When you enter Tel Aviv’s Champs-Elysées AKA Bogarshov Street, you come across mostly cafes and delicatessens with a French flair. But there is one corner that has been red-green-white for years – the Italian pizzeria-restaurant with the especially purposeful name “The Pizza”, which prides itself on authentic Neapolitan pizza that comes out of a large brick oven located in the center of the restaurant.
Usually in the evenings you will find a long line at the entrance to the place, but luckily we entered quickly and were seated in the interior of the restaurant. In a short time we were greeted by energetic waitresses who, it turns out, apart from helping customers choose pizza toppings, are actually studying acting and dreaming of conquering Hollywood, but first let’s see if they will succeed in conquering us.
Unfortunately, we started off on the wrong foot when we discovered that the restaurant is dairy-free, and the closest thing to a meat dish for a hungry carnivore is the shawarma at the end of the street. We didn’t stay in debt and let them down again when we chose to give up the handmade pastas and instead chose outsourced spaghetti.
It is also possible without asparagus. The pizza (photo: Adi Foa and Inbal Korman)
For the first course, we ordered ricotta and parmesan gnocchi with cherry butter, garlic, parmesan, mushrooms and chives (NIS 53). We ordered the dish following the enthusiastic recommendation of the waitress, probably without considering the amount of dough that was going to arrive at the table later in the meal. The gnocchi was a little sticky and swimming in a sea of butter The portion was small (something that was not reflected in the price of the portion). Probably the choice of this dish in the context of this specific meal was a mistake and it would have been better to choose a salad dish that would refresh the heaviness of the rest of the meal, but as a dish that stands alone, it was definitely delicious and the combination of mushrooms and gnocchi never Really can’t be bad.
As another dish that was ordered for the center of the table was a “70’s” pizza that contained tomato sauce, mozzarella, oregano, Kalamata olives and Parmesan (we chose to leave out the hot pepper) (67 a”j). As for the pizza itself, the opinions were divided. The vegetarian half among us was very Loved the dish: the pizza was thin and got the great smoky flavor of the stone oven. The dough was excellently made and the sauce and toppings on top were also accurate in taste and quantity and the only downside was that the cheese fell off the pizza as soon as it was lifted from the plate. For my carnivore table partner, the reactions were quite cool, certainly with pepperoni was not involved in the incident.
In retrospect, gnocchi wasn’t the perfect choice for a starter, but it’s a matter of context. The pizza (photo: Adi Foa and Inbal Korman)
For the vegetarian main course, an artichoke rose spaghetti was ordered, which contained tomato sauce, cream, garlic, Italian artichokes and chives (67 NIS). The vegetarian representative at the table is an avid artichoke lover, and for her any dish that includes artichokes jumps out from the menu pages, but in this particular case the artichoke was The unnecessary part of the dish and hindered it from rising. Sometimes simple is best: the rosé sauce was all the spaghetti (and the stomach) needed. Sweet and salty to the right degree, just the right amount to not drown the spaghetti but not leave it dry.
For the “meaty” main course, we ordered spaghetti with smoked salmon and asparagus that contained cream, garlic, butter, white wine, parmesan and chives (NIS 73). The sauce and the pieces of salmon were perfectly synergistic and completely fulfilled the fantasy of a bolognese dish, only the asparagus created a feeling of An aftertaste in the background, which just hurt the overall taste of the dish. The dish went great with a glass of white wine (bonus point for the restaurant – the glass arrived full “Kiddush” style) which quickly overpowered the pushed asparagus.
It is also possible without asparagus. The pizza (photo: Adi Foa and Inbal Korman)
For dessert, it was agreed to order a chocolate nemesis after we realized that we didn’t have the strength for more dough (at first we were still squinting in the direction of the Nutella calzone). A rich and soft chocolate cake with whipped cream and Amaranth cherries (42 NIS) was served to the table. The cake was dense, and you could feel the high-quality raw materials, despite this, the taste was not as rich and deep as other Nemesis cakes we tasted in the past and we were comforted by the soft whipped cream that balanced the bursting sweetness.
Bottom line, “the pizza” (you can’t help but write their name with quotation marks) leaves a taste for more. It has a homey atmosphere with an Italian aroma and service at eye level, only those who care about such things should know that they will not find meat there.
Cauliflower: 4.5
Steaks: 3