A coeliac, an Italian, and Adam Richman walk into a bar. It's the Marlborough in Mayfair, and we're here to introduce Adam to the whirlwind that is, Crisp Pizza. Adam has just finished filming for his new show launching in January, 'Adam Richman Eats Italy', and with the taste of a slice from Italy's first pizzeria still fresh in his mind, we were keen to get his thoughts.
Crisp Pizza's Mayfair location opened its doors on Tuesday to a queue of hungry Londoners snaking down the street. As one of London's most successful pizza operations, this was to be expected. But with its new upscale location, table service, and functioning booking system- will this venture hold the same mystique as the humble backstreet boozer in Hammersmith? Plus, with zero knowledge of the hype that precedes it, will Adam be impressed?
The man behind Crisp, Carl McClusky, has teamed up with those behind the Devonshire, and the ground floor reflects this. Warm wooden panels, golden and burgundy colour palettes, hanging pendant lights- it's a traditional pub with grand features, and of course, a solid pint of Guinness poured out of an incredibly rare retro tap from the 1950's. With it being far too early to be five o'clock anywhere, we headed downstairs to the brand new restaurant. Framed photographs of the Godfather and sleek red leather booths take centre stage- the interiors are inherently New-York. The pizzas, however, are not. Carl describes the base as "kind of its own thing. It was just a mix of me trying different dough recipes, different styles, obviously Neapolitan and New York style and just a mix of the two. So it's like it's got that chew of a Neopolitan but the crisp of a New York one. And by using Neapolitan produce to make a New York style dough."
While Carl's beverage of choice is a classic coke, he understands the desire to pair a pizza with a crisp pint, which is also one of the reasons that the style of thin pizzas work so well. Neopolitan-style can be heavy and carb dense, using more grams of flour in the process. Combined with with a beer, it's essentially "dough on dough", resulting in that sluggish, over-fed feeling we all know too well. Crisp's pizzas, however, are lighter. One can eat the entire pie and continue the night upstairs.
The intoxicating smell came first, and what followed was a Vecna which the team kindly dished up, just for Adam. The Vecna is a fan-favourite on the Crisp menu, with Pepperoni, Parmesan, Burrata and hot honey drizzled on top. Like many a masterpiece, the Vecna was born out of an artistic blunder. "A panic offering", as Carl calls it. A Halloween party at the pub and a need to feed drove Carl to purchase a stack of little tubs of honey from a local shop to use as a topping. Combined with the creamy cheese and salty meat, the ingredients just so happened to come together in an explosion of flavour which in turn, caused demand for its place on a permanent menu. Today, the Vecna makes up 70% of sales.
Instead of comparing the pizza to those he tried in Italy, Adam likened the work ethic behind the two. Originally just across the road from the infamous River Café, McCluskey used to test his pizzas out on the hungry chefs that would make their way to the pub after a long shift. He admits "if anyone knows what a good pizza tastes like, it's them." Once it got their seal of approval, Carl started charging peckish pub-customers £5, an extortionately good price for London, putting the money straight back into the running of the pub. Seven years of consistent hard work, and we are here in Mayfair with Adam about to take his first bite.
A string of melted cheese pulled away from the slice as Adam Richman oohed and aahed at the fantastically crisp texture, the perfectly charred crust, and the sweet hit of hot honey. Needless to say, it got the Richman stamp of approval, confirming that Crisp pizza is more than just a craze, it's the result of graft and passion. With the queue already forming half an hour before the opening time (an early 12pm, by the way), it's safe to say the people of London agree.
