PizzAperta

Your pizza experience here will leave you wondering why this hasn't been done before (or at least something I haven't tried before myself). Stephano Manfredi has cleverly brought to Sydney a simple pizza... just like I had in Italy... it's not overcrowded with toppings for the sake of it.

One couple ordered the Margherita - Tomato, Mozzarella, Fresh Basil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Buffalo Mozzarella. I manage to get a slice and all I can say is "Wow". The mozzarella had the creamiest taste to it and it just made the pizza. There was no need for other ingredients to enhance what was already so perfect. No wonder they ordered two of the same pizza. This was definitely my favourite for the night.

A few of the other's ordered the Pino's Smoked Leg Ham and Mushroom - Tomato, Mozzarella, Pino's Shaved Leg Ham and Mushroom. Yet again another simple pizza but done well. I have to commend them on their pizza base... it's a nice balance of thickness and texture.

The wife and I tried the Sicilian Capers and Anchovies - Tomato, Mozzarella, Capers, Anchovies, Oregano and Gaeta Olives. I love anchovies but the pizza was just a bit plain and salty. It felt like it was missing another element to tie in all the flavours together.

Lastly we tried the Hot Calabrese - Cherry Tomatoes, Provala (Smoked Cheese), Fennel Sausage, 'nduja (Hot Calabrese Spreadable Sausage), Olives and Capsicum. This was my second favourite. There was a nice kick on the pizza and I loved how it didn't need all that topping yet it was still so satisfying.

At the counter where you pick up the pizza they even have pre-packed tubs of chilli flakes and chilli oil. It feels like they know me so well.

To finish off we sampled the Tiramisu - Classic Northern Italian dessert made from biscuits, egg yolk, mascarpone, cocoa, espresso, Marsala and Amaretto. For me I love my tiramisu with more cream to cake ratio... and I can understand why others might disagree. It was a great dessert - super smooth, great balance of the coffee and sweetness and most importantly it melted in your mouth. 

Despite whether you eat in or takeaway, each pizza comes in a pizza box. They even perforated the lid so you can turn it into 4 cardboard plates. Even though it's such a simple idea, I loved the concept.

So here's a few things that annoyed me about this place: the pricing... you charge $20 a pizza yet I still have to go and collect it from the bar myself. Also you need to order your drinks at one location and go to another section to collect it... which meant everyone was lining up in the same queue. At one point, one of the waitresses came with two drinks and a whole lot of attitude about not collecting our drinks. We couldn't get a word in to let her know we didn't order any drinks before she stormed off... anyways with that kind of attitude we'll take the drinks as compensation.

Despite a few hiccups about service and what not.... there's a lot of positives about this place. I wouldn't normally rate pizza joints... but I would highly recommend others to try this. It's situated in a beautiful location, has a great vibe and the food is Buono.