Purezza, Camden – London, UK

Photography: @purezza on Twitter.

Three minutes from Camden Town tube station, on a street perpendicular to Camden High Street, is the Purezza restaurant. We are fleeing the cold winter and we pass the door to discover a room with a subdued atmosphere where the voices of many customers already in the building are linked together as a soft background reflecting the popularity of the place. We are greeted very kindly by a waitress who tells us to follow her. As we pass the bar we discover a small staircase behind - invisible from the front door - that we take to discover another room upstairs. This room – not to small nor too big – can welcome around fifteen people, and allows are more private meeting. The layout of the tables where the all group eats on the same long table is also very friendly. In addition, the speaker is at your disposal to enjoy your favourite songs throughout your meal.

It is therefore in a relaxed mood that we decide to order. And what a surprise when seeing the menu. Indeed, if just like me you're not used to this kind of place, you may have to think before you go that the choice of dishes may not be extremely varied. Well, let me tell you that I was wrong. The restaurant offers a wide selection of pizza, start-ups but also several dishes and desserts.

You have many choices, either you’re very hungry or not, from £2.95 to £12.95 which is affordable. We go for gluten free Lasagna Classica (£12.95) described as “a pasta made entirely from gluten free ingredients, with creamy bechamel style cheese and a tasty ragu mince.”, a Parmigiana Party pizza composed of red tomatoes, smoked mozzarella, aubergine parmigiana and crumbled sausages (£12.95), a SEASON.4.PIZZA.1 (£11.95: Red tomatoes, mozzarella, artichokes, kalamata olives, wild forest mushrooms and smoked beetroot carpaccio.) and a Margherita (£8.95 composed of a red tomato base, with our artisan, organic, rice based mozzarella, topped with basil leaves and extra virgin olive oil.) Moreover, we decide to order wine as well, and take a Pinot Grigio bottle (White) and a Primitivo (Red), for a price of £19.95 each.

The pizzas do not differ from the range pizzas we can eat in other restaurants and are very tasty. The Parmigiana pizza remains my favorite indeed, by eating this pizza you feel from the first bite the quality of food and cooking the eggplant melt in the mouth and mozzarella brings freshness also which is a really tasty mix of the two ingredients. As soon as you are finished you want to take another piece. The Lasagna was very smooth and the béchamel as creamy as needed, and the cheese very good. You can add a glass of Primitivo too during your degustation. It will be fruitier than the dry white wine that I do not particularly like. It can seem a little heavy but it is not the case, the ingredients are less greasy and we can feel it is healthier when we eat it. I honestly recommend this dish for its quality. The Margherita pizza is more classical and very similar to what we can eat in various restaurants offering this but the difference is once again the quality of the products which are less greasy and healthier. The vegetables seem fresh and the cheese too. The Season 4 pizza is just as succulent. Although not especially fond of artichokes, mixing it with other ingredients makes me appreciate it. The mozzarella once again brings freshness to the pizza and mushrooms and the beetroots Carpaccio are delicious. A very good and tasty surprise.

We finish our plates, all satisfied and decide not to take dessert; the amount of food was enough. We are in no hurry to leave the place, the service is impeccable and the kindness of the staff up to the quality of the kitchen. We ate copiously, and paid about £10 by person which is reasonable. Obviously if you take more than we did you will pay a little more but it will still be very affordable and will worth it. An address that we recommend so much the service is nice and the food is delicious.

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