Reviewed
10/03

Walking into Pizza Piazza, I felt as if I had left Oxford behind, and just entered a chic London bar/restaurant. The interior was, shall we say, minimalist, with wooden flooring, white-washed walls, dimmed lighting and leather-topped tables with a single candle in the centre. As with so many of the modern restaurants these days, the kitchen was on view to the public, and an open plan, stylish bar lined one side of the restaurant.

The service was swift and the staff incredibly polite and efficient. We ordered garlic dough sticks for starter, which arrived swiftly, were freshly baked and cooked to perfection. The garlic butter was flavoursome, yet not overpowering; the dough light and perfectly crisp to the bite. For the main course we both ordered Calzone pizza; the menu here is large, though heavily dominated by pizza; only a few pasta dishes offered as an alternative. However, the choice of toppings is immense and adventurous and most people would easily find something to their liking here, I am sure. My husband chose the bacon and brie calzone, while I went for the seafood option: tuna and prawns in a tomato sauce. Both pizzas were accompanied with a fantastic Caesar salad with a wonderfully tangy dressing, and we chose to share a bottle of very pleasant wine during the meal. We also ordered a side portion of chips, which although not abundant in quantity, were again freshly cooked and tasted divine, with a proper golden colouring and lightly sprinkled with oregano and rock salt.

Neither of us could stomach a dessert after our mains, though the menu was tempting, and watching other tables the desserts carried out looked incredibly well presented and of ample portions.

Overall, we were more than pleasantly surprised with our meal. The total bill came to only £19, due admittedly to their long-term promotion of 'two main courses plus bottle of wine for £15'; however, this seems to be a relatively permanent offer, and even without, all main courses are under £9, with most around the £6 mark. Starters average £3.50 and desserts closer to £4.50.

In all, what we expected to be a mediocre meal taking advantage of a good promotion was in fact a lovely evening with fantastic food and wine, in a modern but quiet and very sophisticated setting. Definitely worth the trip up Banbury Road.

Alison Hook