As part of my ‘Simon’s Quest‘ journey looking for the best pizza in Cambridge, I decided to visit a place that has been recommended by numerous people in the Cambridge Foodies – Pizza Pilgrims.

Pizza Pilgrims is a Neapolitan style Italian pizzeria chain, mostly based in the London area, with a few exceptions like Cambridge, Nottingham, Brighton, and even those Oxford louts.

The entire restaurant is a flamboyant love letter to Italy. The downstairs is more traditional but the upstairs has a more fun and vibrant Italian theme. There are lots of quirky Italiana throughout the restaurant, as well as bold colourful artwork painted throughout. Pizza Pilgrims really makes you feel like you are actually there, like you’ve stepped through a door in Cambridge and popped out in Italy.

One of my favourite parts of Pizza Pilgrims however was the large glass windows on the ground floor. They not only let in lots of light but also give lovely views of Cambridge. This was great for people-watching and letting the world simply roll by while I dined. It almost felt like being on holiday with the sun shining.

The menu matched the look and feel of the restaurant. It was light-hearted and playful but also clear and easy to understand. Prices for a pizza ranged from £9.95 to £14.75, with most of them hovering around the £12-13 mark. You are also given the opportunity to customise your pizza with a list of ten toppings. These start at £2.50 each, 2 for £4, and 3 for £5.

As this is Neapolitan pizza, the base is thin and the crust is very big and puffy around the edge. This means you will likely need a side sauce for dipping. In fact, I would say that the side sauces are essential, as the crust covers about 40% of the total pizza area without any topping. Because of this, I will be counting one side sauce portion towards the total cost of the pizza for Simon’s Quest. There are 5 side sauce options – pesto, truffle, nduja, garlic & herb, and prosciuttonaise. These are £1.50 each or 3 for £4.

I decided to go for a ‘Nduja’ for £12.50. This is a margarita with spicy calabrian sausage. I ordered a garlic & herb dip for £1.50 to accompany the crust, which brought the pizza cost up to £14. This is about the standard price for a pizza in Cambridge (at the time of writing).

The pizza is served whole – the proper Italian way! In other words, it is not sliced. This is also my personal preference when eating a pizza but I know some people will prefer it sliced. If this is you, then make sure to request it that way.

I think my pizza may have been slightly undercooked or perhaps had too much tomato sauce. The sauce in the centre seemed to collect in the middle and felt a little watery. This did not affect my dining experience too much but this did affect the texture of the pizza and meant that the toppings slid off the base a little.

The pizza still tasted fantastic, especially as the toppings moved away from the centre and towards the crust. I was particularly fond of the quality of the dough, which can be partly credited to their 72 hours fermentation process. It is nice and crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside and probably one of the best pizza bases I have had so far on my journey. The garlic and herb dipping sauce was the perfect accessory to this.

The spicy calabrian sausage was nice but the flavour did not stand out from the tomato sauce. It also appeared infrequently throughout the dish, so I almost forgot it was there. The cynical side of me couldn’t help but feel like they were doing this to encourage me to buy more toppings. If this is the same across all the pizza ranges then it might be worth considering getting an extra topping or two, depending on how you like it.

The staff here are all excellent, very friendly, and attentive. In fact, one of the waitresses was one of our very own Cambridge Foodies who stopped to have a chat. She recommended I try the ‘smoked mozzarella bites’ for £7.

These bad boys are absolutely out of this world! The mozzarella is covered in a thin layer of breadcrumbs and served with a smoked chilli jam. They are big, delicious, and the cheese stretches out like something from a cartoon. It is amazing!

Thanks for reading

I was on my way to a beer tasting event at Brewdog, so I only had a coke but I noticed a great selection of beer available. This ranged from cider to lager to IPA’s. Prices were about standard for the central Cambridge area but there was something for everyone. It was great to see 4 pint pitchers on draft for £23, which comes to £5.75 per pint. This saves you 50p a pint (or £2 across the entire pitcher) when purchased separately.

I was treated to a limoncello at the end of my meal which was served ice cold. It was incredibly refreshing and the perfect end to a lovely meal.

I really enjoyed my time at Pizza Pilgrims. It is a truly unique experience in Cambridge with a bold, vivid and proud traditional Italian feel. This is a perfect place to meet up with friends and family alike and I can see this being popular with young people, especially on birthdays.

Their pizza was a mixed bag for me. The base and crust were absolutely excellent but I wonder if the toppings were slightly undercooked or had too much tomato sauce, which in turn caused the watery bit in the middle? It was not enough of an issue to bring up at the time and I am sure this was just an outlier but unfortunately I have to call it as I see it. I would love to revisit again and see Pizza Pilgrim at its full potential.

The mozzarella bites were sensational!!! 😍

Added to the Simon’s Quest rankings.