March 18, 2013, 7:40 am -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- Those looking to while away a few hours in central London will have a new place to accidentally stumble upon in the warren of Neal's Yard and its surrounding environs: Homeslice, former pop-up and brainchild of Kiwi chef Ry Jessup, is now building a permanent home for itself.
The restaurant, a simple pizza joint, will open this month at 13 Neal's Yard, the smart little triangle accessed behind Neal Street and just off Seven Dials in buzzy Covent Garden, central London. It looks set to join the ever-expanding list of restaurants in London doing ‘posh' dirty food with fresh, well-sourced ingredients.
Homeslice opens on March 25th and food trendy fans who snapped up some of its pizza at Kings Cross' The Filling Station will no doubt have already got the date in their diaries.
The venture, a 50-seater restaurant sees Jessup blend his culinary skills with Mark Wogan's business know-how to create a simple, 5-dish pizza menu with the emphasis on surprising flavours and simple booze.
A little pricey for pizza – though probably not so extravagant for Covent Garden, nor the trend-hungry foodies who seem to follow new fast food joints as they appear across town – it's £4 a slice, or £20 a whole pizza.
Better news is that wine is on tap – well, more or less. Huge double magnum carafes of the house red and house white allow customers to measure how much they drink and pay later. A smart take on the honesty bar, for want of a better comparison!
A pint, a glass of wine and a slice all carry the same neat price: £4. As for the pizzas, it's about 5 rotating flavours daily. Expect light, expert dough, kneaded on their special marble work surface and cooked in a wood-fired oven.
Flavour combinations comprise the sweet and simple – a classic Margherita, always on the menu – with the more extravagant or surprising: artichoke and courgette or bone marrow, fire roasted spring onion and watercress are the more unusual toppings on offer.
The Homeslice homepage (fun to say after one of those double magnums of house wine) looks pretty –though rather short on details and much activity as of now. Still, we have a feeling that after a few weeks up and running the online presence will be a busy as most popular pop-up outlets of recent years. http://www.LondonTown.com
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