Vegan pizza lover heaven – Purezza

I had the pleasure in going along the other day to sample some plant-based vegan food by Purezza and I was highly surprised in how much I loved their vegan food.

Purezza who are they?

Before I tell you about my experience and what I thought of the food let me tell you a bit more about Purezza.

Purezza is one of the very first vegan pizzeria’s to open in the UK.  It opened it’s first in Brighton back in 2015 followed on by the one in Camden in which I visited.

Purezza are plant pioneers, revolutionising Italian food through cruelty free ingredients. Their aim is simple and that is to make a plant based menu superior to the traditional alternatives.

Cheese which is not cheese

As this is a vegan restaurant no real cheese is used.  Instead they use cheese which has been made out of mostly nuts.  Their mozzarella is made out of an Italian brown rice and their ricotta for sample is made using raw cashews.  With all their cheese they are not only just tastier than traditional cheese, they are also less than half the calories and fat of real cheese.  It has taken them just over two years in developing their unique cheese which is not cheese.

Dough heaven

Their pizza dough is based on a traditional family recipe with a twist. The dough is freshly made each day using a type 2 flour (much healthier than double zero flour) and matured for forty eight hours before being stretched and served. They also make dough using hemp flour, for an even healthier and refreshing alternative.

Gluten-free eating

All their food is animal-free, therefore, also dairy and meat-free, gluten-free food is also at the forefront of their innovation. They currently have a wide range of gluten-free options, including gluten free sourdough pizzas, creamy pasta dishes and delicious raw food choices.

Purezza #plantpioneers

The restaurant

When I arrived and stepped into the restaurant doors I was taken back by the beauty of the whole restaurant with its chic look of wooden tables, chairs and cushioned long benches set against exposed brick work.

There is also an open kitchen so you can see the chef at work preparing food and vegan pizzas.  It is always lovely to see an open kitchen especially one that has a large open pizza oven.

Onto the food

Now I am not one for vegan or vegetarian style restaurants to be completely honest as there is quite a large number of vegetables I don’t like eating.  However I went along to try it and I am glad I did as I came out leaving quite surprised in how much I loved the food.

In fact it was a hard decision in what to order when I looked over the menu.  So I will be returning in the future.

For starters I ordered the Courgetti Spaghetti as I just love courgettes and pesto.  This is usually a side dish but I ordered it as a starter.  When I received it I was really impressed by the shiny green twisted heap of courgette which had been created using a spiral cutter.  The courgette spirals were even longer than a normal spaghetti stand so when it came to twisting on my fork it went on forever.  The whole taste did not disappoint either as it was very fresh and the pesto was really creamy, which surprised me as there is no cheese used to make the pesto.  In fact I don’t think I would be able to tell the difference from a normal cheesed based one to this vegan style one, that is how great it was.  Plus the sundried tomatoes gave it a nice sweet edge.  So if you love courgettes and pesto as much as I do you will not be disappointed.  In fact I would visit this restaurant again purely for this dish.

My blogger friend Bianca who joined me on the day had a gluten-free Mac n Cheese. Again this is a side dish that you can order but she ordered it as a starter instead.  It was impressive to know that there was no real cheese used in this Mac n Cheese.  As all their cheeses are made from nuts, no dairy products at all as this is a vegan restaurant after all.  She said the pasta was a little on the chewy side, however the sauce was creamy and the taste was absolutely spot on for any Mac n Cheese lover like herself!

For mains we decided to choose a pizza each and split them in half to share.  The pizza’s can be made using one of the three bases: Sourdough, Hemp Sourdough or the Gluten Free base.

We ordered the Cheesus and chose for it to be made out of the Hemp Sourdough and we also chose the Couch Potato and opted for the classic Sourdough.

The Cheesus came with four different vegan cheeses served on a tomato base. The ricotta was the best part about this pizza as there was large dollops of it everywhere and it really did taste like ricotta which is remarkable considering this vegan ricotta is made from nuts. However I was not that keen on the yellow vegan cheese as it was too sticky for my liking and very strong in flavour.  The sourdough though was perfect, light, thin, crispy, and had a fluffy crispy outer ring giving it that perfect crust finish.  Even though I did not like the yellow cheese on this pizza I would order this again.

The Couch Potato pizza was a white based sauce pizza with a topping of aubergines and potato slices.  I don’t usually order white based pizzas but I thought I would give it a go.  So this pizza tasted how I imagined it to be of bread, aubergine and potato.  Even though I liked it I did find it slightly bland as there was no juicy tomato.  We also had this pizza made out of the Hemp dough which I found slightly dense and more savoury than the normal classic sourdough,  plus with the toppings we had I don’t think that the Hemp was a good choice of dough.  I feel that the Hemp dough would work much better with sharper and sweet tasting toppings.  I personally would not order this pizza again but that is only because it is not to my taste as I love sharper and sweeter flavours.

However saying this my friend loved it.  We also had a side dip of pesto so when I dipped this pizza into the pesto sauce it made a whole lot of difference making me love it.  It Just shows you what a little side dip can really do in some cases.

For dessert I ordered the Chocolate Brownie and my friend had a Crème Brulee.  My Chocolate Brownie was quite dense, but was sweet, sticky and had a great intense flavour of chocolate making it probably one of the best brownies I have had.  My friend said her Crème Brulee was very tasty and not too sweet making it a delight to eat with its delicate texture.

We both loved this restaurant from its décor to its food and for that reason we would certainly visit again.   Next time I will order the Lasagne as I am intrigued to see what a meatless Lasagne without real cheese will taste like.

Book your table

So if you are vegan, love raw food or even gluten free food then with so many options to choose from at Purezza you will be guaranteed to find something that you like.  Plus as a bonus, children eat free at this restaurant.

They are open midday 7 days a week and are based in

• Brighton: 12 St James’s Street, Brighton, BN2 1RE
• Camden: 43 Parkway, Camden, NW1 7PN

Click here to find out more about Purezza and to book.

 

Thanks to Purezza for letting me come down to sample what vegan food and vegan cheese is like.  The meal was complimentary but all views are of my own honest opinions.

 

Click below to read the blogs from other community members of Love Pop Ups London. All their views are of their own honest opinion.

Purezza