“Amazing sides, but pizza falls a little flat”
Invited by Alvinlogy to this tasting in collaboration with The Entertainer, Extra Virgin Pizza is one of Lo and Behold group’s latest F&B ventures who also brought us classy joints like The White Rabbit and The Black Swan.
Using a lot of clean graphics with good typography, the branding used here is definitely young and casual, appealing to young adults and students. Pizza itself is already something more westernized, and definitely not something to eat with grandma.
Utilizing lots of red hues, there is that hint of a fast-food joint for the interior, but done classier and more modern.
Housemade sodas ($6 glass/$15 jug). Tried the ginger lemon and strawberry basil soda, which is pretty refreshing and not as sweet with that subtle spice lingering at the back. More interesting than the usual Italian sodas no doubt.
Spotted Pig ($26). Tomato, mozzarella, pepperoni, pork sausage, applewood smoked bacon, parmigiano reggiano. Extra Virgin Pizza uses a thin crust base, which can be pretty nice if it’s crisp and firm.
Sadly, the pizza we sampled had a semi-soggy base making it extremely hard to cut. The outer crust on the other hand had a slight charred flavour, which is good, but was hard and a tad stale.
Meatball ($26). Tomato, mozzarella, veal and ricotta meatballs, fresh basil, provolone. Although using a different cheese (provolone instead of parmigiano reggiano), I couldn’t really tell the difference as the mozzarella still dominated the cheesy taste.
Tasted quite similar to the Spotted Pig, other than the addition of meatballs. The meatballs were a bit one dimensional in taste as well, without any prominent herbs or tomato within, making this pizza quite dull to eat.
Hawaiian BBQ Chicken ($24). Chipotle bbq sauce, mozzarella, chicken, roasted onions, fresh pineapple, jalapeño, scallions, pecorino, provolone. I initially thought the jalapenos were capsicums and took a huge bite. Then the spice hit me like a surprise SMRT breakdown.
I think the underlying Chipotle sauce had that right amount of smokiness and spice but the jalapenos were a bit overkill.
Ham and Mushroom ($24). Tomato, mozzarella, cooked ham, roasted mushrooms, pine nuts, fennel seed, fresh basil, parmigiano reggiano. Probably the better pizza of the night where you can taste the distinct roasted mushrooms and ham.
Baked Chicken Wings ($10/$16). Freshly baked and piping hot with a special spice rub, these wings tasted so much better than the pizzas, and I was actually pretty impressed. The meat almost falls of the bone by itself, and the underlying spicy fire adds good flavour.
Oven-Fired Clams ($18). White wine and garlic clams with a very tasty, natural sauce. Buttery and sweet, the manilla clams used are also pretty big and meaty. Dip the garlic toast in the white wine reduction at the end as well; you don’t want to waste any of the soup.
Overall, Extra Virgin Pizza’s ingredients seem a bit sparse to me. The unique ingredients and cheeses could be further enhanced to make each pizza stand out a bit more differently as well. Each pizza doesn’t seem to have it’s own taste identity, and is quite similar in base all around.
Oh and soggy pizza base isn’t really my cup of tea either, if it were intentional.
The side dishes however, really stood out, and I’ve heard their pastas are pretty good as well. The irony of it all.
Expected Damage: $20 – $30/pax
