Yes, Lost Boys is a vampire-themed pizza restaurant that does black, charcoal-infused pies. Yes, it takes almost all its cues from the eponymous bloodsucking ’80s classic. Yes, it’s in the dining wilderness between Euston and Mornington Crescent. But no, it’s not as immensely soul-draining as all that sounds.
This is as much down to some extremely affable staff and cheap malbec on the drinks list as it is the pizzas, which are merely quite good. London is a town flush with dream dough: from pillowy Neapolitan cornicione, to thin, chewy, tyre-sized New York pies. These are neither. But while the bases were bereft of bite, the toppings were decent, especially on the Pops to Go (generously strewn with teeny broccoli florets, good sausage and shaved parmesan) and the Coffin Dodger (a vegan number covered in rocket, artichoke, mushrooms and the plant-lover’s secret mega-ingredient, nutritional yeast). Big bonus points, too, for the genius house-made chilli pineapple relish: a killer mix of fire and tang.
Lost Boys Pizza isn’t going to top any of the capital’s best-of lists, but it fills a gap in this section of NW1, and is undoubtedly better than the tacky bust I’d feared. So: who’s the sucker now?