Almost universally popular, pizza is a dish that everyone wants to get right.
And in Glasgow, there’s lots of competition for a slice of the action – Paesano, Baffo, Sano, the newly-opened Civerino’s on Radnor Street, to name but a few.
Yet while many of these venues aim to recreate a traditional Italian pizzeria, there’s one Glaswegian outfit that offers pizzas unlike anywhere else. Nonna Said, found at 26 Candleriggs in the Merchant City, breaks from the mould with its weirdly wonderful pizza creations.
Things start off fairly inconspicuously, with traditional mozzarella atop a ragu sauce to create a Napoli-style thin base pizza. But rather than a Quattro Formaggi, you’ll find toppings like Lasagne Alla Bolognese, Philly Cheesesteak or even Salt and Chilli Chicken.
Even the interior of Nonna Said sets it apart from Italian restaurants. 90s hip hop is pumped out through the speakers and TV shows are projected on to the graffiti-adorned walls. Indeed, a neon sign emblazed with an anti-Domino's slogan gives a clear indication of their intention to do things differently.
On our visit to Nonna Said we started with the sharing ‘street food’ dishes, opting for jalapeño mac and cheese poppers (deep-fried balls of macaroni cheese) and NFP (Nonna’s Fried Pickles) slices of pickle coated in a crispy buttermilk batter. It was indulgent comfort food at its best, though oddly did not leave me overly full in anticipation of the pizza that was still to come.
It was a good thing I left some room – I had chosen the Jamaican Me Crazy pizza with reggae sugo, Jamaican jerk chicken, red onion, mixed peppers and lime. Fiery and full of flavour, it was unlike any other pizza I’ve ever had before. My dining partner chose the Salt and Chilli Chicken, a grown-up version of the fast food favourite that was topped with spring onion and a delicate curry mayo.
I found it refreshing to see such inventive toppings on the menu, but if you want to stick with more traditional options, Nonna Said has you covered with a classic Maragarita or Pepperoni pizza. Good news for vegans, too, there’s a comprehensive vegan menu with choice of a whopping 12 pizzas and seven starters. No compromising here!
We washed down our food with some unsurprisingly unusual cocktails: ‘Yer Da Sells Avon’ (made with vodka, limoncello, strawberry and grenadine) and a Purplish Rain (bubblegum-infused vodka, grenadine, blue curaçao, lemonade).
Truly, there’s nothing forgettable about a trip to Nonna Said.
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