gigi pizzeria

I headed off to Sydney last week for a few days, to catch up with some friends and to go to a concert at the Opera House. While I was there I ate at a few places ranging from a local sports club, to cafes, some junk food and a stylish pizza place.

Some are not worth mentioning, but several are, among them Gigi the vegan pizza restaurant in Newtown.

I arrived expecting a queue and I was right. The queue stretched around the corner, but I only had to wait about 10 minutes before I scored a seat at the bar. There are benefits to eating alone! The place is perpetually busy and noisy.

Gigi serves Neapolitan thin crust pizza which has to be eaten straight from the oven or it loses its charm.  One of the things I like about Gigi is that only one of their pizzas has vegan cheese on it, the rest are cheese free. They stand on their own with the fantastic flavours of the vegetables without the need for any cheese.

The pizza section of the menu has about nine pizzas with a couple of specials on the board. I could happily have eaten any of them. In the end I settled on the Cavolo, where cauliflower is the star. To be honest it was never in doubt, as cauliflower is my favourite vegetable.

The pizza consists of a base of cauliflower purée topped with roasted cauliflower, artichokes, red peppers, tiny capers, toasted pine nuts, currants, olive oil, garlic and parsley.  This was just perfect, sweet nutty cauliflower with salty and sweet accents from the other ingredients. The pizzas come in one size (large) and I have to confess I scoffed the lot, along with a beer. My stomach was  protesting at the end, but my mouth was still saying yes. A really excellent pizza. The service was quick, and the barman friendly.

I’d happily return any time.

Gigi Pizzeria
379 King St,
Newtown, NSW 2042