One of the true delights of blogging has been the many wonderful people I've met. Inspiring people, clever people, funny people; amazing writers, photographers and wits; dear friends and kind souls. I'm always amazed at how fortunate I've been in the people I am lucky enough to call my blog-friends and the many joys they bring to my life.
Three such wonders are my Pizza Club buddies, Emma, Connie and Vicky. From a series of throwaway tweets in the middle of 2016, Pizza Club was spawned, and now every month or two we get together to eat pizza, try new flavours, and catch up on the goings on in our lives. On this occasion we were kindly invited by Firebrand Pizza, a sweet little pizzeria a hop, skip and jump from Marylebone station.
The first thing you encounter as you walk in is a huge oven for the pizzas, and a stack of wood all ready to stoke the flames. As you look around the restaurant the decor is pure Italiano - cute posters festoon the walls, and fresh flowers and wood bring a little nature inside.
For starters we selected three options to share.
The cheeseboard was made up of lots of delicious Italian cheeses, and there was a flavour for everyone - there was cheese with chillies, cheese with peppercorns, blue cheese, creamy cheese - all perfect with charred, warm bread, fresh from the oven.
Little mushrooms stuffed with cheese and served with sliced tomatoes were a hit with the table.
Rounding out our trio of starter selections was the Parma ham, pear, rocket & buffalo mozzarella dish - this was delicious, with just the right balance of crisp, fresh flavours, saltiness and creamy cheese.
For our mains we did our usual Pizza Club arrangement - we each order a pizza, then quarter them up and share so we can all try all the flavours! The four options we selected were:
Spicy salami, roasted peppers, rocket, mozzarella, tomato - this was spicy and tasty, and Matthew very much enjoyed the slice I took home for him (I am the queen of Pizza Club doggy bags).
Parma ham, roast potato, rosemary, mozzarella - this was a pleasant pizza. Not my favourite of the four selecetions, but still a yummy slice.
Goats cheese, caramelised onion, black olives & mozzarella - this. was. so. GOOD. The caramelised onion was sweet and soft and just the perfect foil to the creaminess of the goats cheese.
Pesto, roast potato, rosemary, pine nuts, & mozzarella - this was our wild card order but I'm so glad we went for it as it was so, so good! The flavours were perfectly matched and it was visually stunning too with that bright green swirl.
Allllllllll the pizza.
After the pizza bonanza, we all wound down with peppermint tea or ice cream (which I can't eat, but it looked delicious!) and compared notes on what we thought of the pizza.
I really enjoyed our visit to Firebrand and was really impressed by the mix of classic combinations and new, innovative flavours. If you're in the Marylebone area, this is a great spot for a tasty meal.
Firebrand Pizza
41-43 Lisson Grove,
Marylebone,
London,
NW1 6UB
Disclaimer: Pizza Club were invited to try the menu at Firebrand Pizza and our meal and drinks were complimentary. All thoughts, ponderings and food joy my own. I really like pizza.