Review of 'Maestro Pizza'

Item: Maestro Pizza
Rating: 4.5
Author: Stephen Rice

Ever since Maestro Pizza opened up in Kings Parade we have been intrigued – With big glass windows featuring displays of the various sandwiches and pizzas on offer as well as an ordering window with a large pizza oven in the back corner of the small, bright interior, it is very appealing. The staff never seem to be very busy but there are always a good number of them on duty, always hovering near the order window (this is pick-up or delivery only, you can't go in)…obviously this could be a good or a bad sign, good if they have so much business they can have lots of (smiling) staff on hand or bad in that they have no business and the staff are always bored. As far as the food is concerned, I can confirm it is really quite good indeed.

We visited on a cold Saturday evening, seeing what they had on offer in the window and in the menu boards above (as well as their brochure). The sandwiches in the window are very appealing (and they are a decent price) but we decided to go for a pizza, of which they have quite a good selection, all of which are made to order using fresh dough that is hand formed. The pizza sizes are “small” (11?), “large” (13?) or “XXL” (16?) though they also sell by the slice. They also do a good business of “pizza sandwiches” (folded over smaller pizzas), “buns” (pitas) and various “pretzels” (snack dough-based treats).

We went for the “Maestro” (“tomato sauce, mozzarella, cheese crust, sausage, ham, salami, mushrooms, olives”; small £11.49/ large £14.99/XXL £17.99) which was prepared for us while we waited in about 15 minutes during which time we chatted to the friendly staff - Amazing to see the chef actually placing pieces of (real) cheese in around the edges of the dough and hand twisting it into the crust. We watched him every step of the way as he prepared our meal.

Running to the car to get our pizza home, we managed to do so without losing too much heat. The dough was a great texture, crispy but chewy, as it should be. The toppings were wonderful with not too much tomato sauce and quite delicious, small, sausage pieces packed with flavour. The cheese in the crust was not too much, with a very mild flavour. All in all, we were very happy with our pizza though, compared to other local pizza offerings, it was a bit expensive at £17.99 for the pizza which the two of us ate in one sitting…mind you, we were hungry.