Breadstall is a pizza spot proving that biga (dough) is better - Review - London - The Infatuation
"Get close to Berwick Street Market at 12pm on a weekday, or post-5pm any day, and you’ll start spotting huge blue and white boxes emblazoned with the words: BIGA IS BETTER. If that walking marketing doesn’t lure you to Breadstall—a Soho spot selling Neapolitan pizza by the quarter, half slice, or whole pie—the excited crowd that congregates around the takeaway hatch will. And the fact that Breadstall serves some of London’s best pizza. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch The best thing about Breadstall’s pies is the dough. It’s a twice-baked, slow-fermented biga dough. For the mere mortal—who still hasn’t caved and brought an Ooni for their one-bed flat—that means the crust is big, fluffy, and airy, but the base remains crisp and rigid, with minimal flop. It’s delicious. You’ll be as excited to dredge the crust through the creamy spicy ‘nduja mayo as you are to eat the toppings like sweet vodka sauce or rich, halal beef ragu. video credit: Sinéad Cranna photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Pause Unmute It’s a useful spot too. Head to the takeaway hatch with colleagues you actually like at lunch, or swing by for a few post-work beers (they’re open until 12pm on weekends). Inside at street level there’s standing-only counters for those who aren’t keen on their colleagues, perhaps, and need to be close to the frozen marg machine. Downstairs is a little quieter, with a big table for groups and some tableside theatre as you watch dough being prepared in the little kitchen opposite. Food Rundown ‘New York’ Style Vodka Sauce Burning our mouth on the pools of sweet, tomatoey vodka sauce on this slice is inevitable. Because it’s impossible to be patient while staring down at the blistered bubbles of cheese and splodges of sauce. This is our favourite pizza here. The toppings are simple and the quarter slice is plenty for a filling lunch. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Margherita Breadstall have never met a basil leaf they didn’t love and want to immediately put on their pizza. This slice is light on sauce and cheese but heavy on herby flavours. It’s perfectly nice, but we’ve found this slice, more so than the others, can get dry. All of the pies are plucked from the counter and re-heated when you order, so we like choosing saucier toppings to avoid the dryness that can happen with the margherita. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Pepperoni Calling pepperoni meaty is a bit, ‘well duh’. But the pepperoni on this pizza is thick and has a properly meaty flavour and some real chew to it. We also like that there’s some creeping heat to this slice. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Black Garlic & Truffle Mayo Casual truffle fans, look away. This mayo is one for the true truffle heads. Truffle dust (more delicious that it sounds) and black garlic paste are mixed together to make a very rich, very decadent bite. It’s tasty, but we find it overpowering and heavy after a couple of scoops. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Spicy ‘Nduja Mayo Parmesan, garlic mayo, spicy ‘nduja: what’s not to like? It’s the kind of condiment a crust is calling out for. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch" - Sinéad Cranna
