Stirling's new pizza restaurant was so good we went back for more
Have you ever eaten something so good that you still think about it years later?
For me, it's a margherita pizza from Napizza in Stirling.
A few months after I moved to the city, I was hearing stellar reviews of the Friars Street restaurant and wanted to see if it was as good as everyone claimed.
It was.
The base was soft, yet chewy, and that classic tomato and mozzarella combination was perfection.
I couldn't wait to go back, but it wasn't to be.
Napizza closed down, then the pandemic struck, and the world came to a halt.
Little did I know, five years later, I would be eating the very pizza I had thought about countless times.
And as it turns out, I wasn't the only one fantasising about that authentic Neapolitan pizza.
One of Napizza's most loyal customers, David Atkins, was waiting in line for at a pizza restaurant in Italy when he decided to message the owner, Alex Sorlei.
The pair then decided to go into business together and bring those benchmark pizzas back to Stirling.
Piotsa Pizza officially opened on May 15 and, of course, I had to pay a visit.
I'm told there was a queue down the street on opening day
It was just as busy on the Friday, but luckily my partner Joe managed to snag the last table.
The King Street restaurant is very inviting.
There's warm lights, brick walls and you can watch the pizza chefs at work in the open kitchen.
You can feel the buzz in the air as diners debate which of the ten pizzas to choose from.
People are waiting by the door for a takeaway and based on the reactions of the pizza fans around me, I have high expectations.
Somehow the chefs don't seem overwhelmed as they make their way through the mountain of orders.
The rosemary fries (£4.50) are the first thing to arrive.
Each chip is crispy, some crunchier than others, plus they're fresh and flavourful.
It doesn't take long for us to devour them and await the main event.
I chose the four meats pizza (£15) which is topped with Parma ham, salami, nduja and pancetta.
The base is also half margherita and half fior de latte.
I'm not sure words can do this pizza justice, but every bite was just as I remembered.
The dough is light and pillowy, the edges lightly scorched from the wood-fired oven and providing that subtle charred flavour.
Each quarter brings something different – spicy, salty, rich, gooey mozzarella.
Once devoured, I knew that I needed to visit Piotsa again for another one of these perfect pizzas.
Joe was of the same opinion.
His pizza, the diavola (£13), was topped with San Marzano tomatoes, smoked fior di latte, Neapolitan sausage, chilli flakes and basil.
It too is just as he remembers, perhaps better.
Gelato and tiramisu feature on the dessert menu, but we decide on the Nutella calzone (£10).
As you cut into it, Nutella oozes out the side and it's satisfying to scoop it back onto the dough.
It's reminiscent of roasted hazelnuts, as the faint smokiness on the dough from the oven couples with the chocolate.
It's rich, sweet and an outstanding end to our meal.
When I first interviewed Alex and David, it was evident how much passion goes into this pizza.
Alex, who lived in Naples for 17 years, prides himself on creating authentic pizza with fresh ingredients.
He has honed his craft through books and real-life experience.
This comes through in every visit to Piotsa and, given how busy it has been, these pizzas have been deeply missed.
It lives up to and goes beyond my memories of Napizza.
The food is faultless, the staff are friendly and the restaurant is incredibly inviting.
This is genuinely the best pizza I have ever eaten.
At the time of writing, it has been 10 days since Piotsa opened.
We've now been three times and I expect that a fourth visit is not far away.
As Joe put it: 'Every waking moment I'm not eating this pizza, I'm thinking about the next moment I'm going to be eating this pizza.'
Address: 35 King Street, Stirling, FK8 1DN
Telephone: 01786 643308
Website: https://www.piotsa.co.uk/
Price: £51.50 for two drinks, two mains and one dessert
Accessible: Yes
Dog Friendly: No
:
Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Surrounding: 5/5
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