Our food reviewer Mark Heath and his wife Liz tried a delivery from popular pizza van Pizza Rosso on a Friday evening. Here’s what they made of it...
Food
Lockdown has, obviously, hit the food industry across Suffolk and beyond, with restaurants, pubs and all manner of other eateries closing their doors.
For Pizza Rosso - a pizza van which travelled around mid-Suffolk pre-lockdown – the pandemic has seen them retreat to a less mobile base, from whence they’re now firing out their much-praised products for delivery.
And yes, you did read that right. Pizza Rosso is not a restaurant, it’s a van – one equipped with an authentic stone pizza oven therein. There can’t be many of those in the country!
We here at EADT food headquarters are a broad church, and I and my better half are more than willing to try pizza from anywhere, so we stepped up to the empty plate on a recent Friday night.
You can find Rosso’s menu on their Facebook page – just search for Pizza Rosso – plus their telephone number for ordering and the cost of delivery to various mid and West Suffolk villages, from Stanton to Rattlesden.
They boast 15 pizzas in total, including a guest offering which changes every month, so you should find something for everyone - including gluten and dairy free options.
We went for the carne – salami, spicy beef and prosciutto ham - and the June special, called ‘finocchio’ - fennel salami, lombardi pickled peppers, smoked cheese and fennel seeds.
Dips are also on offer, so we ordered up a BBQ and garlic and herb, before settling in to wait for our prizes.
They duly arrived in good time, in an insulated bag to keep them warm, and we could get to eating.
Rosso’s pizzas are classic Italian/Neopolitan in style and of a good size – you could share one between two if you’re after a lighter meal, but two between us felt right. The bases are thin, with puffy crusts - some of ours was singed slightly by the oven but, hey, this is fresh pizza!
We dug into the finocchio first, and it was delicious - the sweetness of the peppers working really well with the smokiness of the cheese and the salty salami. A really, really good pizza.
The carne, too, was a hit. A mighty meaty feast with the spicy beef and salty salami/prosciutto proving a marriage made in heaven. The toppings are plentiful, so you don’t feel short-changed, and Rosso sources a lot of their ingredients direct from Italy, so they taste very authentic.
The dips were excellent too - a smoky and sweet BBQ offering which is among the best I’ve had in that genre, while the garlic and herb did exactly what you’d expect, packing a real punch of garlic. Vampires won’t be a problem for you after having this, I assure you!
All in all, two very good pizzas. The blackened areas of the crusts may put some off, but I don’t really think it should. These are pizzas cooked to order in a stone oven, and they taste/appear as such.
Rosso also offer ice-cream as a dessert, should you have space, and we felt that we’d be letting you down, dear readers, if we didn’t try that as well.
It’s award-winning Criterion ice-cream, with three flavours available - gold medal vanilla, peach melba and mint choc chip. The peach had already sold out, so we had vanilla and mint choc chip.
Again, it’s a quality offering - creamy and rich, with a single serving perhaps enough after two pizzas.
Thus, our Friday night feast was complete. We ate well.
Ordering
Dead simple. Peruse the menu on Facebook, call the number and place your order.
Rosso delivers from 5pm on Monday and from 4pm Tuesday to Friday. Fridays especially get busy though, so probably order earlier rather than later!
Delivery
We ordered at around 6pm on Friday night, with the pizzas arriving at just afer 7pm.
Delivery costs range from £2 to £7, depending where you live.
Price
Our meal, including delivery, came to £31.50.
I’d say that’s more than fair for two authentic pizzas, plus desserts.
Highlight
Both pizzas were delicious, but I think the carne would probably just get our vote.
The BBQ dip is a highlight too - trust me!
Summary
Some of the best pizza you’ll find anywhere in Suffolk.
Rating: 8.5/10
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