London kneads this | Pizza Union, 25 Sandy’s Row, London E1 7EZ

A neon lion… What’s not to love?

What is a pizza? We discovered recently that apparently a pizza with chicken as a topping is not a pizza, even worse, it is breaking pizza law. So what is it if it isn’t a pizza? Answers on a postcard.

Pizza Union has been on our list for some time, with rave reviews and prices from as little as £3.95 for a 12” thin crust pizza what could go wrong? They couldn’t have chosen their site better if they tried, adjacent to them is a building full of cash-strapped students, the University of East Anglia – a win win situation. It’s meant to be super fast but we hit the rush hour so had to wait about ten minutes which is nothing so it wasn’t a problem. Plus we were seated and had wine – £3 for a glass of red and Ade a bottle of Peroni £2.80.

Salt turned to Pepper and sung ‘What the hell am I doughing here? I don’t belong here’

The decor is stripped back canteen, a splash of neon on the wall, bench seating with a vast open kitchen and wood fired oven. There’s outside seating too if you’re lucky enough to nab a seat and it isn’t raining. The place was buzzing with a real mix of people, from students to suits. You order at the counter and are given a buzzer for when the pizza’s ready, for some reason whenever we go somewhere with this system it is always a surprise when it starts violently vibrating on the table. I made a bit of an error in my choice – the Calabria £5.95, because I can’t eat cheese it looked a little sad and naked, no one likes a naked pizza. I am fully aware of how much better it would taste if I liked the taste of cheese but there’s not much I can do about that. Although I may have something lined up which could possibly help, stay tuned!

‘I’m a pepperoni pizza.’ ‘No I’m not! I’m a mushroom pizza’. ‘I might not even be a pizza!’. Stagioni had periods of self-doubt

Anyway, the n’duja was fantastic if a little too hot (and I don’t say that often), the base light yet firm, no soggy bottom here. I wish I’d chosen something else though, perhaps the Pollo £5.95, just for fun. Ade’s Stagioni £6.50 – mozzarella, cotto ham, Pepperoni, mushrooms, artichoke, black olives had more variety with the toppings roughly split evenly into four segments. Desserts are limited, choices of a selection of Oddono’s ice cream £2 from the self-serve cabinet, Sicilian Cannoli or Dolce £2.95 – a dough ring filled with Nutella and Mascarpone.

The explosion at the cocoa factory left Dolce feeling a little cut up

I went for a mouth-cooling coffee ice cream which had time to soften whilst Ade’s chocolate stuffed circle of dough was in the oven. I was pretty jealous of his offering but the ice cream was gorgeous, this dessert would have resulted in me looking six months pregnant, I’d already had to undo my jeans as it was. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back, such friendly helpful service and you can’t go wrong with these low prices, this is something everyone can afford and what pizza should cost, in Puglia we paid even less. Let’s hope they open more branches, the masses need this.

www.pizzaunion.com
25 Sandy’s Row, London E1 7EZ
info@pizzaunion.com

Open seven days a week 11am – 11pm

Order online for delivery (available city and east end)
Order online for collection

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Nearest station: Liverpool Street Station (5 mins walk)

*We ate as guests of Pizza Union, this does not affect our review in any way. We always write with complete honesty.