Another post banging on about pizza. Oh yes! And this one is going to be the growing mamma of all Brighton pizza reviews, so get comfortable. Many of you know my feelings on the bad pizza around here and really I don't care if I've been labelled a #pizzasnob or #pizzapolizia. And to all the people who torment me by tweeting pictures of their terrible #bakersdroop, well, that amuses and irritates me in equal measure. Keep them coming to @graphic_foodie!

There are plenty of pizzerias now in Brighton and Hove, but it's normally a case of the dough lows instead of the pizza pie highs. And all the local "best of" pizza reviews I've read so far seem to focus on what is on the pizza which is less than half the story. After all, the dough should be paramount before the novelty of toppings, so here we are with, hopefully, a more comprehensive list of where's good.  

I'm also only visiting pizzerias, with just handful of "takeaways" and even then I'm eating them on-site (often in my car!) to get them at their best. Unless you are in dire straits, please do not order a pizza in a box to your home. Pizza should be eaten scorching hot from the oven, even a five minute journey in some sweaty insulated bag loses all the qualities that make pizza great. And anyway, eating anything out of a cardboard box on a sofa is frankly barbaric in my book. Put on a decent pair of shoes and a comb through your hair and get down to the pizzeria itself. I jest (I don't).

This is a working list which will be updated as I go. Although I think I've covered the main pizzerias, is there anywhere else I should get to? Let me know!

Glossary
I've graded the pizzas in set categories. Geeky, yes, but condenses reviews. There are a few terms that you may not have come across so they are explained below. Basically, what I want to see in terms of dough, cooking and topping amount is shown in the picture at the top of the post. Only ONE pizzeria in Brighton managed this!

Cornicone: The raised rim around the pizza. If the base is formed by hand, it should have a nice raised edge. If the dough is good, you'll want to eat the airy, chewy goodness of this. Flat pizzas often mean they have been pressed through rollers, or worse, are pre-prepared and the edge is dry and tough. The dough should be cooked through and never raw in the core.
Underside/upskirt: The underside of the pizza. Should be nicely cooked with a little char ideally. This tasty char would only come from wood-fired pizza though.
Leoparding: The black spots/blisters on the cornicone rim. A few of these are very desirable and adds to the taste.

Italy even has an association which outlines set regulaulations as to what makes a true Neapolitan style pizza from the ingredients, recipe, production, temperature and formation of the pizza. It even specifies the exact weight of toppings. I doubt anyone on this list has read this document. 

I really wanted to like Marrocco's. I love the fact that it's Italian run and has stood the test of time since 1969. The atmosphere is great, like a proper wood booth trattoria with families sitting cheek to jowl under a huge mural of a loved family member, no doubt. People can also sit outside under the glow of neon where they are in a prime spot for evening gelato and an evening passeggiata Hove style. Marrocco's are known for their seafood, classic dishes and they make all their own pasta (which I have to return for) but this is a pizza review so here goes: it blew. It sad sadly between mediocre and poor which is a real shame for a restaurant with such a rich Italian heritage.

Pizza ordered: Napoletana, Capers, olives and anchovies, £8.25.
Oven: Electric.
Cornicone: Not clearly formed with one.
Dough: Under proved shown by the holes blown open on the crust, well seasoned dough though.
Cooked underside/upskirt?: It was raw.
Any char on underside/upskirt: None.
Leoparding: A couple of blisters.
Bakers droop: Absolutely.
Topping quality: Cheap black dyed green olives, poor quality grated mozzarella. Capers and anchovies were ok. Sauce was too thin and wet.
Topping amount: Not bad, but too much sauce and a little too much cheese.
Speed of order: Very quick.
Environment: Lovely, friendly and family run. An authentic Italian trattoria.

Overall rating: 3/10

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La Cucina www.lacucinabrighton.co.uk
4A Montpelier Place, Hove, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 3BF

What they say: "Brighton's very best real pizza"
What I say: "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha....weep"



Well here it is people. The worst pizza in Brighton and Hove, possibly the world. What pains me most about this is how many people rated this to us on Twitter, the reviews on TripAdvisor "The best pizza I've ever had!" and their own claim "Brighton's very best real pizza".

I'm not even going to bother properly rating this, as they clearly cant be bothered to attempt to make pizza. We even had to go back in and ask if the bases were bought in, but they proudly showed off a dough press. A 90 degree angle "cornicone", punctured base and machined edge was more like a pastry case than a pizza. This was the only one I could not manage more than a single mouthful of.

As one Twitter follower described, who funnily enough also ordered the same night, "my pizza might as well have been made out of an oversized rich tea biscuit."

