This Notting Hill spot is doing Detroit pizza with a British twist
London isn’t short on places to grab a pizza and though traditional Neapolitan has been the dominant style of late, it’s now not hard to find NY-style slices and deep dish pies in the city. Ria and David Morgan-Ratcliffe are helping grow the popularity of the latter at Ria’s, a Detroit-style pizza and natural wine bar on All Saints Road. And what a looker it is; the gorgeous, light-filled space (with outside seating being taken full advantage of on a late summer Sunday) boasts blue panelled and cornflower yellow walls, cafe curtains, and wine bottles skirting round the shelving.
Eat This
Detroit-style pizza, deep-dish and thick-crusted, is the name of the game at Ria’s, with both slices and whole pies on the menu, bookended by a few small plates and puds. Even though carbs will be the main event, you’ll want to start with the potatoes, smashed, fried, craggy and golden, with garlic whipped feta for dipping. Getting a salad, like the grapefruit, orange and baby gem one, to offer a bit of acidity between pizza bites is a good move too.
The pizza dough is made with regenerative flour and slowly fermented for 72 hours, resulting in a thick and chewy base that’s impressively light – we comfortably managed three squares each with room for dessert. There’s been a real focus on quality ingredients and thought has clearly been put into creating interesting combinations, like the roasted king prawn, salsa macha and parmesan cream pie and the beef merguez sausage, sweet pickled shallots and red chillies pie. The pepperoni & soppressata slice, made with Cobble Lane cured meats, cheddar, hot honey, aged parmesan and fresh oregano is also a winner, especially if you drizzle it with some Frank’s hot butter.
Ria has peppered the menu with nods to her Scottish heritage and it doesn’t get much more Scottish than a deep-fried Mars bar for afters. Coated in a proper bit of batter with soft serve on the side, it’s totally indulgent and the kind of thing you can’t really refuse, so we didn’t.
Drink This
If pizza is one side of the Ria’s coin, the other is natural wine. There’s a rotating list of bottles with lots of by-the-glass options, including the zippy White Lies by New Theory, which was a perfect partner for the pizza. The drinks list also includes tap cocktails from Black Lines, and in another hat tip to Scotland, Rapscallion Sodas and cans of Irn Bru.
Why Go
As well as having real style, Ria’s is doing some of the best Detroit-style pizza in London; you can actually eat a fair amount without feeling weighed down and wiped out, which hasn’t always been our experience with Detroit pies. And did we mention deep-fried Mars bars?
Key Information
Address | 29 All Saints Road, London, W11 1HE
For more information | rias.world