National Pizza Month

October means the start of Fall, cooler temperatures, changing leaves, chunky sweaters and leggings coming out of storage, pumpkin-flavored EVERYTHING, spooky decorations, and children dressing up for Halloween.

But most people don’t realize October also means National Pizza Month!

As everyone is well aware, David and I love to eat – a lot! London has a terrible reputation for serving bad food, but this is simply not true.  While I’m not the biggest fan of a lot of the fried, unhealthy British options like black pudding, pickled onion crisps, or potatoes stuffed with corn and tuna, London is a worldly capital with tons of great international options.  From authentic Italian pizzerias, to falafel wrap stands set up during weekend markets, to Indian restaurants serving painfully spicy vindaloo, there’s something for everyone.

So to celebrate this year’s National Pizza Month (and because it’s been a very, very long time since I’ve written a blog dedicated solely to food), I decided to write a little snippet about our favorite pizza places in London.

Starting in our neighborhood in West London and moving East, we’ll begin with…

Santa Maria Pizzeria

Photo courtesy of Santa Maria

Santa Maria is a small pizzeria in Ealing near Walpole Park.  It specializes in traditional Neapolitan pizzas, and has been known to send home diners who order salads instead of pizzas (true story)!  We did not make that mistake, and ordered a few pizzas.  (And don’t worry, these were not food challenges.  During each of our outings, David and I were with friends.  We didn't eat all of this food by ourselves!)

We couldn’t go to Santa Maria and not have the Santa Maria (tomato sauce, EVOO, garlic, basil, and oregano).  And I added artichokes because I am obsessed with artichokes.  Our friends ordered the San Giuseppe (Italian mozzarella, Neapolitan sausage, friarielli - wild broccoli, and chili flakes).  Verdict – too much broccoli!  And last, we had the Santa Caterina (margherita with salami, parmesan, and chili).  While it was good, we all agreed that the Santa Maria took the cake.

And speaking of cake, we had to try the authentic gelato while we were there.  That was by far one of the best parts of the meal.  While the stracciatella was creamy and chocolately, the pistachio was by far everyone’s top pick.  

We felt like we were truly in Italy with the chefs and waiters speaking Italian around us, having to fold over our authentic, thin pizzas, and ending the meal with smooth, rich Italian ice cream.

Dante’s

Photo courtesy of Dante's

Dante’s is our local Italian restaurant walking distance from our house.  It’s the type of small, familiar restaurant where the owner knows your name and has your table ready for you on Friday night.  Though the pizzas are David’s choice during every visit, I always order the penne al'arrabiata, with a delicious sauce of sweet tomatoes and spicy chilis.

Our favorite thing at Dante’s is by far their cheesy garlic breadsticks.  The breadsticks are doughy and covered in butter, then mozzarella, before baked to an oozing, golden brown.  They come out of the kitchen on a plate swimming in butter.

Franco Manca

Photo courtesy of Franco Manca

Franco Manca has a chain of pizzerias around London.  It’s extremely popular, and it’s not hard to know why.  David and I went to the Chiswick branch near our home one night for a quick meal.  First off, it’s convenient with locations all over the city.  Second, it’s an amazing deal.  We ordered two glasses of wine, a starter, and two pizzas and if I remember correctly, our total bill was around £20.  That’s crazy cheap in London for a filling, good meal with alcohol.  

The best part of Franco Manca, though, is the slow-rising sourdough base.  I love sourdough and you can taste the tang in the crust (which even David ate)!  The individual pizzas are the perfect size, and the dough makes all the difference. 

Pizza East Portobello

Photo courtesy of Pizza East

Pizza East is exploding in popularity right now.  They've just opened up another location in Notting Hill right off of Portobello Road, an ideal location inside a restored Georgian pub.  So one Friday night, we decided to check it out.  While we were waiting for a table, we had a few cocktails and beer and garlic bread. 

The garlic bread blew us away.  It was so buttery and the garlic was wild garlic, so the bread came out green.  We mistook it for pesto at first, but after one bite, we knew it was the real thing.

We ordered four pizzas and a side of mac n cheese.  WARNING:  Too much food for four people!!  The pizzas ranged from margherita (buffalo mozzarella, tomato, and basil) to salami to veal meatball (with prosciutto, cream, and sage) to the San Daniele (with San Daniele cheese, rocket, red onion, and parmesan).  I think the fan favorites that night were the meatball and San Daniele.

I needed something sweet after all of that garlic and dough and cheese so I ordered a salted caramel chocolate tart for dessert. 

While Pizza East was really enjoyable, we visited shortly after our trip to Santa Maria and the pizza and dessert were not quite as good.  The crust was a bit thicker, and the mac 'n cheese didn't cut it for us Americans (or maybe we were just so full at that point that nothing more would've tasted great).  Overall, the cocktails and garlic bread are fun and delicious, but for an authentic Neapolitan pizza, Santa Maria is the place to be.

