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In Pizza We Crust! The New Michelin Recommended Dublin Pizzeria – Little Pyg Review

At the Enzo Coccia Pizza Consulting school, small groups of amateur or professional trainees are taught skills including the art of dough making, topping management and controlling a pizza in and out of an oven that is blazing to temperatures up to 900F. Enzo 67, has the claim to fame of having the first ever Pizzeria recommended by the Michelin guide and chefs travel from around the world searching for an insight into true Neapolitan pizza from what some claim is the world’s number one pizzaiolo. La Notizia, situated on via Caravaggio a small street in the western part of the city of Naples opened over 20 years ago with Enzo carrying on the family tradition of pizza making and in using only the best Campanian ingredients, the restaurant went from strength to strength with customers flocking for something truly authentic.

Chefs with the ambition of becoming master pizzaiolos can take a 4 week course costing upwards of €3000 with Enzo’s Pizza Consulting. Pygmalion, Dublin’s bar/restaurant/club/busiest terrace recently sent 3 chefs to Italy for months of training with Enzo & Co and Little Pyg was born. The space at the centre of the Powerscourt centre has always been a mystery for its underuse and its massive potential. Day time housed The Townhouse Cafe and at night silenced swept the air bar the odd bank holiday party from Pygmalion.

The walled courtyard has received some added greenery around the perimeter and by way of some wonderful three-tiered lighting fixtures hanging above. I enter through an arch of foliage and are immediately greeted by the friendly staff who sits me down and start inquiring of my cocktail preferences while informing me it is two for one on ‘Pygtails’ that usually adorn the menu at €13.90. I order a Flat White Martini consisting of Vodka, Baileys, Kahlua, Sugar and Espresso which arrives a much paler brown than your traditional Espresso Martini but still holding a delicious coffee flavour.

Now, some pizza. The menu is a multicoloured circle and each of the 10 pizzas has a slice each with prices ranging from €11-€16 bar one exception. Enzo Coccia Special €35 and something very special. White base, buffalo mozzarella, 30 month aged parmesan, extra virgin olive oil and the theatre of black and white truffle shaved onto the plate at your table. The aroma of white truffle is bewitching and as the jar opens an instant waft graces the air sending my tastebuds into a frenzy. Our server shaves a generous helping of both and the wait is over as I devour the first slice of the evening. The woodfired oven leaves the slight desirable char on the crust and yet keeps the rest of the pizza thin and cooked to perfecting with the juices of the oil and cheese melting deliciously in unison with the prized truffles. At €35 for a pizza, eyebrows may be raised initially but remember white truffles typically cost around €2500 per kilo and their black counterpart €500 per kg. Truffles are particular about what soil they will grow in and are found on the roots of trees under the ground with pigs traditionally being have been trained to sniff out the subterranean gold. My companion joined me late and ordered The Nduja €15 topped with tomato, fior di latte, nduja, friarielli, pecorino, basil and extra virgin olive oil. A delicious tomato base with just enough spice from the sausage and some colour from the friarielli.

The manager, Luca from Sicily, informs us the kitchen requires four chefs to keep the operation flowing and the spectacular oven built on-site from scratch brick by brick burns at 450°C cooking pizzas at around 55 seconds each.

It turns 6 pm and the speakers around us start to drum out some background Jamiroquai signalling the beginning of the weekend, now noticing all of the two person marble tables are full and only a couple of larger black wooden tables surrounded by bamboo wedding-esque chairs available. We order two more cocktails for before moving on and are once again being impressed by an Amaretto Sour and a Tequila My Tie.

Dublin is very lucky to have many outstanding pizzerias currently burning wood at great temperatures in the city and Little Pyg immediately becomes a contender at the top of the list with maybe none being more authentic. Add in some great service, 2 for 1 cocktails 7 days a week and the stylish backdrop, That’s amore.

Little Pyg
59 William St S
Dublin 2
(01) 679 8170

Written by
Christopher Mellon
@dublinsocial

 

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