What's the draw
It's not all that often you hear of a suburban restaurant concept moving from somewhere like Winchester to set up a second branch in the money pit that is our nation's beloved capital. But then again, it's not often that you'll find a fully fledged eucalyptus tree reaching for the roof in the middle of your local pizzeria, either. And yet, here we are, eyeing up Pi Pizza thinking about how well those plush yellow booths and leafy branches will take our Instagram aesthetic to the next level. Ex-fashion designer Rosie Whaley's second Pi Pizza opened on Battersea Rise earlier this year, and as fun it is to joke about the thought of all those minor league Instagram influencers (and you) posing under the flower-filled ceiling, the produce is locally sourced, the wine is (mostly) organic and the pizzas are huge. Pretty decent deal if you ask us.
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What to drink
We bypassed happy hour (although Pi's cocktails sounded great) and dove straight into a carafe of Umani Ronchi's 2017 organic montepulciano. Medium-bodied and rich with dark fruits, it took to the lactic richness and sweet jam of our fresh burrata and caramelised fig starter like a dream.
What to eat
The question isn't what to eat, it's how to eat it. We'd suggest going big: the 20-inch pizza will take care of two of you and more. And when it comes to the toppings you're going to want a three-way, obviously: our killer combination (and we've gone back twice now) goes down as the pork sausage with sliced desirée potatoes and nocellara olives versus the artichoke hearts and ham hock, with the last third taken over by crispy kale, rosary goats cheese and caramelised red onion. The 72-hour fermented dough is chewy, yeasty and, as Goldilocks might say if she ever found herself in this Battersea pizzeria, "just right" – so, whichever toppings take your fancy, you can't really go wrong.
Pizza from £12.50; wine from £4.75 by the glass. 4-6a Battersea Rise, SW11 1ED; battersea.pi-pizza.co.uk
