Pizza Bun in West Hampstead

IT sounds like a creation designed to be London’s next food trend, its website promising to “reimagine the pizza experience” – sending eaters on a unique “gastronomic adventure”. You may therefore be surprised to find that Pizza Bun, nestled in the leafy streets of West Hampstead, looks more like an upmarket takeaway than an experimental test kitchen.

Clean white marble tables make up a small dining area, a mural promises “pizza in three minutes”, but the main event here is a beautifully framed pizza oven, set behind a counter of fresh meat and vegetables. You’re free to select whichever ingredients you’d like – Subway-style – to make up your pizza, or “bun”, but chef Ali recommends his carefully curated signatures.

We opted for the signature aubergine pizza and doner bun, as well as a build-your-own bun. Fresh dough was stretched, lathered with tomato sauce, aubergine and black olives for the pizza… But what about the buns?

We watched as toppings were marinated and scooped into a skillet, which was thrust into the oven. While this cooked, a base and lid were rolled – this approach, I was told, is the USP.

“People ask if what we offer is calzone”, owner Ali explained. “But doing this – ensuring all the fillings are tender and flavoured before they go into our dough bun – that only happens here.”

The result is certainly worth it. As the contents of the skillet are poured onto the base and the bun is assembled, before another quick blast in the oven, they’re juicy and slightly charred, adding an unexpected depth of flavour.

Despite the artisanry, our food was indeed with us in under three minutes. Served on a wooden board, the pizza was very pleasant, with nicely crunchy crusts and well-balanced toppings.

The stars of the show, however, were our buns.

Cut into quarters, they’re great to eat with your hands, and really are a treat. As the fillings have been able to soak into the dough, you’re able to tuck into a delightfully succulent creation, while the sealed base of each slice means that you don’t have to worry about getting messy. The dough is perfect, thin enough to ensure that it doesn’t overpower.

Indeed, the dough is the genesis of the whole Pizza Bun project. Ali came over for a chat: “I have always loved working with dough, it’s my speciality. This place used to be a kebab shop, and I’d make it fresh every day for the pizzas. One day, I got bored and experimented, making my first pizza bun for the staff. They loved it, kept asking for it – and then I wanted to share it with my customers.”

At £9.95, the signature buns are certainly worth a try, and will likely fill you up. A nutella and cinnamon bun dessert was tempting, but we simply didn’t have the room.

Having expected a gimmick, we left very pleasantly surprised. Ali says that Italians aren’t always so keen; “they’ll say ‘it’s all right’, which is the best you can expect”, he laughs.

“When people try pizza buns for the first time, they always ask me where it’s from – I say, ‘West Hampstead’.”

Pizza Bun
301 West End Lane
West Hampstead NW6 1RD
020 4549 4995
www.pizzabun.co.uk