Rosso Pomodoro

Shop 90-91, 24 Buchanan Street, Balmain
Tuesday - Sunday, from 6pm to late

I already had my favourite pizzeria in Sydney, and for at least 12 years that did not change. I need to clarify now that it still hasn't changed, however there was, if but for one moment, perhaps a possible contender. Imagine that?

Scurrying in from the night, the warm smell hits your nose and tickles the memories of times past and comforting. Having no idea just how popular this place was, we were almost turned away on a Thursday evening due to the inordinate amount of people already seated and the bookings ready to arrive. It was our luck that we had to be at a friend's for a hootenanny and so when we told of our desire to eat quickly and be out of there in a shot, the all-smiling woman at the front was more than happy to fit us in. We were served by lovely man, who was evidently a newish import, and was as charmingly suave and European as one can get. Helpful too!
Beautifully thin crusts are definitely a must for any pizza. Here, they prove the dough for these delightful circles of deliciousness for several days before baking. This somehow manages to make the pizza soft on the inside and rightly crisp on the outside exposed to the flames of the wood-fire oven. Flames and flamingoes. There is a really distinct taste to the dough here, that which I have trouble putting anything specific upon, however which seems to develop somewhere within the salt region...of my memory? Tastes? Very Mediterranean, and very "let's-all-go-to-the-seaside-whheeee!". As for the toppings, well, they are divine. Applied sparingly and using only the freshest ingredients, the seemingly minimalist expression of this veritable art allows one to savour each and every taste. So fresh, in fact, that there exists within Rosso Pomodoro their very own glass meats cabinet, from which they procure their thinly sliced cuts of salami and prosciutto. It is, evidently, extremely tiny if you use the Nutella jar for scale. Then consider that same jar to be really flippin' huge.

It's not on the beaten track so you may, should you forget the address, as we did, have to ask a local for where in Balmain this place exists. It was encouraging that, when I asked a complete stranger for directions to the place on the other side of the suburb, I was greeted with a smile and an excited willingness to draw on my road map. Obviously the locals definitely think Rosso Pomodoro kicks some serious culo in the land of Pizza.

And so it is thus. Rosso Pomodoro gives me both service and pizza that is authentically Southern Italian; warm, crisp, and not just a little bit fresh. Congratulations, you receive second prize. Booyah!

Oh, and they also have a set of rules that must be obeyed. And apparently, they've written some rules for themselves to follow. Just in case someone starts cooking the pizzas in the microwave.