SARAH AND I were in Glasgow to be a part of the Ready, Steady, Cook! audience. When we arrived at the BBC – on time I might add – we were annoyingly told the studio was at full capacity and we would not get to watch the show I remember so fondly from childhood. What also annoys me is food that fails to satisfy, and that’s what I found during a work trip to Paesano Pizza the last time I was through in the city. However, I’m the forgiving sort and thought I’d give it another bash.
Despite it being a cold mid-month Thursday in January, it was packed to the rafters – just like on my first visit in December. A friendly host greeted us and informed they’d have a table for us in a few minutes, which was indeed the case. On my previous visit, I wasn’t happy with the so-called fennel sausage as the topping didn’t have any fennel flavour whatsoever. There also wasn’t a lot of it on my pizza.
On this occasion I went for the ‘number five’ or prosciutto cotto with mushrooms, tomato sugo (or sauce), mozzarella and evoo (extra virgin olive oil) for a mere £8. There is the option of adding extra toppings priced at an extra 50p-£2.50 depending on what you want to add. The overall flavour of my pizza was great: woody mushrooms; meaty ham that offered a hint of smokiness; creamy cheese with a lactic tang, and a deliciously tangy tomato base. My issue, however, lay with the base. Now I know an authentic Neapolitan base is meant to be a bit floppy, but this was verging on being undercooked. I suspect the water released from the mushrooms was the culprit, as Sarah’s was fine. The crust, although it looked crispy, was a bit doughy as well, but it had a pleasingly burnt taste to it.
Sarah’s pizza had the same core ingredients as mine, but with Spianata salami from Calabria for the same price. Her base, as I mentioned, was a bit drier. The meat was crunchy with a solid level of spice that left the right amount of heat in your mouth. The cheese was a bit gooier on her pizza, probably because she had less filling than me. It’s worth mentioning that these pizzas are generous in size.
Our server was very efficient throughout. She was very observant of the space she was dealing with, picking up several minute details that are often missed, such as clearing unnecessary items from the table. The decent Sauv Blanc I enjoyed was just £4.50 a glass, although I don’t like drinking wine from a cup.
I conclude that Paesano is far from perfect. It is raved about as the best pizza joint around, but I much prefer Razzo or East Pizzas in Edinburgh. However, it’s pretty light on the wallet and the service is excellent. Would I go back? Yes.
Web: paesanopizza.co.uk/Instagram: @paesanopizza
Address: 94 Miller Street, Glasgow, G1 1DT
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