Around the World in 80 pizzas (Fire and Stone Pizza Restaurant (Covent Garden, London))

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	Fire and Stone Pizza Restaurant (Covent Garden, London)
Date:	17/05/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: something different, global themed piza

Disadvantages: not much if you don't like pizza

Posh pizza places have been popping up all over the place since the advent off Pizza Express and I have a penchant for them. I am an experimental eater so the weirder and wackier the pizza topping the better although I really am not sure about the tuna and banana pizza from a Saint Andrews pizzeria my flatmate told me about!

Pizza was on the menu last Wednesday evening when myself and a couple of friends went out for a girly chat and an excuse to celebrate one of my friend's recent engagement. We were in the Covent Garden area of the city, which is fun and fabulous but also quite touristy and can be a bit pricey when we decided we wanted something to eat. I have been to Fire and Stone, an independent gourmet pizza place with global pizzas a couple of times and found it not too bad so it was to there we headed to fill our faces with tasty pizza.

Fire and Stone is located on Maiden Lane, a small side street two minutes walk from both the main Covent Garden Market and piazza and also the Strand. It's also within walking distance of three underground stations (Charing Cross, Northern and Bakerloo lines, Embankment, Northern, Bakerloo circle and District lines and Covent Garden, Piccadilly line) as well as Charing Cross railway station. You can get also get the 11, 15 and 23 buses to the Strand and walk up to the restaurant. A second branch is opening up soon n the Westfields shopping centre.

Our first impressions of the restaurant were mixed. Its a large restaurant flanked by huge windows giving it a light airy feel. There's a long table in the middle of the restaurant and smaller tables are scattered round the edges. It has got a modern feel to it. On that Wednesday night it was pretty busy. We felt reassured that it could be so busy on a Wednesday nigh as competition in Covent Garden is fierce. However we were not sure where to wait to get a table. When we had worked it out we were told that it would be a 20 minute wait which we did not mind , as we could have spent 20 minutes finding another suitable restaurant and thus we waited at the long bar to the far right of the restaurant and examined the menu. Luckily we were seated within the suggested 20 minute waiting time at a small table near the back of the restaurant.

As I have mentioned the USP of Fire and Stone is that they take a global approach to their pizzas. The menu is divided into the various continents and each pizza is named after a city in that continent with ingredients that mostly represent that cuisine. For example you have the Marrakech with lamb, raisins and mint yoghurt sauce to represent a tagine, whilst Beijing is Peking duck complete with hoisin sauce, Acapulco is spicy beef with guacamole and Athens has feta cheese on it. For those traditionalist (my half Italian colleague despairs of half the toppings on pizzas in Britain) there are more basic pizzas if you examine the menu more closely. The Napoli is pepperoni and anchovies whilst the San Fransisco is your basic Margaretta. Non meat eaters are well catered for as seven out of the twenty six pizzas on offer are vegetarian. Unfortunately for those used to Domino Hut the pizzas only come in one size and one pizza base so no stuffed deep pan here only traditional thin Italian style bases. Prices range from £6.95 for the basic San Fransisco to £14.95 for the special deluxe range. (I fancy the Brittany with scallops and prawns but its just too expensive). Veggie pizzas are £7.95 and meat ones £8.95.

When it came to ordering I was feeling very experimental so ordered the Thai influenced Koh Samui pizza complete with "Thai green coconut sauce, sweet roast potato, crisp fried Thai shallots, Mozzarella, red chilli & mange tout, baby sweet corn, Thai basil drizzled with toasted sesame seeds." . Engaged friend is also quite experimental so ordered the Melbourne " tomato base with sweet roasted butternut squash, balsamic roasted red onions, sliced French brie, mozzarella topped with toasted pumpkin seeds" whilst friend number two went for the Casablanca "rosemary infused mascarpone cheese sauce, wild mushrooms sautéed in garlic butter, Roquefort blue cheese, grated mozzarella topped with toasted walnuts & parsley" but ordered it without the mushrooms.

