La Pizzeria review: A chip off the old block

La Pizzeria, from the house of Little Italy, serves up a mix of the delicious and the disappointing

Since its opening in Teynampet, Little Italy’s ‘casual’ sister outlet, La Pizzeria, has seen a steady rise in patronage. We took a taste of the outlet’s reworked version of the 29-year-old Little Italy menu, and here’s what we found.

Soups form one of the first courses in the menu: a wide selection, with bases ranging from cream to minestrone. Among these, the Zuppa Di Ravioli is a delicious pumpkin ravioli soup, with a fine tinge of spice to it that balances out what would otherwise have been a pumpkin-heavy taste. Quite a treat to begin your meal with. Zuppa D’orzo, on the other hand, is barley soup, with a mix of vegetables and a touch of thyme working together to create a taste reminiscent of the broths that never appealed to you in childhood stories.

As far as appetisers are concerned, you’re as spoilt for choice as you would expect to be in an outlet that claims a mix of Italian and Mexican cuisine. But, more options don’t guarantee a more delicious overall experience here. Nachos are the safest, happiest bet. The ‘loaded’ version comes with a generous sprinkling of two kinds of olives, tomatoes, bell pepper, shredded cabbage, cheese and a commendable in-house salsa. Crisp, voluminous and exploding with flavour, it forms as worthy a side to your Pizzeria dinner as fries would to burgers.

 

Asparagi Arancini, on the other hand, is underwhelming. The dish comprises a herb-and-cheese stuffing inside balls of risotto that are deep-fried.

While ‘fried stuff with cheese’ might sound like an easy guarantee, in this case it neither bites crisply nor gives you that hit of salt and cheese you might expect. The Bruschetta Misto, a set of grilled bread slices in an assortment of simple toppings, is again a case of hit-or-miss. While some toppings — such as black olives with mayo — work extremely well, others are nearly unpalatable.

Don’t get too excited by the sight of that bar: like a good family restaurant, La Pizzeria only mixes mocktails. The Kiwi Lite is made up of kiwi and orange, and the combination provides a lovely, fresh, citrus kick to it. Light and refreshing, it’s exactly what you need to brace yourself, before being hit by a barrage of conflicting flavours in the main course.

You can choose between multigrain bread and an intriguing ciabatta — Mexican white bread — for your panini. Capresia, which has buffalo cheese, basil and tomatoes between the breads, is a safe enough choice, but not all that impressive. The real treat lies in the pizza.

If you like olives, you will love the Mellino pizza, where both black and green variants rule the show. This pizza also has a certain amount of sun-dried tomatoes, pickled onions and pepper to play up some flavour, but the olives dominate this one, and how! It admittedly doesn’t look that appetising, but the flavours more than make up for it, provided your taste leans that way. The best, however, is the pizza that appears to offer the least: with just tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, and spinach, it is a bold choice that would definitely reward your taste buds. With pizzas like these, we recommend you skip the disappointing risotto section entirely.

In desserts, the clear winner is the panna cotta basilico, a trembling, shining visual delight with an excellent consistency and light, subtle taste. The chocolate bomb, on the other hand, tries the typical combination of gooey chocolate and vanilla ice cream, but many others have done it better.