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My mate has a theory that a few years ago London reached ‘peak pizza’. He believes the city’s ’za scene plateaued a while ago. There’s only so much you can do with dough, cheese and passata. Yard Sale, Pizza Pilgrims, Zia Lucia, Voodoo Rays, Happy Face. It’s all a bit of a muchness.
One pizzeria from ‘up north’ seeks to prove my friend wrong. Neapolitan specialists Rudy’s, which first popped up in Manchester waaaaaay back in 2015, was recently voted Best Pizza in the UK. It was also named in the The 20 Best Pizzerias in the World by Big Seven (no idea, but sounds legit). A lot of people really dig it, but until this year it’s solely been a northern phenomenon, like Bovril, the Chuckle Brothers and the concept of ‘a ginnel’. Next month, on June 28, it comes to Soho.
Why are Rudy’s pizzas so popular? No idea. I’m just a guy. Not a specialist. What I do know is that their dough is made fresh daily using Caputo flour and left to ferment for at least 24 hours. The pizzas are then cooked in ultra-hot wood-fired ovens for just one minute. Sounds impressive to me.
The new premises will be on Wardour Street, in what used to be that Wahaca. You know, the one near Bone Daddies and Supreme.
To mark the occasion the Rudy's crew plan to give away no fewer than 10,000 pizzas to Londoners like you. Free. Gratis. All you have to do is sign up to their newsletter right here.
‘I’m really excited about moving down to London and getting to know the city,’ says Rudy’s boss Megan Bews. ‘It won’t be long before we are able to fire up the oven and serve delicious Neapolitan Pizza. As a team, we can't wait to meet the locals and neighbours and become part of Soho life.’ See, so northern.
Obviously, I'm going to take my ‘peak pizza’ friend. I will let you know his opinion.
Rudy’s Soho will open this spring, at 80 Wardour St. To get your free pizza sign up to the Rudy's newsletter here.
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