Yes, yes, we're reviewing pizza again. We cracked alright? It's cold, lockdown isn't fun, and we wanted pizza (again). Cue the abuse on our Insta page!
This time we're trying Good Fired Pizza - another lockdown start up (lockdown 2.0 if you're wondering.) now in their fourth month. Run by Joe and his partner, he is a former chef at The Libertine in Borough, which funnily enough C had eaten at years ago and had remembered the pizza.
Joe says this pizza offering is a hybrid of Napoli/NYC style, (although the website states Napoli only) which is pretty rare. So we're on the lookout for a fluffy charred crust but a base that holds up (NYC style) rather than wilts (Neapolitan style). We went for our usual control test orders: a pepperoni and a margherita. We also grabbed a marinara as well, as not a lot of places do them (which is a crime in our humble opinion).
It's another eatery which is a bit fiddly to arrange - you message via Instagram or call directly, book a collection slot, and go collect from their pop up gazebo in Park St. So it's not suited to the spontaneous types, much like Mozzarella Fellas. That said, from the minute we got in touch, we were well looked after and communication was really easy and clear. Our pizzas had literally just come out the oven as we arrived too. It's also superb value: pizzas range from £6-9 and they're 12", which is a pretty generous size-wise. We do wish they delivered, but understand why that's not possible a few months in.
As for the pizza itself... The short version is, it's excellent.
The dough is really good. It's a 24 hour sourdough with a great hydration. The long prove and hydration develops the gluten and the air bubbles and what you're left with is a superbly chewy crust with a good amount of air bubbles at the edges and throughout the base. As it's a hybrid NYC & Napoli style, there was indeed the anticipated slightly thicker base than your standard Neapolitan pizzas. It had a good level of moisture and the sour salty tang was spot on. The crust was largely charred perfectly -although the pepperoni was a little burnt but thats the difference between just 5 seconds too long that you get with these kind of pizzas. The dough is everything to a good pizza, and they've got this spot on.
In terms of the versions we tried:
The pepperoni was topped with chilli honey - which was an inspired move. The mix of sweet and smokey spice of the pepperoni was spot on. Most people tend not to mess with the pepperoni much, such is its importance to any pizza offering. Yet this was a twist that really added something to the classic. The sweetness wasn't overpowering at all, it was just a cooling note at the end of the bite. For me, it was the standout offering.
The margherita was heavier on the parmesan than what we're used to. This is no bad thing, just an interesting observation. It nudged the margherita more into the salty NYC style than a creamy fresh Napoli style. Very welcome and again, that dough......LUSH!
The marina (PSA to other pizza joints out there: do a marinara)- was really good. We thought it would be dry (a common downfall of marinara pizzas) but it was great. the tomato sauce was sweet, fresh and flavoursome. The pizza had the traditional garlic, which was sliced nice and thin and cooked perfectly. It was pretty heavy on the oregano though. This was our second favourite - and were we to order again (not being pigs and ordering three) we would go for the marinara and the pepperoni.
We were really impressed by Good Fired's pizza offering. Their menu is simple but covers all the basics you'd want (we're eyeing the 'nduja and funghi next time). This is a really good pizza and another I expect to be up there when we come to the end of year awards. We would definitely go back and recommend you give it a go.
Service:
Really well looked after from the point of ordering. The pizzas were hot from the oven, packaged well and served with a smile.
Quality:
Really good dough, good basics with little twists on classic toppings. An exceptional pepperoni is a standout.
Price and Value:
At £6-9 a pizza, this is exceptional value for money. Generous sizes which will leave you satisfied.
Overall
EXCELLENT- Try this pizza. At only four months in, it's likely only going to get better too. They're only open Friday's & Saturdays so plan ahead, book it in, and give it a go.
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