It has been a while since our last episode of Cambridge Food Hunter, where we hunt down the biggest and most extravagant dishes in the Cambridgeshire area! For this chapter, we are heading slightly north to a spot that defines the term “hidden gem” for a giant pizza unrivalled anywhere else in the county.

Location

​I generally don’t like using the term “hidden gem” as it has been so overused that it has lost all meaning but this is the perfect example of one. I could drive past this unassuming cafe a million times and never notice it. In fact, even using the SAT NAV, I still found it a challenge to find in this large industrial estate. Located in the Newark Road area on the outskirts of Peterborough, The Deli Chef @ Divino isn’t exactly shouting for attention from the high street and has very modest signage outside.

Luckily, there is free parking out the front, which is always a win, especially when driving is the only way of getting there.

Inside, the venue is small and, well, rather ordinary, reminding me of any other cafe you would expect to find across Cambridgeshire.

However, the heart of the operation is hard to miss – a massive clay oven takes up much of the room in the back corner. Just a word of warning for any fellow hunters: pizza service stops at 3pm, despite the cafe staying open until 6pm. Get there early or you’ll be travelling all that way to leave empty handed!

The one meter monster!

Thanks to a post by one of our very own Cambridge Foodies, I caught wind of their 1-metre Italian pizza, and it is quite a sight to behold. This is more than just a gimmick, however, as the restaurant is run by an authentic Italian family from Sorrento who take their pizza very seriously.

When the board arrived, it was an absolute beast. This is a work of structural art that requires some serious table real estate. The dough was impressively soft and I was particularly impressed with the pepperoni; it was sliced thick and had a seriously spicy kick.

As the pizza is a full metre long, I found the cooking to be a little uneven in places with some sections being perfectly crisp while others were a touch watery – but otherwise, I honestly couldn’t fault it. It is a messy, fun, and a social way to eat that reminds you why Italian food is great at bringing people together.

To help wash down this utter monster, I ordered a decadent coconut milkshake. It was thick, creamy, and exactly what I needed to navigate the spice from that pepperoni.

And yes, for the record, we both managed to finish the entire thing! 😎

A genuine hidden gem

The Deli Chef @ Divino is a reminder that you should never judge a book by its cover – or a restaurant by its industrial estate. If you want a straightforward, no-nonsense Italian experience that prioritises quality (and quantity!) over a fancy postcode, this is your next destination.

Another one successfully hunted!

​Thanks for reading!