firmly to the fore.

Zero Degrees – Review

June 16, 2016 by Adrian

Zero Degrees Blackheath

31/33 Montpelier Vale, Blackheath, SE3 0TJ

020 8852 5619/zerodegrees.co.ukPizza and beer? Well why not- the Americans and Italians have been doing it for years and Zero Degrees has being serving up hungry Blackheathers with their signature pizzas and brews since 2000. The restaurant is named after the meridian line that runs through Blackheath and sits right on the heath with easy train connections to the 02 in Greenwich and into town. I have been invited to review and by the time I have wended my way down from north-west to south-east I’m feeling hungry…Zero Degrees sells 800 pizzas a week but their real USP is the microbrewery that sits to the rear of the restaurant. It’s computer run and turns out 3000 litres a week. The amber nectar wends its way from the mashing tank to the filtration tank and finally to the fermentation tank. That’s enough tanks to invade Lichtenstein and there are 5 brews going on at once with fermentation taking 4-6 weeks. In the interests of research my guest Catherine, who can sink a couple of beers if her arm is twisted, and I tried all five of them so here are our tasting notes: The Pilsner was a classic of its type, crisp and clean and made with Czech Saaz hops. The White Wheat beer was fresh and yeasty. Black lager was full of chocolate and coffee notes but surprisingly light. For me the Mango juice beer was a little too fruity. I love the tropical flavours that can be achieved through the appropriate choice of hops but the juice addition made it too sweet for me. The Special Vienna lager was hoppy but not too bitter and the award winning IPA had some of those mango and lychee notes that I crave. Enough about the beers already. How did the food shape up?Gorganzola and mushroom gnocchi (£5.50) were light and fluffy but could have done with a bit more bite in the Gorgonzola department. A selection of four Crostini (£7.50) came with parma ham, goats cheese, marscapone and smoked salmon, and the classic tomato toppings. They worked well with the beers and would be a great option if you wanted more of a snack than a big meal. We had to try a pizza cooked in the wood-burning stove. If anyone is looking for an excuse to give me one of these sexy beasts it is my birthday next week….!We chose the Margherita (£8.50) which in its purity and simplicity is probably the hardest pizza to get right. It had a good crust, though there could have been a little more char for me, and achieved that miraculous fusion of tomato and cheese that sets taste buds alight around the world. Black Truffle Raviolini (£16.50) grated Parmesan, sage and butter sauce was the best dish of the night for me. The pasta was smothered in a delicious buttery cheesy truffley herby sauce. If you want anything more than that then you’re just plain greedy. The desserts we chose had the twist of being served on pizza bread which made them quite substantial- you may want to share! Caramelised Fig & Marscapone Pizza (£5.25) combined the sweetness of the figs with the creamy Marscapone and contrasted with the nutty crunch Pecan Pie with salted caramel pizza (£5.25). Sometimes in your life pizza and beer is just the ticket. Zero Degrees is a very straightforward unpretentious kind of place that is perfect for family or work parties, groups of friends or hot dates. Portions are generous, there is plenty of room, the service very friendly and trying all the beers from the microbrewery will guarantee you hours of fun.

Pizza Pilgrims – Review

September 10, 2013 by Adrian Leave a Comment

Pizza Pilgrims Soho

Follow @Hedonisttweets

11 Dean St, London W1D3RP

pizzapilgrims.co.uk/No bookings taken

Pizza Pilgrims

Brothers James and Thom Elliot have spent the last couple of years obsessing over the art of making the perfect pizza. They travelled to Naples to learn the trade with some of the best chefs in the city and on their return made a big name for themselves in the street food scene. Their pizza making van is still to be found in Soho’s Berwick St market and it has provided them with the ideal location to perfect their craft.

Pizza Pilgrims oven

A couple of weeks ago they opened up their first restaurant in Dean St, rather cheekily positioned opposite the long established Pizza Express jazz club. They have invested in a new dough mixer and built themselves a gas fired oven.

I have been a couple of times. Once on my own when remarkably I walked away with a takeaway in a record-breaking 5 minutes (I had a gig to get to) despite the joint being busy. The second time, even though there was a queue, La Hedonista and I were seated immediately. This may have been more down to a level of post-opening disorganisation rather than my table hustling ability.

The menu is simple. A handful of simple starters such as Fennel grissini with prosciutto and olive oil (£6), panzanella (£5) and olives (£3), ten pizzas, and a few desserts. They have Birra Moretti on tap (£4.50) alongside their house white, red and prosecco, and with a few classic Italian aperitifs (Aperol Spritz and Negroni) and coffee that’s about it.

The upstairs is small and cramped but there is more comfortable seating downstairs. But we were here for the pizzas.

Artichoke, ricotta and smoked garlic oil pizza

The artichoke, ricotta and smoked garlic oil pizza (£9) was perfect. Built on a margherita base there was plenty of topping and the base was charred as it should be, chewy and delicious. They use the best San Marzano tomatoes gently broken up rather than chopped for additional sweetness.

Negroni and Aperol Spritz

I was drinking a well-made Negroni (£6) and La Hedonista was quaffing this summer’s top drink an Aperol Spritz (£6).

The portobello mushroom and truffle pizza

The portobello mushroom and truffle pizza (£10) was a classic pizza bianco with no tomato. Again it had a great crust and base and the Fior di Latte cheese (mozzarella made with cow’s milk) worked really well with the mushrooms and truffle oil.

Berwick St market salad

A Berwick St market salad (£3) was fresh and well-dressed (a bit like me…) and for dessert we had a blood orange sorbet (£4.50) which was rather fetchingly served within the blood orange. The Pizza Pilgrims’ Ices come from Gelupo in Archer St and are impeccable.

Blood orange sorbet

If you are looking for a buzzy on-trend place doing great pizzas in Soho then go to Pizza Pilgrims. They don’t take bookings but if you don’t mind waiting and getting intimate with the other punters, then it’s fun to watch the chefs flaming the pizzas to get that perfect char whilst having an aperitivo or six.