"Long before simplicity referred to having white bedding, home-making mint face creams, and avoiding your phone screen for exactly ten seconds per day, it just meant that something wasn’t complicated. Simplicity was blowing bubbles. Simplicity was jumping in a pile of leaves like some kind of autumn obsessed kangaroo. Simplicity was holding a beer in one hand and a slice of excellent margherita in the other. If you like the sound of the above, then trust us, you’ll like True Craft. This converted pub in Tottenham serves a selection of draught beers, local craft beers, a few wines, eight pizzas, and just in case you need options, an oregano garlic bread. Outside of the odd cocktail, a seasonal mulled beverage, and a changing special, that’s all that this place does. It’s as simple as do-re-mi: walk-in, chuck some cured pepperoni on that sourdough, two negronis, and a Munich Pilsner please. Short of attempting to create constellations out of your sweet balsamic peppers or enforcing a one-completed-sudoku-puzzle-per-every-bite of their banging ’Nduja Like It, we’re not sure how you could possibly make eating here complex. It’s quality pizza for a tenner or under, excellent, quick service, all in the kind of neighbourhood spot where - brace yourself - people actually talk to each other. This place is of the Cheers school of drinking. Everybody knows each other’s names, people merrily squish into the corners as the inevitable crowd rolls in come 6pm, groups share tables without any fuss, and at the bar you’ll overhear things like “how are the kids?“, “did you get the job?“, and the ultimate heartwarmer, “I like your shirt mate”. During the day, you’ll find local freelancers tapping away and eyeing up a pint of something that sounds like a Fall Out Boy song from their selection of local beers. Come evening, the mood is basically rowdy family-affair, minus your uncle that refers to Piers Morgan as ‘quite the gent’. That being said, it could be easy to dismiss True Craft for being a lowkey, casual place to inhale a pun-tastic Totten-Ham pizza after a long day. But as anyone who’s ever put in a serious shift playing Mario Kart for an entire Sunday knows, this kind of brainless satisfaction isn’t as easy as it looks. The difference between True Craft and most of London’s other pizza joints and army of ‘nice pubs’ is quality. Quality ingredients. Quality sourdough pizza handmade in front of you in the open kitchen. And quality, knowledgeable service that can go toe-to-toe with London’s most impassioned craft beer folk without ever making you feel like Derek Zoolander for not knowing the difference between an IPA and lager. Only people trying to substitute a personality with a collection of Beavertown enjoy long winded rants about yeast, and this place knows that. On top of it all, this place has heart. You can come here for a laidback date and try the beer pairing, or a huge group meal where vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and kids options are covered. Or you can come here by yourself and sit at the cool, chatty bar with a beer in one hand and a slice of excellent margherita in the other. Simple. photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli Food Rundown photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli Garlic And Oregano Bread If your hands don’t look like you’ve just had a cat fight with a herb shelf by the time you finish this garlic bread, then you’re doing it wrong. It’s heavy on the oregano but we’re into it. photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli The Legend The man. The myth. The meatiest thing you’ll find at True Craft. For its £9 price tag, they really don’t skimp on the tangy, cured British pepperoni. This pizza goes an absolute treat with a cold pint. Margherita If anyone ever tells you you’re ‘basic’ you have two choices. One: a sarcastic, eye-wincingly cruel retort that you’ll realistically only think of in the shower in four months time. Or two: show them a picture of True Craft’s margherita, nod sagely, and say “whoever said basic is bad”. Seven pounds of tasty which really shows off how good the dough is. photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli Bang! Pepper We’ve eaten here several times and like that underdog from Yorkshire who you referred to as ‘short blonde one’ for the first six episodes of Love Island before they went on to win it, this underdog has our heart. It’s our favourite pizza here. photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli Totten-Ham Hubba hubba. That’s right, we’re bringing ‘hubba hubba’ back. Sue us. But first, eat this. V-Gang We have good news and we have bad news. The bad news is that roast garlic, mushrooms, aubergine, and walnuts make for a pretty sad faux flatbread creation. The good news is that this is the only dud on the menu, and if you’re meat free, you’ve got other options. Try swapping out the mozzarella on any of their other pizzas for vegan cheese. photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli ’Nduja Like It We do like it. And if you’re into spicy pizzas, you will too." - Heidi Lauth Beasley