"So what else is on the menu, I'm not sure I want pizza?" That is a strange question if you are going to a pizzeria! There is a decent enough range of starters from the traditional pizza bread, bruschetta and antipasti you would expect from a pizzeria to more global influenced ones such as hoisin rolls and falafel. Prices start from £2.45 for pizza bread to £7.45 for deep friend goats cheese , which to my mind is a bit expensive for a starter. We decided we just wanted something light so went for the combination of olives, houmous and taramasalata for something to nibble on before our main courses.

They also do a small selection of main course and side salads for those with a wheat intolerance or just can't face pizza. I had the Greek salad on my very first visit (it was a scorching hot day and did not feel hungry enough for pizza) and if I remember rightly it was a nice sized portion with plenty of the more premium ingredients (£6.95).

Drinks prices are fairly average for a West End restaurant. The wine list is a decent enough length with glasses of wine starting at £3.75 (£13.95 for a bottle ) and going up to £9.00 for a glass of champagne. My Argentina Chenin Blanc was fairly dry and very drinkable. They do a small selection of fairly standard cocktails around about the £7 mark which again is average for cocktail in this part of London outwith the Happy Hour. For the drivers and non drinkers there are the usual fizzy drinks and fruit juices along with a range of smoothies. If I remember correctly I found the smoothies at £4 to be a bit expensive. One of my friends had pressed apple and raspberry juice which was nice but there was too much of the raspberry and not enough of the apple flavours.


The service was pretty prompt and friendly without being overpowering. Our starter came within ten minutes of ordering. There were plenty of nicely seasoned olives but there were only about four bread sticks and the houmous and taramasalta came very nicely presented in a little dish no bigger than a jam jar lid. The humous was fresh with a nice chunky texture but I only had a couple of mouthfuls. It really was for nibbles only as even for one never mind three the portion was quite small.

Our pizzas also arrived very promptly. They are not the biggest pizzas in the world but are manageable thus no wasting that last slice. I was very pleased with mine. I had taken a huge gamble, as it could have turned out disastrously wrong. The coconut curry sauce was enough to infuse the topping without drowning the pizza and making the base soggy. Baby sweet corn and sweet potato are not the most obvious pizza toppings but they worked really well. I've had roast sweet potato wedges on a pizza in Piazza (a Kosher pizza place in Hendon ) where they were a bit dry but here the sweet potato was moist and well cooked. I'm not sure if the mange tout worked quite so well and the shallots were a bit bland. This could not be said about the red chilli giving the pizza just that little bit of kick. I'm not sure I noticed the sesame seeds though. The Thai basil was artfully arranged on top like a salad garnish giving the pizza a freshness. I'd certainly order this pizza again. I'd also consider ordering the Melbourne after sampling my friend's one. The butternut squash was similar to the sweet potato and the sweet balsamic onions were simply divine. The pumpkin seeds gave it a little crunchy texture. I was not so keen on the Casablanca though, as I'm not a fan of blue cheese. We all agreed we really enjoyed out pizzas and would certainly go back if in the area.

There was a dessert menu with desserts at just under the £5 mark. The passion fruit panncotta sounded quite nice and I'm sure I have tried the pear dessert pizza on a previous visit. If I remember rightly the base was a little dry around the edges and it did not differ too much from a tart. They also do mini dressers if you jut want something little such as almond biscotti and fruit Florentines. Instead we headed to the patisserie across the road. Our bill for a starter, three pizzas, three drinks and service included was just over £40. When it came to paying the bill I was not keen on them taking our cards away to their credit card machine, as I know that is when fraud can happen. I'd much rather have a machine brought to the table. Before leaving we checked out the facilities which were clean, modern and trendy with little square sinks.

I like Fire and Stone. I find the global themed menu fun and innovative. Its a place that would suit a number of occasions from a birthday party, to supper out or even a nice date if you got one of the booths. It is also relaxed enough for families and there is a children's menu. For those bargain hunters they do a range of special offers such as two pizzas for a tenner, £10 after 10 meal deal and a £5.50 lunch. All details can be found on the website.


Join me next time through a magical mystery tour of pizza toppings. I will certainly be back
Fire & Stone
31/32 Maiden Lane
Covent Garden
London
WC2E 7JS
0844 371 2550
http://www.fireandstone.com

Summary: Innovative global themeed pizzas