For as many years as I can remember, the Mayfair area has always been known for its food. Mainly because of its abundance of fine dining restaurants, Michelin starred bonanza and Italian trattorias which have been going since the 80’s and are still flourishing despite stiff competition. Now however, everyone seems to be opening up in this part of town and it’s no longer just high-end establishments – it’s become incredibly diverse. From lobster rolls, to Indian street food and in this case – a competitively priced (and delicious) pizza restaurant.
The Mayfair Pizza Co. is situated in the gorgeous Lancashire Court. Mayfair is full of so many tiny alleys, back streets and mews that I’m always getting lost in this part of town. Lancashire Court has absolutely no footfall, terrace action galore and I’ve no doubt during the summer months – a perfect place for sipping on a glass (bottle) of wine or two. Upstairs above this terrace is The Mayfair Pizza Co. At first glance this pizza restaurant has the worst name going for it, if I’m honest, sounding something more similar to a takeaway off Just Eat. It’s just that “Co.” bit at the end I don’t like. Inside, huge windows let the light flood in and the smell of truffle and fresh basil left us salivating before we even sat down. The classic creamy and sour burrata here was served alongside delicate fennel and slices of juicy beetroot – it didn’t disappoint. Less successful, but by no means terrible was the salt and pepper squid with saffron aioli. The squid was cooked well, the batter good – but for something described as containing salt and pepper, well I couldn’t detect a huge amount of either. The aioli needed more saffron intensity too.
As the name suggests for this Mayfair restaurant, pizza’s are really where things start to get serious. The salsiccia friarielli pizza was a mix of Neapolitan sausage, mozzarella, friarielli, chilli and parmesan. The base of the pizzas here were particularly the highlight. They’re light, full of flavour and perfectly crisp from middle to crust. The Neapolitan sausage was good too, intense and full of flavour, while the friarielli gave the pizza a nice juiciness. I couldn’t detect much chilli however. The star pizza here was the Mayfair Pizza Co. – topped with truffle cream, porcini mushrooms and lashing of shaved truffle. It’s honestly been a long while since I put a pizza in my mouth and got excited. I’ve had truffle on a pizza yes, but here they managed to get the balance perfect and created a refined, decadent and delicious pizza which is without a doubt one of the finest you’ll find in this area. Priced at £14 isn’t crazy either, especially for Mayfair. For those of you who are a little more brave than I, why not give the Hottest Pizza a go. It’s made using the hot sauce from the incredibly talented The Rib Man and I’ve heard it will make you weep. All I say to you who try it, is good luck – you’ll need it.
By this point during the meal we’d consumed far too much wine and so much food we we’re on breaking point. Yet we still had room for dessert – of course. Our lovely waitress insisted we go for the Nutella calzone with marshmallow – and she wasn’t wrong. Devilishly chocolatey, indulgent and probably containing a few thousand calories, at least. When it says ideal for sharing on the menu, please believe it – because one person could not get through it alone. More bread after all that pizza isn’t ideal, but with that amount of chocolate involved here and mouthfuls of gooey pillow light marshmallow – well it meant anything was allowed and I had no plans of eating by the rules.
We finished up our meal here at The Mayfair Pizza co. with a couple of expertly crafted espresso Martinis and stumbled our way in to the night (actually just downstairs to Mews of Mayfair for a little night-cap). When I’d first about The Mayfair Pizza co., I admittedly hadn’t expected anything like this. I’d come here expecting overpriced pizza, stuffy service and a fine dining atmosphere. Instead we were faced with a simple restaurant, perfect service and some of the best pizzas Mayfair has to offer – and all very competitively priced. Would I return to The Mayfair Pizza Co.? Of course – it’s only just a matter of how long before I start craving that truffle pizza all over again.
7/10
