After buying a loaf of their cracking sourdough at the Surbiton Farmer’s Market the other week, my Partner in Crime and I were delighted to be informed that they have a restaurant that does pizza and is BYO. Needless to say, we were there the first available opportunity we had.
Located in Twickenham, which conveniently is a direct bus trip from our house, Ruben’s Bakehouse is a knockout. The sourdough pizza bases are first class. If ever a pizza dough would make you weep, this is it. Fresh from the wood-fired oven, these pizzas are some of the best in London, and are in fact, some of the best pizzas I have ever had.
I chose my own combination of toppings as I was in the mood for a salt-fix, so I ordered one loaded with olives and anchovies. Lip-puckeringly delicious. I especially enjoyed the green olives thrown on board – something you don’t usually see. My PiC, ordered the Diavola with spicy salami, which he loved.
The bruschetta gets a double thumbs up too. Simplicity at its best; gorgeous ripe tomatoes, tangy balsamic and oregano, all on that ripping sourdough.
Corkage is only £3 a bottle. I love BYO, and have found it is not nearly as prevalent here in London as it is in Sydney. We drank a lovely bottle of Gavi La Toledana which was packed with ripe notes of stone fruit and honey and had a lingering finish with clean minerality. You don’t always have to have red with pizza, and if you are enjoying spicy pizzas, white is definitely the way to go.
The staff is lovely – smiley and genuinely friendly, which is rare these days. We cannot wait to return for more pizza perfection.
