This is a charming little independent place on York Street –
so independent, in fact, that it doesn’t have a website to which I can give you
the link, so you’ll have to make do with the phone number (01225 330121)
and trust my verdict.
The restaurant itself is cosy and full of chatter, with
tables packed in to maximise takings, and the decor is sort of harmlessly funky
– large colourful daisies on each table, chunky furniture, matching abstract
art providing splashes of bright colour on the plain white walls, you know the
sort of thing.
The staff were friendly and cheerful, especially given that
it was Saturday night and the place was packed to the rafters, and, in the circumstances,
the service really was heroically fast. Both our starters and our mains came
within about ten minutes, and there was no evidence of panic in the kitchen. We
shared some garlic bread to start, which was clearly made from scratch rather
than plucked from the freezer, and was rich and full-flavoured without being
too greasy.
The pizzas are
wood-fired and prepared with lovely fresh ingredients – in fact, you can watch
them being prepared if you sit on the ground floor, because the kitchen is open
to the room. This isn’t the sort of gimmick you might expect though – there are
no plastic tubs of pre-prepared ingredients, just a group of chefs working with
slapdash efficiency and a huge oven full of greedily flickering flames. The
Pizza Milanese I ordered was delicious – with a very thin, crisp base,
beautifully seasoned tomato sauce, rich salty salami and a generous sprinkle of
rocket. My boyfriend went for a Pizza Pollo e Funghi, prepared with beautifully
tender and juicy chicken, which had clearly been freshly roasted for the
purpose.
Each of our pizzas cost about £10, and pasta dishes were
slightly less, so the prices are pretty reasonable. Finally, and I must admit
we didn’t get organised enough to test this, The Real Italian Pizza Co promises
to take vouchers from other Italian restaurants (for example, Pizza Express’
Orange Wednesdays deal) – so it’s not only scrumptious food but also brilliant
value for money. What more could you ask for?