We tested small Vegetarian pizzas to make sure we tasted roughly the same product from everyone. Each rating relates only to the pizza being tasted, not the pizzeria as a whole, which for all I know has a million other pizzas to choose from. Oh, and Nicosia pizzas only, for obvious reasons. Hard cheese, readers in other cities – but feel free to send in your choices and recommendations.
Toronto
The most olive-laden pizza, and probably the most packed in general (onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and green peppers being the other ingredients). Everyone liked the browned crust, smoky cheese and nicely-chewy texture. “A real pizza” was the (not very helpful) verdict. 4 out of 5
Diameter: 23 cm.
Delivery Time: 34 minutes
Price: £3.90 (incl. 60 cents delivery)
Tel: 22 317021
Pizza Hut
You could never mistake Pizza Hut for any other pizza: easily the smallest of the lot – and among the most expensive – it makes up in deep-pan girth what it lacks in diameter, standing thick and spongey. No ‘Vegetarian’ option so we went for the ‘Greek Delight’ – which is heavy on the feta cheese, giving the most pungent flavour out of all the pizzas; also has the crunchiest onions for some reason (must be something to do with their ovens). Not exactly value for money, though. 3 out of 5.
Diameter: 19 cm.
Delivery Time: 26 minutes
Price: £4.10 (incl. 65 cents delivery)
Tel: 7777-7777
Pizza Mia
Oh no – something very wrong here. “Bland” was the general consensus, with one person saying they liked the purplish-red onion rings (it certainly looked quite appetising), but I had a ma-a-ajor problem with the cheese on this pizza. Don’t know what they use – “maybe it’s the flour,” offered a colleague – but the aftertaste verged on the rancid, and frankly made me nauseous. Easily my least-favourite, but maybe it’s just me; bowing to the consensus, I’ll go for 2 out of 5.
Diameter: 25 cm.
Delivery Time: 30 minutes
Price: £4.60 (incl. 65 cents delivery)
Tel: 22 374444
Andy’s Pizza
The oldest pizzeria in Cyprus, apparently – Est. 1970. – Andy’s deserves respect for surviving among the big franchises. But what about the pizza? Average, I’m afraid, let down by plastic cheese and a crust that tastes like half-toasted bread. Kudos for being big, inexpensive and having the most elegant box design; also praised by the judging panel for abundant sweetcorn in the topping. 2 out of 5.
Diameter: 26 cm.
Delivery Time: 34 minutes
Price: £3.80 (incl. 70 cents delivery)
Tel: 22 433354
Alfa
A rather weird-looking pizza – a vast expanse of cheese with little in the way of visible toppings – Alfa turned out to be “greasy but tasty” according to the panel (and yes, there’s plenty of stuff underneath the cheese). Solid enough, with a thick crust, though I suspect you couldn’t eat too much without feeling heavy. Bonus points for the “A”-shaped wodge of bread in the middle. 4 out of 5.
Diameter: 24 cm.
Delivery Time: 24 minutes
Price: £3.90 (incl. 60 cents delivery)
Tel: 22 779898
Pizza Way (Frozen Pizza)
Thought we’d go for something different, so here’s a frozen pizza from the supermarket. A mistake, in retrospect. The crust isn’t much more than a slice of white bread, topped with an extra-thin layer of cheese; toppings look nice (sweetcorn, red peppers) but taste bland. A bit cheaper than ordinary pizzas, but really – it’s not worth it. 1 out of 5.
Diameter: 23 cm.
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Price: About £2.50
Il Forno
And finally… Il Forno is a proper restaurant on Ledra Street, not a pizzeria as such, and you have to go pick it up because they don’t deliver, but come on – this was head-and-shoulders above the others. We went for the ‘Casareccia’ (olives, onions, mushrooms, peppers) and didn’t regret it: crust was delectable, all the ingredients fresh, plus it was by far the biggest of the seven pizzas and not even the most expensive. Conclusion? For the best pizza, head for the Old Town. 5 out of 5
Diameter: 31 cm.
Delivery Time: Il Forno don’t deliver, however the pizza was ready in 10-15 minutes
Price: £4.40
Tel: 22 456454
