Thursday, March 27, 2008

Gourmet Pizza Company Canary Wharf


Another one bites the dusk at Canary Wharf.

Food

GPC is actually run by the same people as Pizza Express, but they try to capture a different part of the market by offering up pizzas with “gourmet” topping. The most interesting thing they have on the menu were the Baked Dough Balls (£2.10) - Bite-sized chunks of baked pizza dough with garlic butter dip. They were hot from the oven and very nice, but the garlic dip was too overpowering though and doesn’t work. I prefer them plain.

The mains I shared two pizzas. There were lots of interesting combinations, but I stuck to the ones I know work. The asparagus, parma ham, egg was ok. There wasn’t a lot of asparagus and the egg was overcooked, but the flavours worked well together. The aubergine, goats cheese, peppers was even better, the goats cheese really lifting the flavour of the vegetables. The pizzas had a pleasing base, which was of course not as good as a pizza that comes out of a wood-fired oven.

Rating - 5.5

Atmosphere

Situated beside the square, but you can’t really see the water from here. There’s an open kitchen with a big oven. It was really busy on a Friday lunch, with big groups and lots of noise. We had to shout to be able to hear each other, and the tables are so cramped you can’t push back your chair without banging into someone.

Rating - 0.5

Service

Pretty terrible. I guess they were too busy keeping everyone happy, but when we needed them they didn’t come, and then before I had finished everything, they wanted to whisk it away. Trying to get us to leave so they can fit more people in perhaps?

There was no attention to detail at all, missing cutlery was not delivered, and the utensils they provided to eat the pizzas were inadequate.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

The pizzas were average, the setting could be improved, and compared to Pizza Express, not justified for the more expensive price.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 7.5

Info

18-20 Cabot Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4PH
Phone +44 (0) 20 7345 9192
Website

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