It’s in the unassuming Galerias Valmor, a small shopping centre in the Matarraque area of São Domingos de Rana, where you can try the new (and serious contenders for the best pizza list) in the municipality of Cascais. On November 13th, Sour Dog Pizza was inaugurated by 26-year-old Ukrainian Oksana Horshchar, who has been living in Portugal for three years.
Oksana was living in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, when the country was invaded by Russia. A friend, 31-year-old Radion Petrenko, also moved to Portugal. By profession a designer, Radion has always had a passion for pizza. In Portugal, he was offered a cooking course and began – quite literally – getting his hands in the dough. His passion grew, and before long, he and his friend Oksana were creating a business based on their sourdough and naturally fermented pizzas, which use a blend of organic and nutritious flours. The name, Sour Dog, is a playful pun on the English word “sourdough.”
A true scholar of the tradition and history of this Italian specialty, Petrenko has created a contemporary line of artisanal pizzas, breaking the usual conventions with his creativity in recipes – perhaps one of the best examples on the menu is the Abacaxi Santo pizza (€15.50), which is nothing like the infamous pineapple pizzas we usually encounter. With homemade chili and pineapple jelly, it features basil, mozzarella fior di latte, San Marzano tomato sauce, red onions, extra ham, and homemade pickled padrón peppers.
The menu has other equally tempting options. Try the Cogumelos Trufados (€15.50), a pizza with a natural truffle base, local mozzarella fior di latte, shiitake and pleurotus mushrooms, aged Parmigiano Reggiano, and basil; the Lisbon-New York (€15.50), with San Marzano tomato sauce, red onion, mozzarella fior di latte, DOP gorgonzola, pepperoni, chorizo, homemade beef meatballs, aged Parmigiano Reggiano, basil, and homemade spicy honey; or the Rainha dos Queijos (€14.90), with a creamy sauce, local mozzarella fior di latte, DOP gorgonzola, aged cheddar, taleggio, thyme, and aged Parmigiano Reggiano.
The pizzaiolo also created a signature recipe inspired by the iconic Portuguese sandes mista. The Misto pizza (€15.50) features a creamy sauce with basil, leeks, mozzarella fior di latte, extra ham, and aged Parmigiano Reggiano. For those who love spice, and in response to the many diavolas that are not quite fiery enough in Portuguese restaurants, he crafted the Inferno Pepperoni (€15.50), with San Marzano tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella fior di latte, spicy Italian pepperoni, aged Parmigiano Reggiano, homemade pickled jalapeños, and homemade spicy honey.
“Our pizzas are simple, but we use expensive, high-quality ingredients,” explains the pizzaiolo, who tasted dozens of products and met with just as many suppliers, going through an obsessive process to find the best ingredients. The elements may have changed, but one could say Petrenko is a haute couture pizza designer. “What we want is to bring happiness to people through food.”
With 28 seated places, Sour Dog Pizza shares space with two other concepts also owned by Oksana Horshchar. This kind of communal kitchen, spacious and open, is divided into three sections, each with its own team. It is here that they prepare the dishes for Meow Sushi (which also has a location in Benfica, Lisbon) and will soon begin preparing the Asian dishes for JIAO Asia (also operating in Benfica).
Until now, primarily due to space constraints, the focus has been on delivery — and demand has been so high that, starting Monday, 27th January, they will begin working exclusively with their own delivery system, separate from the major platforms, to ensure a high-quality service.
With both stores operating, they cover a significant part of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Additionally, they plan to open a terrace at the back of Galerias Valmor in the summer, where they would also like to host cultural events, particularly those related to music.
Rua Fernão de Magalhães, São Domingos de Rana. Tue-Sun 12.00-15.00; 17.00-21.30. 915 551 204