As you know, pizza has Italian origins, consisting of a flat round base of dough baked with a topping of tomatoes and cheese, typically with added meat, fish or vegetables.
Today, there are many pizza variations but Enrico Sgarbossa who won the title of best pizza maker in Italy back in 2014 plans to change people’s perception of what a good pizza should be. With the opening of “Al Taglio”, his new pizzeria in Surry Hills, he is on a mission to bring Italy’s best pizza to Sydney.
Enrico says there are 2 key elements in making the perfect pizza – the dough and the quality of the ingredients. Enrico says he is first and foremost a flour technician and has been for 7 years.
The dough he makes is exceptional – it is soft and light inside and has a slightly crunchy crust. The toppings are not “typical or boring” but “adventurous, unexpected, exciting and gourmet”. He only uses imported Italian cured meats and cheese.
With this fuelled passion and drive, he is on the verge in making a name for himself in Sydney and we hope we can say that we were there to experience it first!
At first glance, the Al Taglio menu is a simple one consisting mainly of … well you guessed it, pizza varieties (which change every season). These can be traditional as well as vegetarian, vegan or gluten free on request.
During the day for lunch service, pizzas are sold by the slice with the option to even personalise your choice.
For dinner, whole pizzas are on offer and there are also some additional options which you can order from the specials menu. We believe the menu was created this way to showcase more of the pizza, matched perfectly with a selection of local and imported organic wines and craft beers.
The Pizza Slice
How can you stop at just one slice?! You could easily eat a whole tray! The truffle, porcini mushroom and potato flavours complement each other really well.
The Gourmet Special – Ossobuco with saffron risotto
This is the first time we’ve tried an Ossobuco pizza and it felt like eating a main meal from a restaurant with bread but combined together in one dish.
The Whole Pizza – Delizia – cannelloni beans, crema di bufala, king prawns
Instead of a tomato base, it was interesting that cannelloni beans were used. This pizza had a creamy but healthy texture.
The Italian word “tiramisu” means “pick me up”/”cheer me up”. Instead of the traditional tiramisu which usually contains wine like marsala or liqueur such as Tia Maria, here they have “Birramisu” because it contains beer by Labi. We think it does more than just pick/cheer you up after having one at the end of the meal … total satisfaction guaranteed!
After having pizza here, we just want to come back again and again. We look forward with anticipation to more surprises from Enrico’s “adventurous, unexpected, exciting and gourmet” pizza creations. They are simply a work of art!
Al Taglio
102/104 Albion Street,
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Contributed by Ian and Cindy, who dined as guests on behalf of 2 Hungry Guys
