I got my first ever pizza from the Venezia the other day but when I got it home they had given me the wrong one which seemed strange as i was the only person in there. I had ordered one with pepperoni and the one I got was covered in aubergine. It was a very good quality pizza so i would give them another chance but the prices are considerably higher than La Porcheta or Papagone. La P seems to be slowly fading away. it was the original pizza house in SGR and was always packed. Now it has closed its back section and isn't so busy. Papagone seems to be unstoppable. Both do very good pizzas I think and very good value.
La Porchetta looks to be on the verge of re-opening. Owners were standing outside admiring its frontage last night. From the glance I took it looks like a good refurb.
Went in today for a nose round, looks really nice. Great improvement on before. (Councillor) Watts was there having a quick pizza on the campaign trail. They have put screens in for the football experience so trying to catch the Pappagone vibe for the World Cup possibly?
Just had a take-away from La Porchetta. American (pepperoni) with extra chilli.
Paid for the extra chilli but found only a few random chilli droppings for my money.
Always found that Porchetta take-aways are hard to eat by hand - toppings all drop off before they reach your mouth. This is still the case.
I've moaned elsewhere on this site that Porchetta take-away bases are always very wet by the time I get them home. This was not the case today. Base is now thicker and does not fall apart. But it was a bit burnt. I preferred the thinner base (just not the wetness).
A mate got the pizza's. He liked his crust. Though not the £4 he had to pay for a Peroni as he waited for them.
We ate last night at the new Porchetta. Maybe it needs some time to settle, but my comments are:
The asked for extra garlic and extra chilli in the fusilli alla campagnola barely registered - I hate to think how bland it would taste without the "extra". The sausage element of the dish needed to be cooked on a bit more. The original Porchetta used to use a higher quality sausage as well.
Mr W had an undercooked frito misto.
Overall, although beautifully presented food was a disappointment, but have to say that the decor is highly improved and the toilets dazzling. The staff were friendly and welcoming. However, they will need to up their game on the food front to survive.
Walked past Porchetta over the weekend and weren't too sure about the new decor, a lot of very showy lights and kylie on the telly in the middle of the restaurant. I can see if it's there for the world cup perhaps, but if its a permanent feature, it's a bit silly.
Misscara, If the timing’s right I must have been in there with the missus at the same time as you. Good food, disastrous service. She arrived before me, was not offered a menu or a drink until she asked. Same happened to the table next door. They forgot to put my order through. Plates not cleared away between courses. People waiting for ages trying to get the attention of staff to no avail. Other people just milling around in the entrance. The manager seemed completely clueless, just walking back and forward ignoring everyone and doing nothing constructive. Did get two free peronis for our trouble, but unless I hear some radically good reports from you guys in future I’ll stick with Pappagone and Venezia.
I did like the décor though.
A
after the comments above I was a bit worried about returning to LP, but gave it a go yesterday and was very impressed.
Have always been a fan, but the decor before was quite off-putting, well they've obviously sorted that out, a little too generic for my liking but pretty slick non the less.
We were there at 7pm so was a little quiet but the service was excellent, very attentive. The food as it's always been was great and good value too.
Are the TVs always on? They were when I went in last week. It's really offputting (it was MTV or similar). I'm sure they'll sort the service out, the shiny surfaces I could take or leave, but the TVs are a dealbreaker for me.
Porcheta for the first time ever forgot about my take away order. I ordered went up to Woodies came back and nothing had happened. Watching the body language etc there are issues which need to be resolved between some of the people. The younger pizza chef who was there before the revamp was working hard, the older taller guy seemed to me to be trying to avoid doing anything. He seemed to be in charge passing a the order two feet from the printer to the pizza chef and failing to do it properly. I also thought the ergonomics of the pizza making area are not as good as it used to be and the two of them are getting in the way of each other. I intend to have a word once I see one of the managers that know.
