So you like your pizzas puffy and blistered with a caramelised char? Me too. At Dimitri's Pizza in Darlinghurst, they churn out brilliantly floppy pizzas made with sourdough bases, finished in an Italian-made woodfired oven.
The best table is by the kitchen, offering a front row view of all the pizza making action. There's something almost sensual about watching a pizzaiolo gently coax the dough into shape, then strew it with toppings before plunging it into the fiery cavern of the woodfired oven (I told you it was sensual).
Marinara pizza $18 with stracciatella +$10
tomato, confit garlic and oregano
The classic marinara is simplicity at its best: a humble tomato sauce with confit garlic and oregano. We upgrade ours with stracciatella, made from torn mozzarella soaked in cream. It adds a milky decadence to this tomato pizza, interspersed with alternating hits of jammy garlic cloves and fresh basil leaves.
The pizza edges are the best bit, brilliantly bubbled around the edges with all the right shades of char. The base is soft and floppy because of its thinness, perfect for folding over while you try and eat this demurely with your fingers (who am I kidding? Just get right in there).
Funguy pizza $23
Mushroom, mozzarella, truffle oil, chilli and basil
The pizza menu is reassuringly short - just eight options to choose from - but owners Ken Williams and Drew Huston aren't tied to the usual toppings. They're not afraid of a few puns either, like the funguy pizza with mushrooms and truffle oil (boom tish).
Cream of korn pizza $23
Wood oven smoked and creamed corn, mozzarella and pickled jalapenos
The cream of korn pizza wins over my tastebuds tonight though, because, CORN. It's a party of juicy sweet corn kernels sliced straight off the cob, made even tastier with stretchy molten mozzarella cheese and the gentle heat of pickled jalapenos.
Bee sting pizza $23
Tomato, sopressa, mozzarella and hot honey
Things get even wilder with the bee sting pizza. That's slices of sopressa - an aged salami - drizzled over with warm honey.
Sopressa salami pizza with mozarella and hot honey
It's not as strange as you think. Pork goes brilliantly with sugar - think roast pork with apple sauce or Chinese char siu barbecue pork. Here it adds a mellow richness to the cured pork.
Smoked eggplant $16
with charred cherry tomatoes, olives and parmigiano
It's not all pizza either.
The smoked eggplant is terrific, its buttery soft flesh permeated with smoky undertones, sauced up with blistered cherry tomatoes and a cloud of parmigiano cheese.
Cheese and tomato $16
housemade stracciatella and mixed heirloom tomatoes
We get in on more housemade stacciatella action too, dolloped generously over a medley of mixed heirloom tomatoes. Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil. Is there a more iconic taste of Italy?
Drinks? There's definitely a focus on boutique beer breweries, including half a dozen beers by Marrickville brewery The Grifter. Happy hour used to run 5pm-7pm but looks to have been shortened to 6pm now. There's a pretty decent selection of wines too, includes orange/skin wines and nine wines available by the glass.
Dimitri's Pizzeria
215 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8068 4247
Opening hours
Wednesday to Saturday 5pm til late
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CORN! How good was that corn pizza!
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting to read! I love the range of posts, there is really something for everyone, great post!
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