London is full of places that promise incredible pizza – and many claim to be the best in the city. But a new restaurant on the block has instantly shot up the lists of the best places for a slice in London.
Alley Cats Pizza in Marylebone offers 14 inch New York style pizzas with generous toppings. This thin and crispy pizza style has proved very popular recently, with the viral sensation Crisp taking London by storm last year, but now it seems Alley Cats is the place to be.
This is according to Conde Nast Traveler, who named Alley Cats the best pizza restaurant in London. So we decided to put the New York-inspired restaurant to the test to see if it really is that good.
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The first thing you should know about Alley Cats Pizza is that the restaurant is walk-in only – you can’t reserve a table and hope for the best. After seeing TikToks of people queuing up to an hour to get in, I was a little nervous, but at 12:30 on a Tuesday we managed to get the last available table.
The restaurant is quite small, but has a homely atmosphere. The exposed brickwork has giant projections of the Sopranos playing, with an open kitchen running against another wall so you can see the pizzas being made fresh, which I always enjoy.
The waiters seemed quite busy but were attentive and quick to take our order. Out of curiosity, we ordered some “candied bacon” as an appetizer, which turned out to be quite underwhelming. There were only four honey-glazed bacon slices, which, while delicious, seemed a bit odd as a starter.
We had been warned that the pizzas would take about 30 minutes, but they arrived much faster. We chose the pepperoni, which has smoked pepperoni, jalapenos and honey drizzled on top, and the vodka pizza, which is a margherita with two types of mozzarella and a creamy tomato-vodka sauce.
The pepperoni pizza was a little disappointing. For such classic flavors it was quite underwhelming and surprisingly didn’t have much flavor. We had even been warned about the strength of the chili heat, but it was barely noticeable, nor was the honey we expected to balance sweetness against the salty pepperoni.
Opting for smoked pepperoni also seemed like an odd choice – I thought it made the pizza a little weird and again detracted from my overall enjoyment. But the vodka pizza was excellent and completely exceeded our expectations.
The sauce was slightly tangy, which created a wonderful flavor that made the pizza that much more. There was no skimping on the amount of mozzarella topping the dough, and the base was perfect – thin and slightly crunchy without burning.
The garlic mayo dip was also one of the best I’ve ever had – smooth, creamy and the perfect amount of garlic. It was the perfect way to enjoy the flavorful crusts of the pizzas.
However, the pizzas at Alley Cats have a significant downside – the price. At 14 inches, they’re the same size as a Pizza Express Romana pizza, and while they’re worlds better than the high street chain, they certainly cost a lot more too.
The vodka pizza cost £17, while the pepperoni pie cost £18 – plus £5 for the bacon. In my opinion, this is too much for a pizza of this size, and considering I only loved one of the two, I really don’t think it was worth it.
Does Alley Cats Pizza deserve its title as the best in London? No, it does not. It’s very good, but it’s not the best – and I’m still on a mission to find the pizza that deserves such an accolade.
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