When you think of New Zealand and food, pizza does not automatically spring to mind. The great Kiwi culinary exports are lamb, cheese and butter, kumera (sweet potato), and of course, kiwi fruit. (They also claim to have invented pavlova but so do the Aussies and I’m not willing to enter into that debate). Yet, a New Zealand pizza franchise has opened up in a corner of West London and is planning an assault on the British capital.
Hell Pizza opened in Fulham less than a year ago and the Kiwi manager tells me that the restaurant is intended to be the blueprint for an entire chain. That will be great news for homesick Kiwis all over London, as Hell Pizza is one of the most popular pizza chains back in New Zealand. I was introduced to the chain when I recently attended a birthday dinner for London-based, New Zealand-born author Natasha Judd.
The style of pizza was familiar to me from Australia – it is like a much more upmarket version of Pizza Hut, a bit like the Sydney chain Gourmet Pizza Kitchen. It’s different to Italian pizza in two main ways. The base is not quite so thin and crusty but is a bit thicker and softer. Also, the toppings, which can be very untraditional, are piled on much more lavishly than the Italian style.
At Hell Pizza, the names of the pizzas are thematic – you have a range named after the Seven Deadly Sins, while other names include Brimstone and Damned. There is a standard range, which has things equivalent to Meatlovers and Supreme, and a gourmet menu where anything from refried beans to blue cheese might make an appearance. For example, the Cursed has chicken, smoked cheddar, bacon, gherkins, ham, honey mustard. The Purgatory, one of the vegetarian options, has fresh spinach, sun-dried tomato, black pepper, feta, garlic, mushrooms and onion. There are also dessert pizzas – the Forbidden with marscapone cheese, sliced banana and caramel toffee was quite a hit.
The food was tasty and since we had more than 10 people we could go for the £5 all-you-can-eat option, so it was a bargain as well. They bring it out to you so you don’t have the same temptation as you would if it were sitting in front of you or at a buffet table, but we still packed away quite a few slices. I had forgotten how much more filling that style of pizza is compared with Italian pizza. I can eat a whole Italian pizza myself, though I try not to, but there’s no way I could get through one of these babies on my own. The pan is bigger, the base is thicker, the toppings more plentiful – I had four or five pieces including dessert and I was stuffed.
Hell Pizza is definitely worth checking out if you are in the area, and they do home delivery as well. Personally I prefer the simple flavours of Italian pizza, but I know plenty of people who love this stuff and with a big population of Aussies and Kiwis in West London, this joint should do well once word gets around.
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