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Remember back in December when I first visited Oscar’s Lockdown Pizza at The Blue Moon?

Well, I certainly do! I was blown away by their ‘Leo’s pizza’, which ended smack bang at the top of my Cambridge pizza rankings. 

Well, guess what?

They have just opened another kitchen at The Portland Arm, a place much easier to get to for people outside of Cambridge!

I was keen to relive their iconic pizza but also investigate their menu further and see what else they had to offer.

The venue

Ah, The Portland Arms! Famous for its live music. The last time I was here, I had long hair and a trench coat moshing to metal bands. The venue hasn’t changed much since then and still offers that traditional pub look and music events in the back room.

There is a fairly standard list of beers and ales at the bar but I managed to spot a few gems, including ‘Big Bang Theory’ by local brewery Nene Valley.

Apologies in advance for the photo quality. The lighting was funny in the pub and made everything come up a strange colour that was difficult to edit.

The menu

The menu is extensive with a long list of different pizza combinations. Prices range from £6.75 to £15.

Oscar’s Pizza makes their own vegan pepperoni, cheese, and smoked ricotta, meaning that every option on the menu has a vegan equivalent.

They are also turning their new home at the Portland Arms into a gluten free paradise, so watch this space for lots of gf options coming soon.

Pizza

Our first pizza was something I had previously at my visit to the Blue Moon, called ‘U Wot…?’. This is from their vegetarian menu and comes to a modest £10.

It is a pizza loosely based around curry and controversially, it is served with a mango chutney base rather than a traditional tomato one! It is then covered in charred baby plum tomatoes, red onions, aubergine pickle, rocket, and crispy onions.

The mango chutney, aubergine pickle, and plum tomatoes give it a striking sweetness, while the crispy onions add a stratifying crunchy texture.

The crispy onion was a revelation and tasted incredible. It is something I can now see myself demanding on every pizza in the future, as it adds an exciting dynamic.

The ‘U Wot…?’ turned out to be our highlight of the evening, offering a satisfying crispy pizza with a diverse level of sweetness all over. You can taste every ingredient individually on the bite and that taste of everything is quality.

Next, was the official ‘Leo’s Pizza’ that won my heart during my last visit. It comes as a 72 hour fermented base with a hand-made creamy burrata from Puglia (Italy), n’duja (fermented pork with chilli and paprika) and kalamata olives

Their n’duja is incredible and has a rich buttery saltiness that slaps you firmly around the face with flavour and spice. I noticed significantly less n’duja on my pizza this time, which was disappointing, as it was that generous serving that had previously tipped the pizza into the top of my pizza ranking.

It was also their kalamata olives that previously made me fall in love with black olives again. These meaty Greek olives are beautifully salty and smooth with a satisfyingly bitter flavour. IMO, some of the best olives on a pizza in the city.

The centre piece of ‘Leo’s Pizza’ is a half buratta torn over a pizza for that creamy finish. Buratta is a mild cheese similar to mozzarella that is instead made from cows milk. This makes any left over crusts a treat but also compliments the pizza ingredients on the base too. It’s a nice touch and adds a little more to your pizza experience.

We were finally treated to one of their new gluten free options, the ‘Meat & Smokey’. It came loaded with cheese, pepperoni, rocket, sweet chilli jam and smoked ricotta.

I have often struggled to enjoy gluten free pizza, mostly due to the base, that often fails to match the texture of classic pizza and feels somewhat artificial. This however, was up there with anything else I had tried and the strongest take on a gluten free pizza I have had. It was light, thin, and crispy, and felt like as much time as effort had been put into this as any of the other pizzas (which we all know isn’t always the case with gluten free in restaurants).

The sweet chilli jam was delicious and the smokiness really came through on the ricotta. I think the gluten free crowd is going to like it here!

We ended the meal with a few tiny tiramisu’s. These are given as a free gift if you collect your pizzas from the Portland Arms and are a perfect little sweet treat to sign off the evening without over indulging.

Delicious!

Conclusion

Oscar’s Pizza at the Portland Arms is a great addition to the Cambridge pizza scene. The new location makes it more accessible, and the expanded menu has something for everyone – vegans, vegetarians, and even the gluten-free folks! While the “Leo’s” wasn’t quite as mind-blowing this time around (with a noticeable smaller portion of n’duja) the “U Wot…?” totally stole the show with their crispy onion and sweetness. Plus, their “Meat & Smokey” is a huge improvement on gluten-free pizza. I can’t wait to see what other options they come up with next!

Thanks for reading.