The discerning regulars of Lucky’s and The Circular have long been fans of Coke Lane Pizza, so news that owner Dave Holmes has just opened Southpaw, his first bricks and mortar enterprise on Dublin’s Crown Alley, may well prompt a trip into town to check out developments there.
The pioneering pizza connoisseur has expanded his portfolio to bring us Pizza a Portafoglio, a popular street staple beloved of Neapolitans, but rarely found too far beyond the bounds of the Southern Italian city. We’re told that the name translates as ‘folded like a wallet’ and that it is a more substantial proposition than the traditional pizza slices we’re more accustomed to seeing here.
Indeed innovation is very much the thing at Southpaw, particularly when it comes to the way in which each pizza is finished. Following a two day fermentation process, the sourdough base is portioned and topped, then cooked to order in the shiny new gas fired pizza oven, built by specialist Stefano Ferrano in Naples. Each pizza is then meticulously hand finished after folding, using a stellar array of premium high quality ingredients and flavours.
A quick perusal at the menu reveals some lovely examples of the kind of quality to be found here. Our eye was immediately drawn to the lush Portobello Mushroom offering which features Marinara folded and finished with Mushroom Duxelle, Porcini Cashew Cream and Vegan Parmesan, and the stylish Porchetta folded with Little Gem Lettuce and finished with Comté.
Round it all off with refreshing Italian organic sodas and Cannoli of Orange and Belgian Chocolate Chip with Pistachio or Nutella and you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve been transported to the streets of old Napoli itself.
Ci piace!
