While Italians are known to fiercely guard their culinary traditions – don’t mention pineapple pizza in Italy – a new London restaurant is boldly taking classic Italian cuisine and turning it on its head.
Naples-born Giovanni Izzo, the founder of Unlock in Hackney, is trying to fuse Italian and Mexican cuisine into something never seen before.
READ MORE: James May teams up with London street food market for gin-infused pizza, fish & chips and sushi
The new dish will be launched next month, luna, combines the crispiness of deep-fried pizza dough with a selection of creative toppings. I was invited to be the first to try this fusion of Italian and Mexican flavors.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect: I love Neapolitan pizza and tacos, but I never thought of combining the two. I was served two of the planned four flavors for the new one Remedyone meat and one vegetarian.
The meat pizza featured a rich Genovese sauce with crispy onions and a pecorino dip. The vegetarian version combined spicy mango with feta cheese, avocado and a homemade corn dip.
While the vegetarian option had flavors I would normally want more of, I preferred the classic Genovese topping. Both were delicious, but the depth of the Italian flavors won me over.
I was worried that the fried pizza dough would be heavy, but it was surprisingly light. They prepare the dough two days in advance, then fry one half and bake the other for the perfect texture.
The vegetarian dough had an extra twist with a Mexican coffee sauce. It was so good that for once I found myself enjoying the dough over the toppings.
Each Luna comes with five creative ingredients, three of which are manufactured in-house. Currently, Unlock is only open in the evenings most days, and prepares fresh ingredients every day. For their street food stalls, they plan to prepare everything the day before.
Unlock has already found success in Italy with locations near Pisa and in Florence. Their Hackney outpost is the first step towards introducing their Luna to London’s street food scene.
At £8 to £9 each, the Luna is perfect for street food but a bit small for a full restaurant meal. I would recommend sharing one as a starter and ordering a main course as well.
The creation will be available from October 16, with four flavors planned. Two are still top secret, so stay tuned for more surprises!
You can find Unlock at 1 Monkwood Way, Fish Island, E3 2EG.
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