Buca di Pizza just rocked up in town, treating us to all things Italian: cicchetti, pasta and, as the name suggests, pizza.
We’ll come on to that, but first let’s take a quick tour round the city centre’s newest pizza parlour. It was a showery lunchtime when we popped down – literally, “buca” being Tuscan slang for basement – but the place felt really warm and welcoming, with lots of wood and red walls, adorned with 20th-century posters of classic Italian brands like Campari and Vespa, and kitsch takes on Renaissance paintings.
We were here for the special “Tutto” deal – all you can eat and drink within a 90-minute window, aka bottomless pizza and Prosecco or beer for just £25.95. Who said we weren’t up for a challenge?
Conventional toppings – the likes of margherita and quattro stagioni – meet modern twists, with the hand-stretched Napolese-style thin and crispy bases getting a global treatment on the Pizza Buca menu. Using exciting flavours from around the world, you’ll never look at pizza in the same way again.
Our wildcard selection was the My Cousin Vinay, with Goan curry sauce, paneer and onion bhaji. It’s a bit different, but it works!
We tempered the more unusual choices by picking the Frestosa and San Remo off the Pizza Classico list. The first combines mild creamy Stracchino cheese, balsamic-glazed prosciutto and peppery rocket; the second is a colourful veggie number with grilled artichoke hearts, rosemary and sage mushrooms, red onion, peppers, sun-blushed tomatoes, olives – and more rocket. (We like rocket.)
We went off piste with our other picks, ordering from the Pizza Buca menu of the chefs’ specials. Ingredient-of-the-moment spicy ’nduja paste puts in an appearance on the Ndjua Love Me? topped with pepperoni and contrasting creamy mascarpone. Our wildcard selection was the My Cousin Vinay, also on the hot side with Goan curry sauce instead of the traditional tomato – plus paneer and onion bhaji. It’s a bit different, but it works! And last but not least, we had the Wing Commander, with chicken, cheddar and blue cheese, and a liberal sprinkling of spring onions, giving it a bit of a kick.
All in all the Buca pizzas are really fun – and make a bit of a change!
Also - watch the video from our visit here!
