...the rough this time actually being our very own Elephant & Castle.
----------------------------------------------------
EDIT: As of December 2006 Pizzeria Castello seems to be no more. Gone, vanished without explanation, boarded shut. Very mysterious. If anybody who reads this knows what happened, please leave a comment. I miss them a lot. So I guess this is more of an obituary now than a review... By all means, carry on reading, just don't try to go there.
FOLLOWUP: Good news. Yes, Castello changed hands, went down hill and subsequently was shut. That's the bad news. Here are the good:
The bad news is that this restaurant has gone downhill since it changed hands, and having eaten there quite frequently over the last 18 years, I would no longer do so.
The good news is that the Castello restaurant on Jamaica Road close to Bermondsey station is owned by one of the partners who used to own Pizzaria Castello, and has the same chef. Go there instead, for a good atmosphere, and the traditional "Castello" menu, plus some great additions.
Found over at London Eating, in the comments section.
----------------------------------------------------
We now have another great place to add to our shortlist of not very well known but fabulous restaurants along with Hare & Tortoise and Ciao Bella in Holborn: Pizzeria Castello on Walworth Road just by the roundabout.
Last night we decided to go there since a workmate of Amy's been raving about how good it always was and that they have been going at the same place under the same name for over twenty years. Could it really be that good? Wouldn't it be just another case of over prized, under baked, too thin, not very interesting pizzas? There was only one way to find out. Put the pizza in the mouth.
From the outside it doesn't look much. I have walked past it several times and never given it much thought as anything else but another hole in the wall to pick up pizzas at. For some reason it always caught my eye though, it does look a lot classier than its surroundings.
Once inside we were greeted by an energetic Italian guy who asked if we had booked. When we said no he looked a bit troubled... In broken English he told us to wait ten minutes and he would fix something! Good, popular place, yet helpful staff. Score 1 to Castello team. Little did we know it, but those points would just keep racking up as the evening progressed.
While waiting we had a great view of the fridge where they kept their desserts, and I can tell you that their Tiramisu and the chocolate cake looked good enough to die for. Kill for even. Yes, I was hungry. Anders also noticed that they actually are Zagat rated, another good sign.
After ten minutes we were shown a table for the three of us, and as we walked inside the restaurant it opened up to a fairly sized room with a good feeling to it. Not posh, or over designed or anything just good.
Actually let me elaborate on that, it had a good mediterranean feel to it. And not the kind created by red and white checkered table cloths and candles in cheap wine bottles, the kind you get when someone who probably IS mediterranean does the decorations. Small tables, suitable for two to four people each, interesting photos on the walls with motives that weren't Italian yet made you long for Italy if you know what I mean, all the staff Italian, heck, they even had proper Italian people dining there! It MUST be genuinely Italian!
Menus looked good, with a good selection of beer and wine. You can get all the usual starters and anti pasto (I had the bruschetta and they were great), good selection of pasta dishes and a traditional selection of pizzas. There was also a small selection of á la carte with salmon and meats, but I actually didn't look very much at that since we had our stomachs set for pizza.
As we were thinking about what to order Rachelle rang and said she was really close. Oh dear, suddenly we were four. How will they react to that, when they had to squeeze in the three of us? But that was no problem, they hurried up a bit, got a table for four cleaned up and immediately with big smiles moved us over there instead.
All of us had pizzas, me and Anders a variant with artichokes and onions, Amy had a calzone and Rachelle the vegetarian calzone. They were all fabulous. And not expensive either (for being London, that is...), the most expensive pizza I could find on the menu was £8.
Since I had the bruschetta first, which was a really BIG serving of perfectly toasted bread with great olive oil and tomato topping, I actually couldn't finish mine. So I still have half of mine in the fridge, I can't wait for lunch to arrive.
All in all, good service, very good food and definitely a place worth visiting again be it for satisfying a pizza craving, a romantic dinner for two or just hanging out with some friends and get a taste of Italy in the middle of Elephant & Castle. Brilliant. Well recommended.
