Solita Pizza and Pasta Bar is a joint venture between Braddon’s Pasta’d and 10 inch Custom Pizzeria. The restaurant is located on the corner of East Row and London Circuit, right near the Civic bus interchange at Bailey’s Corner. We were told that the pizzas are now 12 inch rather than 10.
My friends and I have dined in a few times. On our first visit, we ordered some pizzas to share. Between the three of us, we tried the capricciosa with tomatoes, mozzarella, leg ham, mushrooms, artichokes and Kalamata olives ($18). The sopressa with tomatoes, mozzarella, spicy sopressa salami, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, kalamata olives and basil ($21). And finally, the Solita special with tomatoes, mozzarella, leg ham, pepperoni, roasted peppers, bacon, olives, red onion and mushrooms ($21).
The pizzas have a thin dough base and slightly puffy crust. The dough is rested for a minimum 72 hours and are all wood-fired. Friends have all enjoyed the pizzas here (but I’m still sticking to my favourite elsewhere). You can watch them roll out the dough and add your toppings to the right of the bar. There are 24 various pizza toppings to choose from, or your can make your own. There are also gluten-free pizza bases for those with a mild gluten intolerance (not for coeliacs) at an additional cost.
We were kindly treated to a complimentary Nutella pizza (usually $18) for dessert which came topped with fresh strawberries, crushed hazelnuts, vanilla gelato and dusted with icing sugar. I really can’t complain. I love the fact that gelato is included.
On a second outing, I chose the Al Forno ($18) of conchiglione pasta (large sea shell), oven baked with veal and pork meatballs, tomato and basil sauce, mozzarella and bechamel. I was told it would take at least 15 minutes and that was fine by me. This was basically a lasagne using sea shells. Baked in a small ceramic bowl, there was plenty of cheese, tomato and meatballs. Such a yummy home-style dish. In my opinion, it was the perfect portion size for me and I left without feeling overly stuffed but very satisfied.
V ordered the granchio with spaghetti ($24) with blue swimmer crab, tossed through EVOO, garlic, chives, vermouth, capers, chilli and tomatoes. A good portion of crab meat sat on top.
On another occasion, I ordered the saltata ($18) of bolognese, bacon, chilli, parmesan and a dollop of cream. You can choose your pasta of penne, spaghetti, fettucine, house made gnocchi or gluten-free penne. I chose fettucine. This was basically a regular bolognese but slightly creamier. The bacon wasn’t a prominent flavour in the dish, and was more of a bystander. Sort of a ‘oh yeah, there’s bacon’ surprise. The dish was plentiful and the dish was heaped with mince that I wasn’t able to finish. I did like the twist to a classic.
Always friendly staff, easy to get someone’s attention, and the food doesn’t take long to arrive. I’d really like to try the gnocchi next time. A lovely spot for some pizza and pasta. It may be overlooked as it’s not near heavy foot traffic but worth trying.
Solita Pizza and Pasta Bar
143 London Circuit, Canberra
Opening hours
Open 7 days – 11.30 – 2.30pm, and 5.00 – 10.00pm
Foodgasm 8/10
Value for money 8/10
Service 8/10
FPJ score 24/30
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