My Review of Purezza, the UK’s first vegan pizzeria serving up classic Italian cuisine using plant-based, vegan ingredients.

Where:

Camden – 43 Parkway, Camden, NW1 7PN

Brighton – 12 St James’s Street, Brighton, BN2 1RE

Website: http://purezza.co.uk/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/purezzauk

Menu: http://purezza.co.uk/london-menu/

CHECKED OFF MY LIST: 11^thOctober, 2018

OVERVIEW:

Honestly, this is hands down the best pizza I have ever had in my life.

Purezza, the Italian word for ‘purity’, is the first vegan pizzeria in the UK, serving up award-winning plant-based Italian cuisine. Their food is all made in-house, with their pizza dough bases made fresh every day. I have been wanting to check this place off my London Vegan Bucket List for ages, and was so excited to try out their buzzworthy menu last week.

ATMOSPHERE:

Upon entering, Purezza has a distinctly modern yet laid-back vibe. It was quite busy when we arrived (wait times can be nearly an hour during their peak times) which was encouraging to see! The staff is incredibly friendly and attentive, and led us upstairs into a cute and cosy area. Then our evening of feasting began.

MY SHORTLIST:

Appetisers:

• Jarr’s Ginger Kombucha – ‘Imagine your favourite ginger beer, but healthier, with more zing, and even more delicious. Freshly juiced ginger root is added to our original recipe for a zesty and fiery delight.’
  • I don’t drink alcohol, and it was a pleasant surprise to get offered kombucha as an alternative. This is the nicest kombucha I have ever had! It doesn’t have any bitter aftertaste. Instead it’s got a delicious flavour with a bit of zing from the ginger.
• Raw Cheese Platter – ‘Artisan cashew-based cheese board, fermented and matured for over ten days with a variety of tantalising flavours.’
  • Being lactose intolerant, I have never been a big eater of cheese. I know some vegan cheese has a bad reputation, but eating my way through this cheese board was a very enjoyable experience. It came with four different flavours of hard cheeses: Goji berries, Paprika and Chilli, Parmesan, Apricot and Acai. The Paprika and Chilli was my favourite. The platter also included a creamy cheesy dip, which we used as a dipping sauce for our pizza later. The baked crackers were also crunchy and had a smoky flavour.
• Courgetti Spaghetti – ‘Raw spiralised courgettes mixed with a creamy pesto sauce and juicy sundried tomatoes.’
  • I had heard that Purezza’s pesto sauce was not to be missed. I would absolutely agree. The pesto sauce had a lovely subtle flavour – not too overpoweringly rich, as I can find some pesto sauces to be. The raw courgetti spaghetti noodles were light and made for a great appetiser.

Pizzas:

• Sourdough Bases: ‘Made with a ‘type 2’ wholegrain flour, our sourdough pizzas are left to mature for a minimum of 48 hours. This enhances the flavour and digestibility, making them extra light and fluffy.’
  • Purezza gives you the option of picking between their three pizza bases: REGULAR sourdough base, HEMP flour base, and GLUTEN FREE. We tried the regular sourdough base on one pizza, and the hemp flour base on another, and honestly both were out of this world. Both bases were thick and puffy and yet incredibly airy and fluffy just as promised. The regular sourdough was beautifully light and the hemp had a lovely earthly flavour to it. I would definitely recommend both.
• Parmigiana Party – ‘Smoked mozzarella, fried aubergine parmigiana, sliced seitan sausages, topped with basil leaves and a dusting of nutritional yeast.’
  • This is Purezza’s award winning pizza – in fact it won the National Pizza Award for best pizza in the UK over 13 non-vegan finalists! The competition was judged on flavour profile, presentation, texture, choice of ingredients and how the base is made, and I could definitely see why it won. We got it with the regular sourdough base. The flavour was delectable, the cheese on point, and the tofu sausages were insanely realistic.
• Special Pizza: ‘The Fall’ –‘Truffle cream and mozzarella base, yellow tomatoes, smoked tofu, rosemary chestnuts, cashew cream.’
  • Our favourite pizza was this special, which we got with the hemp base. The cheese on this pizza was honestly something else! It had a hint of sweetness, which contrasted perfectly with the spicy chilli flakes, which gave an occasional delightful kick. The yellow tomatoes also added bursts of freshness, and the tofu was crispy and packed with flavour.

Have you been to Purezza? Which Pizza should I get next time I go?!