Ever wanted the challenge of eating unlimited amounts of pizza? Bacaro Wine Bar in Braddon offer $20 all you can eat wood fired pizza. This deal is available Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 5pm-7pm only (no reservations). A big thanks to some friends of mine who made me aware of this deal!
At 5pm on the dot, Mr FPJ and I walked into Bacaro (me nervously as we couldn’t reserve a table and it was a Saturday night). Luckily I had nothing to worry about as there were only two people inside enjoying a glass of wine and cheese by the warm fireplace. We had our pick of tables and I chose one by the window, closest to the fireplace, and we waited for our two friends to arrive. Mr FPJ was interested in a bottle of Nebbiolo written up on the chalk board. As the other two were running late, we asked whether we could start ordering pizzas but were told it was best to wait for everyone to arrive, so make sure all members of the table are present.
When the others arrived, they decided to get beers instead and chose the Birra Moretti ($9 each). Mr FPJ’s thoughts on the beer was ‘meh’.
The menu advertises Bacaro’s all you can eat pizza as ‘Giro Pizza’ meaning round pizza. I wonder if it’s because you end up rolling out the door. There were 7 pizzas on the menu – 2 whites and 5 reds (usual price was $24 per pizza). We started by ordering one different pizza each. Our waiter informed us that usually one or two pizzas will come out first, before the next few pizzas are made and brought out. I appreciated that explanation so that we weren’t expecting all four at once. The table was also too small to fit four pizzas on it so the process made sense. The first to arrive was the rucola with prosciutto san daniele, mozzarella and rucola (rocket). The prosciutto wasn’t evenly spread across the pizza but we managed to grab a portion each. The pizzas had been sliced into quarters which was easier for the four of us to share. I love my pizzas simple with minimal toppings and Bacaro / Italian and Sons do it well. The base was thin and the crust not too doughy (though I must admit I left some of the crusts on my plate to make more room) so I felt like I wasn’t filling up too quickly on carbs.
The puttanesca with anchovy, olive, mozzarella and capers was a tad salty and sour from the toppings and I felt it needed something to balance it out, but I still happily finished my slice. The boys loved it!
The quattro formaggi with gorgonzola, straciatella, reggiano, fior di latte, and walnut pesto wasn’t overly cheesy but had an initial strong blue cheese hit to my taste buds. The light pesto provided a nice subtle herbaceous balance to the four cheeses.
I liked the mild spiciness of the diavola with mozzarella, salami and chilli which left a little tingle on the lips, however the others had slices with chilli seeds on them which were a lot spicier.
After we had finished all four of our pizzas, we ordered two more. Another puttanesca as the boys loved it. Our waiter kindly provided us with a small dish of cut chillies in olive oil in case we wanted to add it on top of the puttanesca which he said made it really good. I just added a bit of the chilli oil (not the seeds or sliced chilli) to my slice and had to agree, it did bring about a nice heat to the pizza.
We also ordered the patate with rosemary, pancetta, potato and brunet (goat’s cheese). I was expecting thin slices of potato as is the case for most other potato pizzas I’ve enjoyed. Instead, the potato came out in small diced chunks but they had been properly roasted and were soft and easy to chew. The goat’s cheese was very mild and I loved the flavour of rosemary which seemed to be covering the entire slice.
After finishing six pizzas amongst the four of us, it was only 6.30pm. We had another half an hour to order plenty more pizzas but we were far too full to try any more. It was a good effort and even our waiter told us we smashed through quite a lot. For traditional, simple, and delicious wood fired pizza, $20 per person is great value for money.
We were all happy with the service throughout our meal, (the explanation of how the pizzas would arrive, and the thoughtfulness of the cut chilli in oil), and enjoyed each of the pizzas. A minor problem with sitting by the window is that there is a motion sensor light outside (needed as Bacaro is located in a small rear alley way) so my friend that was facing the window kept seeing bright lights every time it was triggered. As the wine bar is relatively small, there’s minimal seating inside and it gets loud once it’s full. It was definitely cosy and we loved having the fireplace close by – something we might have to enjoy more of with some wine and cheese.
The deets:
$20 all you can eat pizza
Thursday – Saturday from 5pm-7pm
Bookings are not taken so get there early so you can take advantage of the full 2 hour eating period.
Bacaro Wine Bar
7 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, Canberra
(Head down the small alleyway to the side as it’s located behind Italian & Sons)
Foodgasm 8/10
Value for money 10/10
Service 8/10
FPJ score 26/30
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