Otto

Photo courtesy of Otto

Also in Notting Hill, Otto is known for its cornmeal crust and inventive toppings.  The pizza is served in a cast iron skillet and reminded us of the deep dish pizzas we had in Chicago.

Though cornmeal crust is not my preference, I liked the idea of Otto’s sampler pizza with different toppings on each slice.  We tried the BBQ pork (mozzarella, pulled pork, celeriac coleslaw, and chives), balsamic red onion and sweetcorn, pepperoni, and spinach and artichoke. 

Otto serves their pizza with dipping sauces like garlic mayo, BBQ, and honey mustard.  We tried all three, but I'm not the biggest fan of dipping sauces with pizza.  I think the pizza should be good enough to stand up on its own, and those sauces remind me too much of ordering delivery from Papa John’s... Oh boy, did I offend some Papa John lovers out there?  I hope not!  I like Papa John’s and their garlic butter dipping sauce just as much as everyone else, but I think we can all agree if it's a choice between delivery and restaurant-style pizza, we'll head out to eat.

Ciro’s Pomodoro

Since moving to London, I’d been wanting to try Ciro's Pomodoro.  It’s frequented by celebrities and was known for its great pizza.  Near Knightsbridge, just down the street from Harrods, we had tried to get reservations in the past with no luck.  When we finally got in with an early reservation last year, we were shocked. 

The restaurant is housed in a dark basement and we were the only ones there!  We got there for the first reservation at 6:30 and when we left two hours later, it was still completely empty.  Literally, no one else had showed up.  And this was a Saturday night, which made us wonder if the first time we called, the host was just messing with us.

To make the evening even creepier, during our entire dinner, a man sat in the corner of the restaurant going over the books and making calls.  It was uncomfortable and weird.  Don't they have a back office?

The food was okay, but nothing to write home about.  I don’t know how this place is in business with real estate in Knightsbridge.  Does it turn into a nightclub later on?  Do celebrities still endorse it?  All along the walls were photos of celebrities that had visited Ciro’s, and the restaurant seemed to still be living off of that reputation.  Our recommendation: there are much better Italian restaurants in London.

Pizza Pilgrims

Photo courtesy of Pizza Pilgrims

Pizza Pilgrims was started by a couple of Londoners who left their day jobs to sell pizzas from a 3-wheeled pizza oven van.  They soon figured out they didn't really know what they were doing, and went on a pilgrimage through Italy to learn how to make authentic, delicious pies.

After success with their food van, they opened their first pizzeria in London’s trendy Soho neighborhood.  We decided to check it out a few weeks ago after watching UT crush OU at the UK alumni game-watching event. 

Because the game was played live, we got to Pizza Pilgrims at 10:25 and they close at 10:30 on Saturdays.  That didn’t seem to make a difference, as they happily seated us and quickly took our order before the kitchen closed.

The service was outstanding.  The waiters and waitresses didn’t seem angry that we showed up last-minute, and even asked us about our burnt-orange gear, which led to a longer conversation around American football and our waiter’s recent trip to New Orleans.

We ordered a Calzone Ripieno stuffed with prosciutto, ricotta, and mushrooms and topped with tomato, fior di latte cheese, and parmesan.  Sometimes calzones can be a bit dry without enough pizza sauce inside, but because the calzone was smothered across the top with sauce, that was not a problem at Pizza Pilgrims. 

We also ordered a margherita and the artichoke, ricotta, and smoked garlic oil pizza.  The artichoke was, of course, the best!  

One of the best parts of the meal was the side of sweet peppers and onions in tomato sauce.  We used it as a dip for our pizza crusts, and not only was it a smart way to get rid of those unwanted crusts (for David at least, I love pizza crust), it was also extremely flavorful. 

For dessert, we had to try the nutella ring (nutella-stuffed pizza dough with sweet ricotta shaped into a ring).  How can anyone go wrong with nutella?

Homeslice

Photo courtesy of Homeslice

There is a famous pizzeria in Austin called Homeslice, and now there is one in London, too.  Tucked away in Neal’s Yard near Covent Garden, Homeslice offers its patrons enormous 20 inch pizzas, which can be ordered whole or by the slice. 

I went to Homeslice with three other girls and we ordered one pizza – half spicy chorizo and corn / half margherita.  We each had two large slices, and realized we could each have another slice… or two… and ended up ordering another whole 20 in. pizza.  This time, we tried half salami / half mushroom, ricotta, and pumpkin seed. 

Homeslice is simple, delicious pizza.  No starters.  No desserts.  Just pizza served with paper plates and napkins.  The options are ever-changing and offer some original combinations, like bone marrow, spring onion, and watercress.  For great, simple pizza, visit Homeslice and you won't be disappointed! 

Stay tuned for more food-themed blogs, like London’s Pulled Pork Challenge across the top BBQ restaurants in the city...