Goldenroy Sourdough Pizza, Little India: A fluffy slice of San Francisco

Have you ever tried sourdough pizza? Well, the last time I had sourdough pizza was when I was in the land down under. Ever since, not many places in Singapore have been sourdough-friendly with their pizzas. At least, that’s what I thought till I came across Goldenroy Sourdough Pizza. 

Nestled along Sam Leong Road, Goldenroy was founded by Roy himself in 2019. He worked hard on perfecting the recipe while he was a student at Stanford University, which is located right next to San Francisco. There he would often make frequent trips down to San Fran in search of good food and fell in love with the pizzas from a shop named Golden Boy. Thus, the birth of Goldenroy in Singapore. 

Let’s start off with what sets them apart from other pizza joints—their sourdough base. Their sourdough starter is a heirloom strain from San Fran, and is over a 100 years old and maintained over a generation of bakers from a local San Fran bakery giving the dough a very robust flavour and its authenticity. The sourdough starter, aptly named, ‘Old Grandpa’, is still very much alive and is aged for 48 hours to achieve a more well-rounded flavour. 

Goldenroy only bakes their pizzas with 100% olive oil as it helps elevate the pizza and gives it a crunchy outer crust with a soft and fluffy interior. Apart from their sourdough base, their pizza slices also come in squares as opposed to the traditional triangles. I don’t know about you but square pizza slices are the way to go. 

Here’s a fun fact I found interesting: when asked for the inspiration behind their quirky pizza names, Roy mentioned that his creations are like pieces of art. When created, they have a certain theme and their names best describe the flavours he’s trying to capture. 

What I tried 

Currently, they only offer options for takeaway or walk-ins so I did what any other lazy Singaporean would do: make an online order and wait for it to show up on my doorstep. 

I ordered the Goldenroy Weekday Special (S$66) which consists of two pizzas of four flavours plus a box of three Garlic Knots (S$10), as well as one Smoked Camembert Sourdough Margherita Pizza (S$28). 

The four flavours that came along with the Goldenroy Weekday Special are Here Comes The Sun: Roast Beef & Garlic Sourdough, That-10K-Bitcoin-Pizza: Beef Pepperoni & Rare Cheese Sourdough, Roy’s Favourite: Mushroom Pesto Sourdough, and Kryptonite: Clam & Garlic Sourdough. Do note that the box comes with only two slices of each flavour. 

Meat-lovers, you’d want to go for either the Here Comes The Sun: Roast Beef & Garlic Sourdough Pizza (bottom) or That-10K-Bitcoin-Pizza: Beef Pepperoni & Rare Cheese Sourdough Pizza. Why? Because they’re both generously topped with a whole lot of meat and are very well-executed. 

The former led me to believe that there might be a hint of heat to be expected in the pizza due to its name; here comes the sun = here comes a surprise of chillies right? No, that wasn’t the case. Personally, I feel like it would’ve tasted better with extra heat, but that’s just me. However, I did taste a subtle hint of capsicum within the meat marination but I’m not sure if there were any present because I couldn’t see it. However, the sourness from the dough did marry well with the flavours of the pizza. 

The latter was easily my favourite of the five flavours. I’ve always been a firm believer that pepperoni has to be made out of pork and not beef, but a bite of the slice sent me straight to pizza heaven. The rare cheese combination with the beef pepperoni not only introduced my palate to a different flavour profile but came as a surprise instead.

It was creamy yet not too overpowering, allowing the flavours to be enjoyed in every bite. There was a wonderful meaty aftertaste as well, that I hoped wouldn’t dissipate. 

The next box came with two other flavours: Roy’s Favourite: Mushroom Pesto Sourdough Pizza (left) and Kryptonite: Clam & Garlic Sourdough Pizza. These two flavours are supposedly their current best-seller and signature flavour, respectively. Now, I’ll have you know that I am neither a huge fan of mushrooms nor clams, so my thoughts on these two pizzas may differ from most.

My first bite into Roy’s Favourite was a bit of a letdown as I was expecting a punchier pesto flavour. However, all I got was a good taste of olive oil, mushrooms, and tomatoes. While the mushrooms were fresh, the pesto flavour failed to make an impression, considering how it’s advertised as a mushroom pesto pizza—their best-seller. Then again, I find it tends to be a 50/50 chance with pesto; it’s almost always a hit-or-miss on pizza. 

And how about the Kryptonite? Well, it’s mine for sure. I had my reservations as seafood pizzas don’t really sit well with me—or my tummy for that matter. But there has to be a reason for this to be their signature flavour, right?

The smell of fresh clams was very evident—a smell that’s hard to miss. I couldn’t finish the slice as the clams were slightly rubbery in texture but one thing’s for sure, the sweet-salty essence of seafood was definitely there. If it were up to me, I’d choose to replace the two slices with more of That-10K-Bitcoin-Pizza.

Apart from the four flavours from the Goldenroy Weekday Special, another flavour sparked my curiosity—the Billie Jean Smoked Camembert Sourdough Margherita Pizza. Being a close cousin to brie, what many don’t know is that camembert makes an excellent pizza topper. The mere fact that they added smoked camembert to their Margherita pizza elevated the pizza by tenfold.

Honestly, this flavour comes a close second to That-10K-Bitcoin-Pizza. The pizza was also topped with the right amount of basil leaves to ensure the camembert remains the star of the show—truly a *chef’s kiss* moment for me. 

Last but not least, I also had the We’re Just Friends: Parmesan Garlic Sourdough Knots with Orange Pepper Sauce. My kitchen started to smell like a medley of garlic and parmesan after toasting it in my oven for a few minutes.

It was gratifyingly crispy on the outside, and warm and fluffy on the inside, thanks to the garlic cream hidden within the garlic knots. The tangy orange pepper sauce didn’t go unnoticed; dipping in a garlic knot introduced my palate to a world of surprising, yet pleasing flavours.

Final thoughts 

While there were a couple of hits and misses, overall, Goldenroy Sourdough Pizzas has something that most establishments don’t—an Old Grandpa. Jokes aside, I love sourdough and Goldenroy isn’t far off from having one of the better tasting pizza doughs I’ve had in a long time. 

Oh, another thing I love is that they provide you with idiot-proof instructions on how to reheat their pizza. It was brilliant as I’ve always faced problems with reheating my pizza slices—they’d either end up too hard or too soft.  I also heard that they are constantly working on new flavours and can’t wait to try them all once they’re launched. If you’re curious enough to want to place an order, they have limited delivery slots and I suggest booking in advance via their website. 

Expected damage: S$25 – S$30 per pax

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