An insult to Italian heritage and food, this is fit only for the very, very drunk post 3am.

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Franco's www.facebook.com/Francospizzaandpasta
4 Victoria Terrace, Hove BN3 2WB

What they say: Nothing on their site!
What I say: "Decent pizza, served up with a hefty slice of romance"



Walking through the doors of Franco's is like stepping into a Disney version of Italy. In a good way. It's classic, perfect first date material. I imagine they have weekly reenactments of that spaghetti lady and the Tramp scene. Although the menu spans Italian classics like hare ragu, seafood linguine and lasagna, they also turn out a decent pizza too. But Franco being a typical Italian is thinking of ditching them off the menu as the water in Brighton is too hard which affects the dough. True, but this would be a shame as the quality of ingredients and care they put into all their food outshines most in Brighton. If only their venue was appropriate for a wood oven, I'd think they'd hit the nail on the head. It was clear that many of the diners were well looked after regulars. It's an absolutely charming neighbourhood restaurant.

Pizza ordered: Classic Italian Pizza Buffalo Mozzarella, Fresh Basil And Cherry Tomato £9.95
Oven: Electric
Cornicone: A beautiful cornicone!
Dough: Well seasoned and well made
Cooked underside/upskirt?: Yes
Any char on underside/upskirt: A little.
Leoparding: Nope.
Bakers droop: Only a little due to being slightly too thin in the middle and the buffalo mozzarella which is higher in water content
Topping quality: Real produce. Rich tomato sauce with a full flavour. Fresh, fragrant basil leaves.
Topping amount: Ideal
Speed of order: No complaints
Environment: Checked table cloths, candle light and ridiculously charming staff.
Overall rating: 8/10 (I'm sure they would hit the 9-9.5 with a wood oven)

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CLOSED Kindlewood www.cafecoho.co.uk

Brighton's only permanent mobile pizzeria outside Brighton station. Probably the only pizzeria in the city to use the quantity of cheese to my preference.

Pizza ordered: Margarita, £5.50. Cheese and tomato.
Oven: Wood.
Cornicone: A slight cornicone, from the natural rise of the dough but the base is not formed by hand.
Dough: Not bad, but suffers as I believe it has been rolled through a machine instead of being opened by hand so a lot of air has been forced out.
Cooked underside/upskirt?: Yes.
Any char on underside/upskirt: Very nice char.
Leoparding: None.
Bakers droop: Not at all.
Topping quality: Very good, simple but pure ingredients.
Topping amount: Perfect.
Speed of order: "Ready in 90 seconds".
Environment: Really good fun and a lovely 1969 Citroen H van vehicle to pull up a stool to and tuck into your pizza.

Full review link: http://thegraphicfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/review-kindlewood-mobile-pizzeria.html 

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Pronto in Tavola www.prontointavola.altervista.org
43 Waterloo Street, Hove, BN3 1AY

What they say: "We have decided not to do something new, we've decided to do something right"
What I say: "Would be my go-to if the bases were crafted a bit better"



I wish I could tell you this is the best pizza in Brighton. Owner Nino is a sweetheart and the small pizzeria is cosy, rustic and authentic. Nice to see they have a menu of other food too as he made me a lovely aqua pazza once and his wife's homemade Italian cakes are on sale. Big points too for the Chinotto on offer as not many sell this. I think the pizza topping we chose was quite heavy, but the centre of the pizza was pancake thin and wouldn't have supported the sauce even. Dough was tasty and the ingredients good but I think the forming of the pizza, as well as the undercooking, made for a very mediocre show.

Pizza ordered: Homemade sausage (spicy) £8
Oven: Electric
Cornicone: Not defined
Dough: Tasty but rolled or stretched painfully thin in the centre
Cooked underside/upskirt?: Yes
Any char on underside/upskirt: Yes
Leoparding: None
Bakers droop: The biggest droop
Topping quality: Not bad. The sausages were homemadapparently but could have been cookd a little more to render the fat (Italian sausages are authentically coarse and fatty). Sauce was a little thin.
Topping amount: Too much of the sausage which added too much weight.
Speed of order: Perfect
Environment: Lovely, informal, friendly and charming.
Overall rating: 5/10

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Al Duomo www.alduomo.co.uk/
7 Pavilion Buildings Brighton East Sussex, BN1 1EE

What they say: "Our comprehensive, restaurants (sic) menu offer a wide ranging array of food...."
What I say: "The consumer demand for budget Italian food is the fault of this pizza"


