I tested bizarre pizza flavours from Full English to lasagne – winner cost £14 and was full of flavour
SNAIL Vindaloo pizza may sound a bit vindaloony – and not what footie fans will be getting in for TV feasts in front of the Euro ’24 footie.
But this, er, treat, is on the menu at London restaurant Roe, in Canary Wharf.
And it is far from the only crazy pizza topping nowadays.
From crusts plastered with curry, lasagne and a Full English, to even hot dog and chips, chefs are cooking up all sorts of fun.
Hayley Minn chowed down on some of the odder offerings and rated each out of five.
Chicken tikka and hot chilli peppers
Tops Pizza, £16.99
DESPITE being a chicken tikka pizza, which is definitely unusual, this one did not look too creative at first glance – topped with chicken and chillis, which is nothing new.
But the smells coming off it were very like those from an Indian takeaway, so I was excited to try it.
As soon as I had my first bite, my socks were knocked off by the heat.
If you love spice, this is for you, as the chillis here are seriously hot.
Once the spice died down, I was able to appreciate how delicious and cheesy the pizza was.
But it should definitely come with a heat warning.
RATING: 3/5
Full English
Brunch pizza, Caloroso, £8.50
THIS dish from London chain Caloroso has an egg in the middle, plus bacon, sausage, mushroom and tomatoes – so everything you want in a fry-up.
I never really go for egg on a pizza but, after eating this, I have to say it really does work – although I would have preferred it slightly runnier.
The bacon was cooked nicely, too, and all the flavours went well together.
I was stunned to see a Full English slapped on a pizza, but then found it in another restaurant soon after so it seems there is more than one chef with the same idea.
RATING: 4/5
Chicken tenders
Wicked Chicken pizza, Japes, £15.99
WHILE chicken on a pizza is not that unusual, London chain Japes puts entire tenders on its offerings, and has deep-pan crusts filled to the brim with cheese.
As well as chicken, cooked so nicely, the one I tried had buffalo cheese, sweetcorn and regular mozzarella on top, and may be one of the cheesiest things I have ever eaten.
The amount of the gooey, melted treat in every slice was incredible, although I can imagine it could be too much for many people.
It is maybe not surprising you only get four slices of this pizza when there is so much cheese involved.
RATING: 3/5
Hot dog and chips
The Americana, Pizza Pilgrims, £13.95
I LOVE chips, hot dogs and pizza but would never think to put them all together for a meal.
That is exactly what Pizza Pilgrims, one of my favourite pizza chains, has done, and I had been wanting to try The Americana for a while.
My first impression was how unappealing it looked, especially as the chips had been just thrown on top.
I thought the taste would be better, but sadly it was not.
With it being hot dog and chips, I needed a bit of ketchup – and strangely, this pizza does not even include tomato.
It just didn’t work for me.
RATING: 2/5
Brunch
Ecco pizza, £14
ANOTHER Full English here, from Ecco, and the first thing I noticed was that the egg on this was much runnier than on the one from Caloroso.
It also had a lot more bacon and sausage on it.
The taste was better, too.
It really felt like I was eating a fry-up, and the runny egg went over everything to give it that extra bit of flavour.
This really made me think a Full English works on a pizza – you get all the different tastes of meat, with the tomato sauce acting like your ketchup.
The only thing missing was baked beans.
Delicious. My winner.
RATING: 5/5
Curried minced lamb
Homeslice, £18.95
HOMESLICE created this last year, for King Charles’s Coronation, and it was inspired by the Coronation Quiche chosen by His Majesty.
With similar ingredients to the quiche, it has smoked burrata, tarragon pesto, wilted spinach and crispy broad beans, as well as curried minced lamb.
It did not look appetising – especially as the dough seemed quite thin, maybe even raw.
And the taste was no better.
The tarragon was overpowering and the beans were shoved on top, rather than baked into the pizza.
I found the King’s choice of quiche a little strange but this pizza is maybe even stranger.
RATING: 3/5
Lasagne (no pasta)
The Ultimate Lasagne, Domino’s, £9.99-24.99
I DO love a Domino’s, and reckon you can never go wrong with them.
But I am not sure how inventive this pizza really is.
It is called The Ultimate Lasagne pizza but there is no pasta to be seen here.
You get just beef, tomato and cheese, which is not really that unusual for a pizza.
I also felt like the taste was not as good as some of the others, and it needed a bit more flavouring or sauce.
Quite disappointing from my favourite pizza joint.
RATING: 2/5
Potato croquettes
The Santa Maria, Pizza Pilgrims, £13.95
DINER chain Pizza Pilgrims has this as a guest offering this month.
But like their Americana, it fell flat.
It really is just a margherita pizza with potato croquettes plonked on top.
In fact, when I ordered online, I got the croquettes separately so had to slice them up and add them myself.
The actual pizza did taste really nice but the croquettes were difficult to eat on top, and failed to add anything to the flavour.
This does not work, sadly.
Ordering a margherita pizza with some croquettes on the side would be a much more sensible option.
RATING: 2/5