Share & Compare: Margherita Pizza
When we discovered that not one, not two, but three new pizza joints had opened up within just a few blocks (and a few months) of each other, we couldn’t resist gorging ourselves on Italy’s finest export. We deemed the ensuing gluttony the ‘Ultimate French Concession Pizza Crawl’ and – to level the playing field – ordered a large Margherita pizza at each stop. Bring on the basil.
‘Ello Amici’s 
Despite the cockney name, the sign in front of ‘Ello Amici’s proclaims that this pizzeria serves East Coast pies – Brooklyn style to be precise. To add to the geographical befuddlement, the brand hails from San Francisco. We found it best just not to think about it all that hard, especially when the menu demands that you ponder whether or not you want your Margherita pizza with sauce.
Turns out, perhaps they weren’t wrong about that sauce query. While the 15 inch crust coming out of the giant brick oven was a slightly blackened, razor thin work of edible art, the crawl participants all agreed the sauce needed salt. And the raw tomato topping amongst the heavy doses of cheese was superfluous, like most of the tables and chairs in the restaurant. With seating for well over the population of an Italian village, the place was deserted – and this wasn’t our first time to hear the ‘Ellos echo through the decidedly corporate decor.
RMB 138. 102 Xiangyang Nan Lu, by Nanchang Lu. Tel: 6433 7778
Pizza Peppone
This is where French people eat pizza. (And we mean that in the nicest way possible.) The single communal table that can fit about eight people in a pinch makes it one of the most exclusive restaurants in town, not to mention the cosiest.
The black and white photos adorning the walls and a stack of peeling leather trunks make it feel like a living room decorated by an imp with a thing for antique markets. Suffice it to say, we adored it instantly.
In bistro-style, the pizza menu is chalked neatly on to the blackboard, and our pizzas flew out of the kitchen fast. The 10 inch Margherita came smothered in mozzarella atop a bed of mildly doughy crust that wouldn’t have been harmed by another minute or two in the oven. And there’s no need for basil leaves on top of the pizza here. The tempered sauce is a bold and tangy concoction, bursting with fresh tomato flavour and a smattering of herbs.
RMB 55. 52 Yongkang Lu, near Xiangyang Lu
Pizza Marzano
Maybe we just loved Fulton Place too much, but to see its former location turned into a chain restaurant… Well, that’s not something you can just get over, but Pizza Marzano is making a good college try at winning over the neighbourhood with its matching sailor outfits and open kitchen pizza tossing. And they offer not one, but two Margheritas. Dutifully, we ordered them both.
The 13 inch Romana Margherita Prima was the evening’s most accurate interpretation of the true Italian classic. Fresh basil and melted splotches of mozzarella (dressed up on the menu as Fior de Latte, which just means it came from cows’ milk, and is thus not buffalo mozzarella) dotted the lightly sauced and unremarkable crust. The Napoletana, the last pizza of the evening, was determined too heavy, with its pita-like crust and thick layer of lightly-browned cheese.
RMB 120 (Roman) & RMB 78 (Napoletana). 570 Yongjia Lu, near Yueyang Lu. Tel: 6467 8898
Winner: It’s a Toss-Up!
The indisputable winners here are the residents of the French Concession, what with three new respectable pizza joints keeping things saucy in the ‘hood. But if you really pressed us to choose, we’d probably go with Pizza Peppone. For its sauce, atmosphere and price, it takes home the pie, but Amici’s crispy crunch was the clear champion of the crust wars, and Marzano gets our vote for most authentic option.