Ah, al Duomo! One of the Italian heavyweight restaurants in town. They have a huge, crowd pleasing laminated menu where fish and chips, garlic bread and spaghetti carbonara (with cream) sit awkwardly alongside Italian classics like saltimbocca and risotto. This sort of Anglo Italian food makes my heart hurt. But I'm here for their state of the art wood oven, which so few Brighton restaurants have, so it had to be included. The good - the dough is made in-house and the pizzaioli working behind the counter know how to form a good pizza. The bad - The oven temperature was too high. Difficult to get control with wood, but too high means the dough dries out to cardboard which is what happened here. The toppings are also cheap. Catering dyed black tinned olives, dried herbs, poor quality mozzarella...it's such a shame as an upgrade to quality produce would produce a decent pizza here, certainly pipping it in the top five at the moment. They would have to increase the prices for that to work but I think they know their target market well, who want large portions of stodge at a bargain cost.

Pizza ordered: Napoletana £7.90
Oven: Wood
Cornicone: Defined
Dough: Made in-house and not bad, but terribly dried out due to over cooking and too high heat
Cooked underside/upskirt?: Yes, a little too much
Any char on underside/upskirt: Yes but gained a burnt taste.
Leoparding: Yes
Bakers droop: No
Topping quality: Budget toppings but well made and seasoned sauce.
Topping amount: Slightly heavy on the cheese but overall not bad. One single cherry tomato half!
Speed of order: Perfect
Environment: Modern, pre-theatre, smart/casual Italian restaurant
Overall rating: 5/10

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Morelli Zorelli www.morellizorelli.co.uk
40 Western Road, Hove, Bn3 1JD

What they say: "Morelli Zorelli offers the finest Sourdough Pizzas in the heart of Hove"
What I say: "Would add serious points if they laid off the cheap cheddar/mozzarella mix"




This is a "new" pizzeria. And by new I mean it is in the former Gourmet Pizza Kitchen space, with some of the same staff and allegedly the same ownership. But this feels like a proper pizzeria with the oven pride of place. The quirky restaurant space below is something like a cross between Titanic and a room in Miss Havishams' Satis House and I like it. The pizza actually wasn't bad at all, not perfect by any means, but there are a few touches that could take it from ok to quite good. Basically it was ruined by the baby-sick smelling processed cheddar/mozzarella mix that blights pizza in the UK, without it they would be turning out half decent pizzas I think.

Pizza ordered: Bresaola, £11.95. Bresaola, buffalo mozzarella, Parmesan Reggiano, fresh rocket.
Oven: Electric.
Cornicone: Very small, no air inside.
Dough: Well seasoned but could have been airier. This was too dense but very well cooked.
Cooked underside/upskirt?: Cooked.
Any char on underside/upskirt: Good amount.
Leoparding: Good, there were a few.
Bakers droop: Yes, due to the large pieces of mozzarella that released their milk. Very soggy.
Topping quality: Bresaola, buffalo mozzarella, rocket and Parmesan was fine but there was a copious amount of cheap processed cheddar/mozzarella mix added which cooled to a solid orange coating across the base.
Topping amount: Too much of the processed cheese mix, which irritatingly was not mentioned on the menu or in fact needed on this pizza. Shame. Mozzarealla should have been in smaller chunks.
Speed of order: Fine.
Environment: Two experiences, the upstairs is a basic pizzeria and downstairs something else altogether. It's interesting.

Overall rating: 5/10

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Jamie's Italian www.jamieoliver.com/italian/
11 Black Lion Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1ND

What they say: "Jamie’s Italian is inspired by Jamie’s passion for the Italian way of life"
What I say: "Pleasantly surprised (and sad) that a chain restaurant is up there with the best Brighton pizza"


Again, one of the few wood ovens in Brighton. I really like the space here and have had half decent feed each time. But this was my first pizza here and to be fair, it wasn't half bad. In the wasteland of poor pizza that is Brighton, this stands quite high up in the rankings. The pizza was cooked well and ingredients decent quality. Topping was about right. I don't know what smart arse decided watercress was a suitable garnish to put on this pizza though. They certainly have never seen Italy.

Pizza ordered: Italian Hot - San Marzano tomato base, mozzarella, spicy salami, meatballs and chilli £12
Oven: Wood
Cornicone: Good example of one, nice and airy.
Dough: Tasty, slight chew and
Cooked underside/upskirt?: Perfect.
Any char on underside/upskirt: Good amount, delicious taste.
Leoparding: "Spot" on.
Bakers droop: No
Topping quality: No issue with the quality at all. Bonus for the fennel seed which go so well with Italian sausages.
Topping amount: Ideal, a lot of ingredients but just enough to cover without too much weight
Speed of order: Perfect, lovely staff.
Environment: Branded up to the hilt, but very nice environment to dine in.
Overall rating: 8.5/10