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Formula One ex-boss Flavio Briatore’s latest ‘crazy’ venture is a heaving pizzeria in Marylebone. While the name seems more suited to a pizza chain (just me?), this swanky spot is far from it. The decor is elegant and simple with a few lush accents: bottle-green booths and grandiose chandeliers. Frothy photos of celebrities devouring pizza line the walls, adding some tongue-in-cheek humour to the space. An open kitchen dedicated to the making of fior di latte (cow’s milk mozarella) sits next to the entrance, so you can watch the chef soak and serve your perfectly creamy, perfectly stretchy mozza ball, then team it with a few sweet Sicilian tomatoes for a simple but dreamy starter.
The team at Crazy Pizza run on a seemingly constant high. The all-Italian waiters were dynamic and attentive, world champion dough-spinning pizzaiolos performed dances to infectious music pumping all night long, while live musicians entertained the crowds.
A single-sheet menu includes classic or ‘crazy’ pizzas, a few salads, that mozzarella, and not much else. Starters, like baby spinach salad with pine nuts and a zingy honey-mustard dressing, are not to be missed, as the simple flavours and fresh ingredients prep the palate for the carbs to follow.
The yeast-free, skinny-base pizzas are the main draw. If you’re feeling flush, you could check out the ‘Crazy’ part of the menu: some of the loftier options, like the black truffle tartufo, top out at a mighty £45.
We stuck to classics on our visit – the formaggi, an impossibly thin base covered in mozzarella, grana padano and gorgonzola, was not too cheesy but oh so moreish. The calzone, a gloriously crusted pocket, was cut to reveal oozing mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce and perfectly salty parma ham.
Prices are on the steep side, but this is Marylebone, after all. And this place isn’t really crazy. It’s actually very fun.