Although my food heart belongs to Sicily, for me its a little place called Casa Sotto below St George’s Square in Valetta, Malta but neither are particularly easy to get to for a quick margarita.
Now there are lots of different styles of pizza. In Italy, Naples is known for a puffy airy crust and soft centre with simple toppings. Rome’s pizzerias tend to offer a thin and crispy base that is less chewy than Neapolitan pizza. Meanwhile the Sicilian style tends to be a bit more hearty with a thicker and spongier crust. Naturally the American’s have added calorie-packed loaded versions of pizza whether deep pan or stuffed crust but I doubt many Italians would identify them as ‘proper’ pizza.
Unfortunately, despite pizza – and in fact pretty much any dish from the Italian kitchen – being very high up my favourites list, having developed an intolerance to gluten in the past five years I don’t often find it on my plate as much as I’d like.
Yet thankfully in Brighton there are lots of options for pizza lovers that cater for dietaries ranging from the magnificent vegan pizzas to be found at Purezza on St James Street through to a pretty impressive range of gluten free pizzas at national chain Pizza Express.
A perennial favourite for me is Fatto a Mano that – if my memory serves me right, and that is increasingly questionable – opened in Preston Circus around 15 years ago. Over the years I’ve scoffed more than my fair share of their pizzas, and in recent years I’ve been drawn to their excellent gluten-free dough
I dropped by their North Laine restaurant on the corner of Kensington Gardens and Gloucester Road with Little Miss Greedy Guts on a sunny afternoon at the start of December. We were lunching at a bit of a funny time – 2.30pm – so there were only a couple of other tables but that meant we had plenty of time to chat with with our bright and engaging server.
On the main card there are ten snacks and starters including arancini, gnocchi, salad and various fried bites. Greedy Guts couldn’t wait to get her hands on the spicy, cheesy Arrabbiata balls. Lightly fried to perfection they were a good pairing to a juicy and very quaffable glass of Sangiovese red wine.
And so to the pizza. What’s nice at Fatto a Mano is that they’ve split their menu into red and white pizzas. I guess if you’re eating pizza regularly then you don’t always want the richness of both cheese and tomato, and I must say I’m a fan of less is more with toppings as its more authentic and when the ingredients – sourced from both Italy and British suppliers – are this good then they really do sing for themselves. You can of course add extra toppings but there’s a reason why classic topping combinations have withstood the test of time.
For me a Napoletana – on a gluten-free sour dough base – with tomato sauce, salty anchovies, tart capers, black olives, garlic, oregano and basil. Suffice to say the ingredients were all superb and well-balanced, but for me it was all about the base. Perhaps a little chewier than their regular base, it maintained its structure so kept a crispy crust and there was definitely no soggy bottom. I ate the entire pizza, which I think is a first for me.
Little Miss was procrastinating with her ordering so I gently encouraged her towards the Norma pizza. Inspired by the Sicilian classic Pasta Norma, its simple yet moreish sauce featuring tomato, aubergines, ricotta and basil. No complaints from the other side of the table.
There was no chance of leaving without a dessert. Little Miss is a tempestuous child if I deny her a pudding. There was no surprise that her beady eyes went straight to the tiramisu, an absolute classic Italian dessert of espresso dipped fingers, rich sugared mascarpone cheese and egg yolks with a dusting of cocoa powder. Delicious but perhaps best kept as an occasional treat. As I delicately sipped on an espresso she quickly polished that off.
There are also monthly pizza specials inspired by different regions of Italy, artisanal farmers and renowned Italian chefs. A little birdie tells me that February will bring a somewhat divisive but ever popular pizza to the table at Fatto a Mano, but my beak is firmly sealed.
Pizzas are cooked in true Napoli style. At the heart of the restaurant is a wood-fired oven that is heated to an astounding 450ºc meaning a pizza takes a more 90 seconds to cooked. Although there is no guarantee of cross-contamination between regular pizzas and gluten free, the latter are cooked on separate plates to minimise risk. I’ve never had a problem at this particular restaurant.
Price wise, pizzas start at £9.50 for a classic margarita and range up to around £17. House wines are a very reasonable £7 for a glass. For little ones, there is a kids pizza and gelato offer priced at just £5 making the restaurant supremely affordable for families.
Fatto a Mano is certainly one of the best pizza restaurants in the city. I’ll definitely be dropping by for another slice of the action very soon.
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