Wild Child Pizzette, Circular Rd: “Irresistible and deserving of cheat day feasting”

If the best things in life are free, then the second best is well-kneaded dough topped with cheese and baked to crisp perfection. No fan of Italian food is a stranger to Cicheti Group’s top-notch trio of eateries—Cicheti, Bar Cicheti, and Caffe Cicheti, all who promise and deliver only the most palatable Italian fare. Joining the line-up is the newly opened Wild Child Pizzette, a two-minute walk from Raffles Place MRT. 

Wild Child Pizzette stands out from the noisy atmosphere of the CBD with its juxtaposition of modern Japanese minimalism, with the clean lines and neutral colour palette serving as a respite from the daily hustle and bustle.

What I tried

Consider the pizzas from Wild Child Pizzette an upgrade from your basics that leave you much to be thankful for. The slow-fermented Neapolitan-style crust blasted in a wood-fired oven births an impossibly light and airy texture. Enter the Cavolo Nero (S$18.50)—topped with a bright, citrusy burst of lemon and the tang of pickled onions, the bagna cauda and garlic confit come together in a medley of sweet, piquant, and earthy flavours.

Mark my words, it’s the one and only time I’ll allow kale and pizza to be consumed in the same bite, and maybe even reach for another. 

If you’re a fan of a good ol’ quattro formaggi, this next one’s going to impress you, even if it’s a Trio Formaggio (S$19), with one less cheese. This pizza feels as though Wild Child Pizzette personally invited King Midas to touch it himself—it’s a circular disk of golden goodness topped with sweet, caramelised onions, containing the mild fruitiness of taleggio in the place of the more strident notes of gorgonzola, more commonly found on a quattro formaggi.

It’s definitely less hefty than the four-cheese combination, but I don’t miss the richness that comes with it.

There’s a topping that pairs perfectly with pizza, no controversy surrounding it (unlike ahem, pineapples, ahem), and that one gem is salami. The Spiniata Calabrese (S$19), named after the spicy salami from Calabria, packs a punch with its fiery flavour and is blasted in the oven until crispy at the edges. This firecracker is drizzled generously with sweet Sichuan chilli honey and topped with fennel seeds for a decadent experience that I, the most lactose intolerant person I know, would willingly travel back to Wild Child Pizzette for.

The one pizza I had the highest hopes for didn’t just reach the bar, it tossed the bar out of my reach. A margherita is my favourite pizza of all time, and its simplicity practically promises that it’ll be a safe option to order anywhere. Simplicity also means it’s difficult to revolutionise, but Wild Child Pizzette’s Crispy Fried Margherita (S$21) was as much a showstopper as Blake Lively’s gown at the Met Gala in 2018.

The pizza dough is deep-fried before it’s laden with creamy stracciatella and juxtaposed with the juicy richness of semi-dried tomatoes and fresh basil leaves. This meatless wonder is topped with thick shavings of aged parmigiana and comes together in a symphony of crunches, textures, and flavours of your wildest dreams.

 I saved the Crispy Fried Margherita for the last because it was an upgraded version of something I already knew and loved. But if we’re talking about upgrades, an honourable mention goes to the Bikini (S$18.50), which originated from Catalan as a ham and cheese sandwich. Wild Child Pizzette has replaced the bread with that slow-fermented pizza dough that I absolutely a-dough and filled it a savoury beef cheek marmalade alongside a rich layer of taleggio and provolone—in paradise, there’d be a plate loaded with these, for me, and only me, to enjoy.

Final thoughts

Cicheti Group has done it again. Wild Child Pizzette is another stellar addition to their ever-growing repertoire of top-notch Italian fare, and I consider myself pretty lucky to have been able to give it a shot. While the 10-inch pizzas will feed one comfortably, I’ll recommend making a trip down with your friends so that you’ll be able to taste the best of all worlds in one go. After all, they’re equally as decadent, irresistible, and deserving of some cheat day feasting.

Expected damage: S$18.50 – S$21 per pax

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