Food: Pizza Like It Oughta Be – NY Fold, London

Bruno Di Fabio is a SIX time world champion Pizza maker and he’s also the man behind NY Fold, a new restaurant situated a short pizza toss away from Soho and Theatreland on Charing Cross Rd in the West End of London.

Outside the weather is grey and Winter is descending over the capital, but inside NY Fold is a very nice place to be tonight. George, our waiter has a cool De Niro/Taxi Driver look going on (but thankfully he’s very cheerful and inviting). He fits perfectly with this restaurant / diner’s hip, but casual Big Apple vibes and when we arrive at 6pm the place is filled with a mixed and happy crowd of pre-theatre-goers, after-workers and early-weekenders ready for a big night out.

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Cheesy Garlic Dunkers NY  FOLD

We arrive with big appetites – and order 3 of the 4 starters on offer – The ‘Meatballs’ are meaty and the ‘Cheesy Garlic Bread Dunkers with dips’ are glorious straight down the line comfort eating. My favourite is the ‘Lasagne Balls dipped in Panko breadcrumbs’, tasty, but slightly crazy! Sensibly we’ve delayed ordering our main courses until after the starters as they’re all substantial size portions and the temptation to let your head rule your stomach is easy to succumb to.

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There’s a take away service if you just want to grab a slice and dash and those lucky people with an office or apartment nearby can get it delivered too. NY Fold’s menu is just to tempting to skim over, so leave the calorie counting at home and loosen the belt. There are 4 salads available but let’s face it, NY Fold is all about the pizzzza!

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Available by the slice (except for the ‘Brooklyn Point’ winner of best NY Pizza award from the Food Network) or by ‘The Pie’ that will feed at least four people (they’re huge!), my advice is to get a selection mixed selection of slices (any slice is £3.95) between you and dive in.

For an intense taste-bud experience there’s a sweet pulled pork, pancetta and charred lemon ‘Pitt Master’ that is lip-smackingly sweet. Meat-feasters will devour ‘The Butcher Shoppe’ with it’s Bacon, Sausage, Meatball, Pepperoni and Ham toppings. Personally I LOVE ‘The Big Daddy’, fresh spinach, artichoke hearts, garlic and caramalised onion, mozzarella and a touch of lemon.

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As for the most important part of a pizza – the dough, it’s made in a 2 stage fermentation process that lasts a minimum of 48hrs. Different to the classic Italian base, NY Fold Pizza has a thinner crust and they also use 60-day aged Mozzarella, I found the Margherita had a bit too much cheese on, but my dining partners strongly disagreed with me. There are enough flavours to tickle your fancy and I’m going back for the ‘Juliet’ with its gorgonzola dolce, fig jam and proscutto crudo toppings.

The pride they take in the kitchen permeates through to the waiting staff who share the same passion and enthusiasm for the food too. Oh, by the way the beverages are suitably Yankee-fied with Flying Dog Pale Ale in 4 pint pitchers (£16) and Goose Island and Brooklyn Brown Ale available in bottles. Wine-wise there’s 4 reds and 4 whites, we order for a bottle of red Stocco Pinot Nero 2013 wine which is fruity and smooth and compliments perfectly the meaty toppings.

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It’s only out of a matter of duty that we order desserts as by this point I’m fairly full, the ‘Sudino’ is the nearest dessert you can get to an adrenalin shot – butterscotch pudding, caramel sauce, sea salt and chantilly cream. It’s too sweet for me – like liquid fudge, but a complete head rush in a glass, if you want to play safe the Tiramisu is a really good bet.

Oh, and if you’re wondering.. ‘The fold’ isn’t a calzone pizza like I thought, but the authentic New York technique on how to eat one (just fold it – it’s that easy). NY Fold is open til 12:30am 6 nights a week and later in the evening the place can get lively. One thing, the writing on the menu is so tiny, so take your glasses, that is unless your eyes are bigger than your belly.

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NY FOLD
103 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0DT
020 7287 6633
Open everyday 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. / Sun til midnight
www.nyfold.com

Pics by Dawn Safari

Flush the Fashion

Editor of Flush the Fashion and Flush Magazine. I love music, art, film, travel, food, tech and cars. Basically, everything this site is about.