Did you know that in Kingston, there is a house where you can buy pizza from its backyard? Okay, so backyard pizza sounds a little dodgy, but it’s completely legit. Pizza Arte has been open for 17 years, first opening its backyard in 1999, and has since been run by the same Romanian family. They only offer take away pizza, howver there is a small gazebo next to the entrance which you might be able to sit in during the warmer months.
Walking into the little waiting area, there was a small window where you can place/pick up your order. The menu was pinned to the wall but you can also view it online.
Peeking through the window, you can watch the pizza making and baking at work.
All pizzas are baked in the wood fired pizza oven. With 29 pizzas available on the menu, and 8 of these being vegetarian, we found it quite hard to pick just two. Pizzas come in small, medium or family sizes ranging from $13 to $34.
There were also some home made pasta sauces available for purchase at $7 each.
We were lucky to have arrived just in time to see a fresh new tiramisu before it was cut. The owner was kind enough to let me take a photo of it first. How good does it look? Tiramisu is the only dessert available on the menu.
After placing our orders, our two pizzas and a slice of tiramisu were ready. J and I decided to pick 2 family-sized pizzas so we could have leftovers the next day. I chose the Piccante with tomato, mozzarella, salami, olives, mushroom and chilli ($29). I kept the olives on the pizza mainly for J as it was easy enough for me to pick them out. I liked the minimal toppings and the thin chewy elasticity of the dough base. I even ate the crusts! There wasn’t too much chilli on the pizza but enough to leave a nice even burn in my mouth (which thankfully didn’t get hotter the more I ate).
The family size was massive and didn’t even fit completely in the box with some of it hanging off the side. A photo below with J’s arm along the side so you can see how big the pizza is – pretty much from my fingertips to elbow.
J chose Penny’s Pizza with mozzarella, fetta, blue vein cheese, chicken and jalapenos ($31). As there were minimal toppings, this pizza wasn’t too cheesy and there was spice from the jalapenos, but we both agreed the Piccante was the better of the two pizzas.
I was happy with the generous fat slice of home made tiramisu ($8) that came in a take away container. The tiramisu was extremely soft and light, however I found it was quite neutral. I suppose because it lacked any essence of coffee. It was not too sweet, not too creamy with only the most subtle of liqueur in it. Personally, it didn’t do it for me but in saying that, we did smash through it.
Overall, great pizza and lovely service. Best to call ahead and place your order first so you don’t need to wait (although we only waited about 15 minutes). Prices are on the expensive side but it is worth a try.
Foodgasm 9/10
Value for money 7/10
Service 10/10
FPJ score 26/30
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