‘Let’s go for dinner in Hither Green,’ said nobody, ever – this sleepy corner of Lewisham borough is best known for its lack of pubs (it was historically a dry Quaker area), proximity to the more ascendant ’hoods of Catford and Ladywell and, er, that’s about it.
Imagine my delight, then, with The Gold of Naples: a tiny, recently refurbed and shit-hot Neapolitan spot on Hither Green Lane that just happens to be knocking out some of London’s best pizzas.
We started with various fried things: courgette flowers, ricotta-stuffed, delicate and greaseless; a fist of an arancini that was under-flavoured but decent padding for a bargain bottle of chianti; and a puffy, cloud-light pizza fritta – a sort of fried calzone that’s a ubiquitous Naples street food but a thrilling novelty in London, here filled with fior di latte cheese and tomato. All good, sure, but it’d be disingenuous to pretend you’d truly come to this part of SE13 for anything but the pizzas proper.
And rightly so, as they were ace: gargantuan, with a chewy and blistered crust that’s among the best in town. A basic napoli – cheeseless, strewn with olives and anchovies – was a de facto vehicle for a vivid and deeply flavourful tomato sauce. More outré was the tartufa, topped with boar salami, porcini cream and slivers of black truffle – a balmy Tuscan afternoon in pizza form that was surprisingly delicate given the great aromatic onslaught from the fungi.
The Gold of Naples feels like a best-kept secret; I’m a longtime devotee of southeast London’s food scene and a pizza fanatic to boot, and I only made it there through a tip-off. The location will probably keep it that way, but intrepid gastronauts will be rewarded with some of the best dough in town. Go Hither.