Food & Drink

Eating out: Scarpello and Co serve up pizza perfection

Scarpello and Co

20-22 Buncrana Road

Derry

BT48 8AB

028 7121 1046

AH, early Sunday evening, the worst time of the week, when the freedom of the weekend dissolves like the mirage it always was, and the cold reality of Monday morning taps, smirking, on your shoulder.

The homework you haven't done, the report you have said you've written but haven't, the boss you have to pretend you like - there they are, looming before your eyes, whispering so loudly in your ears that even Songs of Praise can't block out the noise.

Even if, like me, you don't work on Mondays, or, unlike me, you do work on the weekend, or you're on school holidays, that folk memory feeling of Sunday angst is still there. You've watched your team lose on The Big Match, the TV western has long since finished, and it's still summer and it's only four o'clock but it's already dark.

The only thing to look forward to is a tea of wafer thin ham, limp lettuce and half a boiled egg.

It's time for a bit of fun. It won't stop time, but it will distract from the gloom.

And what's more fun than a pizza? Okay, well, a number of things, probably, but a pizza is up there.

We had been hoping to try Scarpello for a long while but haven't been able to get there until now, the sit-in business, like so many others, cruelly affected by the lockdown restrictions.

We have had a takeaway from there, mind, which, while very good, had the edge taken off it as the food cooled too much on the drive home. That isn't something that bothers many others, however, given the number of pizza boxes making their way out to the car park while we were there.

The location is not the most glamorous, beside a petrol station on one of the main roads out of Derry, but parking is easy and plentiful, and the restaurant is so brightly and tastefully done - with the feel of a diner and the kitchen in full view - that it doesn't matter.

Another thing that takes your attention - the quality of the food. Scarpello have been operating across the north-west for over 10 years now and you can find their breads and pastries in a range of places, from restaurants to shops to market stalls. They care deeply and they know their stuff, and this care and expertise comes across in every mouthful.

The key to the deliciousness of their pizzas is the sourdough base they use. It's light, nicely charred from time in the wood-fired oven, and has a mild sourness that gives the taste an extra dimension.

The quality continues with the toppings. We - as is my wont - ordered too much, but it was good to try as many pizzas as possible, and not one disappointed.

Creamy mozzarella, sweet tomato, spicy ventricina, fiery nduja, hot peppers - every bite came packed with flavour. Even the pancetta and mushroom pizza, lacking the sweetness of tomato and the hit of heat, was special - salty, earthy, with a touch of sharpness from the leeks and lemon.

We missed the blackboard advertising the special, which is a shame, as that sounded a knockout - mortadella, artichokes, fig compote and pistachio. They certainly don't lack imagination.

There's not a wide choice when it comes to dessert. Although there may be pastries left over from during the day, it's ice cream or sorbet, basically.

But it's so good - delicately flavoured, interesting, delicious - that the lack of choice doesn't matter.

Having praised the pizza and pudding to the skies, I must say the best two dishes came at the start. We ordered the house salad, but were served the mozzarella and salsa verde salad by mistake. We enjoyed it too much to mention the error until half the bowl had gone.

And the za'atar bread was fantastic - an amazing mix of herbs, hot chillis, and sweet honey. These two dishes alone are worth going for.

Scarpello is a terrific brand. We knew we were in for a treat, and that's what we got. So good we forgot it was Sunday.

The bill

Prices for four

Starters

Sourdough with garlic and parsley butter - £3.50

Za'atar flatbread, honey, sesame seeds, chilli - £6.50

Seasonal salad - £3.75

Mains

Neopolitan pizza, buffalo mozzarella, ventricina - £11.00

Ventricina and nduja pizza - £12.00

Pancetta and mushroom pizza - £12.00

Child's tomato and mozzarella pizza, with pepperoni - £6.50

Desserts

Three gelatos - hazelnut, pistachio, vanilla - £3.50 each

Total: £65.75