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Pi Pizza Battersea is the first London branch of a Winchester-born pizzeria. Inside it’s very green: lush vegetation hangs from the ceiling and there’s a real tree in the largest room, giving the place a piazza-like feel. Waiters are friendly, too.
The stars of the show are the pizzas. You’re actively encouraged to go for a ‘half and half’, choosing from a range of high-quality artisanal toppings, and for no extra cost. One such pizza with wild boar salami and piquillo peppers – the two ingredients united by a thwack of chilli – was delightful. Elsewhere, a creamy white base came with artichokes and lardo, the cured pork fat delicately balanced with rosemary and pink peppercorns. A humble margherita,dotted with basil leaves, had splodges of mozzarella and a beautifully airy dough (it’s fermented for up to 72 hours using a secret recipe).
Away from the pizzas, Pi Pizza can skimp on the details. A starter of burrata had no evidence of the ‘caramelised’ black fig having been cooked in any way at all (though the other starter, a pancetta arancini, was deliciously crisp and salty). The gelato for dessert was sub-standard, and the meringue tart lacked flavour. But for its pizza, Pi Pizza is the business.