PizzAah District

Last weekend, we were travelling back home after a short trip to Pune and it was taking forever. A heavy monsoon downpour along with never ending traffic is definitely a recipe for irritability and restlessness. It is amazing how hungry four hours of travel can make you feel. Thankfully we had carried food for the children and were able to feed them. But our own hunger pangs started testing our patience. As the clock ticked past midnight, we began to get nervous. We had no food at home, and all the restaurants we passed were closed. After we went by the fourth closed restaurant my husband had already lost hope and was thinking of settling for bread and eggs. That’s when I had the presence of mind to call up a friend for help. She suggested visiting Pizaah District located at Charkop, Kandivli and was sure it would be open till 3:30am. And hurrah! It was.

Inconspicuous in its location, a lone signboard will lead you to this hidden gem. We were only to pleased to park our car in the adequately available parking area and rush into the joint to start eating. Although the outside of the joint gives the feeling of a pub with neon lights and signs, the inside takes you into an alternate universe. Set against a backdrop of hand paintings, the scarlet furniture and dim lighting gives a romantic demeanour to the place. A crystal chandelier adds to the amorous atmosphere, and had it not been for our empty stomach noises, the ambient instrumental  music would have been perfect to set the mood for a fruitfully romantic evening.

Without wasting any more time, we rushed into ordering some pizzas. First up was the Salsicia pizza which was a mix of large chunks of chicken sausage and salami toppings garnished with tomato. The cheesy tomato base with tomato pieces balances the smokiness of the sausage and salami toppings making it a relatively non spicy pizza. Next was the Ultimate Fiery Chicken pizza, in which succulent tandoori chicken chunks were complimented by tangy piri piri sauce and garnished with mint leaves. This was followed by the Kadhai Chicken Punjabi Pizza, which adds a new dimension to the conventional mughlai dish by putting it on a crispy cheesy pizza bread. Our last pizza was the Forest Green and Sunshine Pizza, a pasta-like mix of juicy corn, broccoli and spinach prepared in white sauce. All the pizzas had the four essentials  – dairy-fresh abundant chewy cheese, crispy home oven-baked bread, crunchy toppings and were piping hot!

In addition to the pizzas, we ordered sides – Stuffed Breadstix – which make the branded garlic breads seem like a thing of the past.

A plate of Piri Piri chicken wings were the spiciest wings I have ever tasted, literally making my mouth and eyes water with the spicy after taste! The Italian meatballs were probably cooked in olive oil which was evident in their subdued dense bitterness and mild tanginess. By the end of our meal my hubby had no place for desert but I went in for a classic Lava Cake which possessed the quintessential bitterness of a brownie balanced by the exquisite sweetness of its central choco fudge sauce.

After all the exhaustion of travel this pizza meal was much more than satisfactory. Unlike branded pizzas which are overpriced with scanty toppings and leave you only with a mouthful of bread, Pizza District has a lot to offer with its unique pizzas and is a must visit place for an ideal pizza experience!

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