Of course the TV is on. It's an Italian pizza parlour, isn't it? Do you want authentic or not? Ideally of course it should be football (Milano v Napoli would be about right).
I had a takeout from Venezia last night and feel obliged to say that it was very good. Not oily, lovely tomato sauce and good toppings. The restaurant doesn't look much, but will be back for sure.
La Porchetta is the better choice and always has been - simple.
Pappagone - has always been rubbish but once was a cheap copy and is now an expensive one, pizzas still taste like melted carrier bag on a carpet tile.
Venezia - don't get it? What a dreadful place the pizzas are awful,and expensive and the base is lumpen. Ambience of a mini-cab office.
I'm always amazed that people can have such strong views about the relative quality of Porchetta and Pappagone's pizzas. Are they really all that different? But I've gone off Porchetta because of the new decor.
Excellent, with all the new members we can bring the eternal unresolvable, subjective Pappagone vs Porchetta argument to a whole new audience.
We should make it an annual thread or something.
I like the new look La Porchetta, it looks good and isn't just an identikit copy of the other La Porchetta's. The TV's are annoying but they were off when I went in there on Sunday and anyway pizza places in Italy inevitably have a TV on.
The old plaster falling off the walls, uncovered breeze block look was no longer amusing and it's now a nicer place to eat with a better atmosphere.
Have eaten in there a few times now since the refurb and after the service being bad even by the haphazard standards of a neighbourhood pizza restaurant the first time, it's been infinitely better the next two. The manager who used to be there pre-revamp is back and the ship is much tighter than when it first re-opened.
I'd give it a thumbs up and I'm now no longer tempted by Pappagone's decor.
Venezia's takeaway pizzas are good - not sure I'm tempted to eat in though.
My view is, we should count ourselves lucky we have the choice of all three.
I've not been in Porchetta since they installed the big screens, having heard such bad reports and thinking it's an inherently stupid idea for a restaurant anyway. Instead, went to Pappagone for the first time in years and while the pizzas aren't *quite* as good, they're still certainly not bad. However, our outside table placed us behind and to one side of the (admittedly rolldown, admittedly quieter) big screen showing some fucking footballism or other on early Saturday afternoon. Trying to get the bill took at least 15 minutes because nobody was looking or walking past the damn thing, it was like being trapped in a mirror in a ghost story or something. In summary: pizza is good. Big screens in restaurants are not.
Comments
Paid for the extra chilli but found only a few random chilli droppings for my money.
Always found that Porchetta take-aways are hard to eat by hand - toppings all drop off before they reach your mouth. This is still the case.
I've moaned elsewhere on this site that Porchetta take-away bases are always very wet by the time I get them home. This was not the case today. Base is now thicker and does not fall apart. But it was a bit burnt. I preferred the thinner base (just not the wetness).
A mate got the pizza's. He liked his crust. Though not the £4 he had to pay for a Peroni as he waited for them.
Have always been a fan, but the decor before was quite off-putting, well they've obviously sorted that out, a little too generic for my liking but pretty slick non the less.
We were there at 7pm so was a little quiet but the service was excellent, very attentive. The food as it's always been was great and good value too.
Thumbs up from me!
1: 7/11
2: KEN BIGLEY
3: SPINE CANCER
10% off.
Pappagone - has always been rubbish but once was a cheap copy and is now an expensive one, pizzas still taste like melted carrier bag on a carpet tile.
Venezia - don't get it? What a dreadful place the pizzas are awful,and expensive and the base is lumpen. Ambience of a mini-cab office.
However, our outside table placed us behind and to one side of the (admittedly rolldown, admittedly quieter) big screen showing some fucking footballism or other on early Saturday afternoon. Trying to get the bill took at least 15 minutes because nobody was looking or walking past the damn thing, it was like being trapped in a mirror in a ghost story or something.
In summary: pizza is good. Big screens in restaurants are not.
and online ordering! that's made my (admittedly dull) day!