Who knew a bite into a flattened piece of dough topped with tomato sauce and cheese could bring us so much joy? Multiple food outlets provide quality pizzas but very few cook them in a woodfire oven. Culinary experts state that only a woodfire oven can make a pizza crisp yet light with a smoky flavour. We present to you five places in Chennai that offer authentic woodfire pizzas:
A petite but classy restaurant that serves vegan and vegetarian dishes only, Little Italy has a ten-page long menu that offers salads, soups, pasta, risottos, and Mexican specialties. Their special Pizza Bianca E Nero is a black pizza base with alfredo sauce and topped with chillie-tossed vegetables and different types of cheese including ricotta, cheddar, parmesan, and mozzarella. Another crowd-pleaser, the Pesto pizza is simple but flavourful, topped with potatoes, garlic, and mozzarella cheese. The restaurant also offers Semifreddo Al Mango, a dessert delight that would be perfect for this season. Also look forward to their wide range of assorted beverages to cool you down this summer.
Outlets in Anna Nagar, Nungambakkam, and Besant Nagar. Starting at Rs 400.
This nifty restaurant serves freshly baked woodfire pizzas with witty, quirky names. The Play Boy, Mafia Boy, and the Oh Boy are topped with unique ingredients like artichokes, truffle oil, and buffalo cheese. Non-vegetarians must try the Dirty Boy, which is topped with pepperoni, Bratwurst sausage, chilli chorizo, and crispy bacon. Meanwhile, The Fat Boy’s ‘The Fat Boy’ would be a cheese lover’s nirvana. Crafted with their signature thin crust, this cheesy delight is topped with not just one but four different cheeses: Mozzarella, Gouda, Red Cheddar, and Parmesan to satisfy your cheese cravings. A whole range of coolers, milkshakes, and other desserts are also available to make your dining experience more satisfying. You could also try some of their other short eats on the menu like sandwiches, fries, and garlic bread.
Outlets in Alwarpet, Shenoy Nagar, and Besant Nagar. Starting from Rs 395.
Ciro’s Pizzeria is on a mission to bring regional Italian pizzas to our plates in Chennai. All of their bases are made from 00 flour that is fermented for up to 48 hours to give us that signature flavour. You can choose from two crusts: the classic thin crust (Romanov) or the thicker crust called the Napoletan. Their vegetarian best seller Fiorentina is topped with mozzarella cheese, button mushrooms, spinach, caramelised onions, and feta cheese. Grilled chicken, smoked ham, Italian sausage, capers, and our classic pepperoni are part of the non-vegetarian menu. You can even create your own customised pizza by selecting the base and having your pick from an assortment of sauces, cheeses, and toppings. To finish off, the Lemon Curd Panna Cotta and Tiramisu are among the highlights of the dessert menu.
Pizzas start from Rs 300 (medium) and Rs 350 (large).
What started as a motivation for her workers during the lockdown has grown into a perfectly functioning cloud kitchen for Swetha Reddy, Executive Director, Ceebros Hotels. This cloud kitchen sources its ingredients from artisanal farms in Auroville to give us lip-smacking pizzas in the comfort of our homes. Estiva, topped with courgettes, artichokes, caramelized onions, feta, and guest what? smoked mozzarella will become your instant favourite. Their non-vegetarian best seller, Marco Polo, comes in rustic packaging topped with tomatoes, mushrooms, prosciutto ham, artichokes, black olives, parmesan, mozzarella, fresh basil, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Their exquisite tiramisu, flavoured with Brazilian cocoa is the perfect way to end your meal.
Pizzas start at Rs 450. to Rs 700.
Nolita offers yet another dough option to its customers. Sourdough is a naturally leavened dough that has a slightly sour taste to it. This picturesque restaurant located in Nungambakkam and Besant Nagar serves New York-style woodfire pizzas. Central Park, (not the park in NYC) a pizza topped with sundried tomatoes, olives, baby corn, pesto sauce, mozzarella, and feta is a vegetarian must-try. The meat lovers, on the other hand, could go for the Times Square (again not the one in NYC). This pizza is topped with every kind of meat on a layer of tomato sauce and mozzarella. They even have plank pizzas (pizza for a single person), garlic bread, chicken wings, bacon-wrapped shrimp with BBQ sauce, and panna cotta to make your meal more wholesome.
Pizzas start at Rs 375.
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