Edinburgh’s number one pizza joint has opened its second restaurant right here in Brum and being pizza fans – don’t trust anyone who isn’t – we thought we ought to give it a whirl. We went along with a friend who is evangelical about pizza, owns a top-notch pizza cutter that cost more than his car which he lovingly sharpens before every use and which never ever goes near the dishwasher, so for the purposes of this review (and possibly beyond) we’re calling him Pizza Geek (PG).
The premise of @Pizza is speedy, tasty food – it takes just 90 seconds in the 600 degree oven to cook to perfection. You can either create your own concoction, which I did, or order from the menu which PG did. Designing my own felt surprisingly exhilarating and a bit nervy. You choose your base (sourdough or gluten free), sauce, toppings and finishes which are added once the pizza is baked and include rocket, chilli flakes, garlic oil, chilli oil, kalamata olives, and BBQ sauce among other lip-smackingly good stuff.
I went for sourdough base, classic tomato sauce, baby spinach, mozzarella and an egg. The process felt a bit like a pizza version of Subway just in a nicer environment with more passionate staff, a much better selection of drinks and more love and care about proceedings. My beloved creation went into the oven and came out in less than two minutes looking mighty fine.
I added finishes of rocket and garlic oil. Firstly, the egg was an oozing dome of perfection although I’d have preferred it in the middle of the pizza rather than on the edge – minor point – secondly, the base was thin, crisp and a perfect vehicle for my toppings which were a triumph. The garlic oil was really punchy and well worth adding.
A nod to the soda menu is deserved. @pizza make their own syrups which are free from unrefined sugar in flavours such as Sicilian lemonade and apple and bramble. The ginger, lime and mint was really great. There’s a good selection of booze too. PG’s Peaky Blinders pale ale went down a treat.
Speaking of which, he plumped for the Eat Meat Repeat pizza which as you’d expect was pretty…er…meaty; sourdough base, classic tomato sauce, mozzarella, cheddar, pepperoni, Italian sausage, Wiltshire ham, spicy meatballs, Grand Movaria cheese and oregano. PG added a finish of smokey BBQ sauce which worked brilliantly prompting a double thumbs up. High praise indeed.
Puds are in the form of sundaes or sweet pizzas and the Trunchbull which was packed with chocolatey, nutty, creamy goodness winked at us vigorously. The guys at the restaurant brought both the pizza and the sundae versions. Gulp. We boxed up the pizza version and took it back to the office where it was devoured enthusiastically. In a city spoilt for choice in the pizza arena this is definitely worth a look.