The scene Tucked away like a cosy little secret in the often overlooked, but always delightful (in a hippy enclave kinda way), Neal’s Yard courtyard, smack bang in the middle of Covent Garden, this back-to-basics pizza restaurant strips away all the frilly nonsense and simply serves a small selection of gigantic pizzas with a choice of one beer or wine.
There’s not even so much as a physical menu on your table – if you’re unable to see the chalked-up options on the blackboard, the waiting staff will hand you an iPad mini with a photo of it.
The grub Pizza from the wood-fired oven is £4 a slice or £20 for the whole thing, with the option to have two sets of toppings, half-and-half style – so you and your dining partner don’t end up squabbling over anchovies. As well as the basics like margherita, there’s a genuinely adventurous mix of experimental toppings to get stuck into.
At the time of writing, black pudding, apple and watercress was on offer, along with oxtail with horseradish cream, and mackerel with mint, peas and broad beans. Pizza Express this ain’t. Plates, forks and knives are old hat as far as Homeslice is concerned, too – you get a pizza slicer to carve up the 20-inch monsters, served on a wooden chopping board.
Being in the vicinity of the Neal’s Yard Dairy shop also means that some interesting cheeses can crop up on the menu, like Ogleshield, made from Jersey cow milk.
My date and I share half mozzarella, salami and rocket and half yellow courgette, mushroom, mozzarella and basil. It’s fresh, wholesome, rustic and filling. The tomato sauce base (the cornerstone of any good pizza) is juicy and tangy, and gets my vote. Staff at Homeslice are warm and genuinely welcoming, too, so it’s not a snooty trendoid spot either.
Behind the bar Asahi lager (served in a dimpled pint tankard) is £4 a pint or £2 for a half pint; Frizzenti prossecco on draught is £4 a glass; wine from £4 a glass.
Verdict Excellent pizza with an experimental foodie twist. Well worth popping by for a post-shopping scoff.
13 Neal’s Yard, Seven Dials, WC2H 9DP
homeslicepizza.co.uk
Tube | Covent Garden
