Peckham dwellers will be no stranger to Andrea Asciuti's 081 Pizzeria, the hot spot that started as a pop up in Peckham Levels and has since become a Peckham Rye institution. His latest offering opened its doors in January under the arches of Queen's Road Peckham station, serving up a take on London-style pizza made by Italians - think impossibly light, crispy bases fermented for 36-48 hours and baked at high heat for structure and flavour.
Named after Andrea’s wife and inspired by his British-Italian daughter, Connie’s blends Italian ingredients and dough knowledge with British produce and cultural references. The restaurant’s warm pink interiors, relaxed service style and tight, comfort-led menu have quickly made it a local talking point in Peckham’s ever-evolving food scene.
We popped down recently for a weeknight feast and boy, are we glad we did. Starters are designed for sharing. Andrea's cheesy dough balls with garlic butter make Pizza Express's feel like Play Dough food. Gorgeously gooey Mozzarella sticks are served with a rich dipping marinara and the deep fried mac 'n' cheese with stilton cheese sauces are indecently good. The benchmark was set...
There are nine pizzas on the menu, with creative topping combinations that aren't afraid to have fun with flavour and a base so thin and crispy it makes Chicago Town look like a sponge cake. The namesake Connie's is fantastic, with tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, soft egg, spinach cream, pepper cream, Grana Padano, basil and extra virgin olive oil. The Choriz Piz was scattered with spicy Spanish chorizo and an exquisite chimichurri, and the Funghi, well let's just say the man has a magic touch when it comes to a mushroom.
Make sure to leave room for dessert. There's just one, the Fiocco Di Neve, an impossibly soft mini brioche, stuffed with ricotta whipped cream, Nutella or pistachio. Ligther than air and a delicious finale.
With a super chic interior, great tunes and fantastic drinks list to accompany what's fast become our favourite London pizza, this is one pizza joint that's doing it right.
Connie's Pizza
133 Station Passage
London
SE15 2JR
www.conniespizzeria.com
