I’m absolutely terrible when it comes to choosing my pizza. Most of the time I know what I want, how I want it and how I want it too arrive looking. Unfortunately I can’t always have it my way because every single pizza house and takeaway has their own twist and more often than not, a rather unusual way of serving it. Homeslice is a pizza restaurant which started life in 2011 on the London street food scene and has now just opened its second in the series of restaurants, this time on Wells Street in Fitzrovia. Before any new restaurant usually opens, a press release hits your inbox; “The Wells Street menu will maintain Homeslice’s original simplicity, offering a changing selection of 20” wood-fired pizzas available whole or by the slice, to eat in or takeaway, served alongside beer and Prosecco on tap and wine by the magnum with the addition of a seasonal cocktail menu served from the bar.” I was hooked, the words 20″ pizza and wine by the magnum had reeled me in through the doors. Who can resist the promise of food and drink in excess quantities? No one.
While the huge pizza oven and 20″ pizzas remain on the ground floor as you enter, downstairs in the basement hides a cool and charming cocktail bar. It’s not particularly busy in the bar and while I love the idea of it – I don’t know if everyone else will. Homeslice is all about the casualness and quick eating so perhaps the cocktails would be better served directly at the tables. And how are the cocktails? They’re strong, very well made and unusual. The cucumber and mescal margarita was legendary and packed full of flavour while the bacon maple old-fashioned was a little more, different. Loved by my dining companion, but less so by me. Whether or not you’re having a quick bite of settling in for the evening I’d highly recommend getting your hands on some of the cocktails here, especially that margarita.
As for the menu back upstairs in the main restaurant, it’s all about one thing and one thing only – pizza. There are no starters and no desserts. Huge 20″ pizzas are cooked within minutes inside what’s probably the largest pizza oven I’ve ever come across – it’s gargantuan. The menu of toppings is changed on a regular basis and is all lovingly hand written on the many chalkboards dotted around the restaurant. When we visited there was around eight choices of pizzas and the split between meat/veg was equally down the middle. As for the base sauces, some are classic tomato, while others are laden with garlic – heaven.
Completely torn we opted for a half and half pizza – one side was topped with goats shoulder, savoy cabbage and sumac yoghurt. Was it good? No – it was bloody amazing. Imagine a naughty kebab at the end of the night, it’s the best way to describe the pizzas flavour. It felt naughty and it was full of flavour but about a million calories lighter (and you actually know what the meat is). The other side of our pizza was smothered in a tomato passata base, broccoli, pecorino cheese and juicy Calabrian peppers. A succesful blend of flavours which were bursting open in my mouth, particularly those tart, sour peppers. A little more cheese on the vegetable half of the pizza perhaps would have added a little more structure overall as it was slightly sloppy to eat.
So did I like Homeslice? In short, very much. Was it the best pizza I’ve ever eaten, perhaps not, but then I’ve still not had any in London like I did when I was last in Bologna . As far as UK pizza goes, it’s pretty special. Homeslice may not be the place you could spend your whole evening, but with magnums of wine on your table, huge pizzas, good cocktails and a buzzy atmosphere – it makes for more than one reason alone to visit. Go now and look for dessert elsewhere, if you have room that is.
7.5/10
