London’s pizza scene has been enjoying something of a golden age of late
Once dominated by Neapolitan pizzas thanks to the likes of Franco Manca and Pizza Pilgrims, there are now a wealth of regional Italian and US styles to be found in the city, from thick Sicilian squares to crispy NYC slices. Then there are the operators borrowing from both Italian and American traditions and creating their own thing, something that’s been dubbed ‘London-style’, which we’ve covered in-depth here.
Clearly pizza is the thing right now because the rate at which new pizzerias are opening is fast, even by London standards. ACE Pizza and Bad Boy Pizza Society, two experienced operators who have been running residencies, are opening standalone restaurants – ACE is now up and running in Victoria Park Village and BBPS is a week behind it, opening in Bethnal Green in August.
In the space of about a week this summer, three more came onto the scene. Paulie’s, an NYC-inspired slice shop (from the same team behind Detroit Pizza), has opened on Commercial Road; Lauretta’s, the first brick-and-mortar spot from the 75 Slices crew opened on Columbia Road on 4th July; and Carmela’s, another NYC-style pizzeria, announced it was headed for Upper Street. Sopranos fans may be sensing a theme with the names.
In between those, MoB Pizza Socials (NYC-style again) quietly appeared on the Shoreditch end of Kingsland Road with an Italian-American menu and a very noughties look, including neon signs, Obama Hope poster-style graphics, and exposed brickwork. West London is getting in on the action too with Slayer Pizzeria (NYC-style again) opening in Notting Hill this September, and a rumoured third outpost of Alley Cats. And that’s all before we get into all the restaurants adding pizza to their menus.
When asked about the city’s pizza scene, Tom Vincent, owner of Vincenzo’s in Bushey said “we might have the best pizza in the world”. Are all these new openings proving him right? Or will the city – or east London at least – quickly reach saturation point? Is it death by a thousand slices?
