The best things in life are often the simplest. That’s probably why the world loves pizza so much, the combination of bread, tomato and cheese has won the hearts of millions across the globe.
I’ve seen all kinds of pizza while on this earth, some a little too fancy for my liking, so when I seen that a traditional pizzeria was coming to Liverpool that claimed to provide the authentic Neapolitan pizza experience, I made sure to book a table.
Rudy Pizza Liverpool isn’t a new restaurant, it’s a tried and tested method that already has two thriving sites in Manchester – so setting one up just down the M62 was a no brainer. Based on Castle Street, the location couldn’t be better served on town’s doorstep. Nothing like a bit of pizza to open or close a hard day’s work of shopping… or drinking.
As we were led to our table the first thing you notice is the atmosphere. The feel is the place is a completely relaxed setting and the design facilitates that with lush hanging baskets draped over the bar area. Can’t go wrong with a few plants, can you? It’s the perfect environment for wine and pizza. So, not wanting to tempt fate, that’s exactly what we ordered.
Spoilt for choice when the menus arrived, we order the Calabrese and the Ancozzese, all the while struggling to pronounce either one. Luckily, the waitress was nice and didn’t laugh in our faces. The Calabrese was a tomato base pizza with fior di latte mozzarella, basil and nduja sausage – spicy, yet delightful!
The real head-turner was the Ancozzese, though, with chilli flakes, smoked mozzarella, Tuscan sausage, wild broccoli and olive oil. If you think that sounds like it’s missing something that’s because it’s got no tomato at the base – what they call a ‘white pizza’ and you will traditionally use this if you want to showcase the quality ingredients on a pizza.
Though I really liked the Ancozzese, I have to say the Calabrese was the real winner here. I’ve never had a sauce-less pizza in my life (having dabbles in the dark arks of BBQ and even hoi sin bases) and there was something about the white pizza that was just lacking a certain… something. Oh wait. The sauce. It needed some sauce.
The best bit about both pizzas was the dough, by some distance. Made twice onsite every day, the texture is soft and light – much akin to what it feels like biting into a cloud, I assume – and thoroughly delicious.
The dough is so floppy that they advise you to eat your pizza with a knife and fork. However, if you’re like me and think that eating pizza with anything else but your hands is a cardinal sin, there is a workaround: fold your slice in half like a pizza sandwich and then go to town.
While Rudy’s is nothing fancy, it doesn’t need to be. It’s just simple ingredients, prepared with an Italian flourish and bursting with a delicious natural flavour. It’s the perfect restaurant to go chill out with friends, drink copious amounts of wine and sample some of the finest pizzas this side of the Adriatic Sea.
Tom is the Mens lifestyle editor here at The Daily Struggle. Interested in Mens health and fashion, theater and eats copious amounts of cheese toasties when he thinks no one is looking.
