As part of my “Simon’s Quest” pizza journey, I decided to pop in to Giovanni’s on Burleigh Street to see what they had to offer.

It was a beautiful spring day and I noticed they had a couple of beers tap. I ordered myself a pint of Birra Moretti to enjoy while I sat in their outdoor seating area. It’s a great place to relax and people watch.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a side of popcorn and peanuts brought out on a wooden tray along with my beer. The cynic in me assumed that this would have been marked into the price of the beer but my pint was a fairly standard price for central Cambridge.

Pizza

Giovanni makes hand-made Neapolitan pizzas made fresh every day which are then cooked in their wood fired pizza oven.

The menu had an extensive list with everything you could possibly want.

All pizzas can be made with gluten free dough and vegan cheese.

The capricciosa pizza caught my eye. This is made with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, artichoke, black olives, ham, mushroom, and basil.

From memory the pizza came to £16 (towards the higher end of the price spectrum). With that said, I was surprised at how big it was. I forgot to check the exact measurements but I was certainly larger than most on my journey so far.

The base was thin and crisp with a lovely tomato sauce that came right up to the crust. The ham was light, subtle and came with some lovely mushrooms that worked with the ham to create a delicate and well balanced flavour.

Then came the olives. These bad boys were big, bold, and full of unapologetic robustness, almost like they were crashing the party. They were absolutely delicious and dominated the pizza entirely. Any olive fan is going to love these. I know I did!

For anyone reading this blog will know, I am a big chap with an even bigger appetite but even this pizza had me struggling towards the end. You certainly get your money’s worth here but I wasn’t bloated like many other pizzas. This rather polite pizza had a light and thin base with a focus on subtly rather than stuffing your hole with copious amounts of cheese. It felt more rounded, like a delicacy. As an authentic Italian pizza should be and I think you will see what I mean when you visit.

Conclusion

Popping into Giovanni’s for a pizza has only made me want to visit again and explore more of their menu. Everything today has been excellent and went beyond my expectations, with little touches that build up to an impressive experience.

I could tell that this was true authentic Italian pizza because of its respect for balance and flavour. It is modest but in a proud way, like it knew exactly what it was doing and wasn’t trying too hard because it was comfortable with its quality.

It’s going to be hard to decide which category to put their pizzas in, as it will depend on what you want from a pizza but I cannot deny it is fantastic, especially for people who enjoy a mild and subtle pizza experience.

Thanks for reading