If you follow me on social media you'll have seen that my travels have taken me to Scotland. Unfortunately I seem to have left summer behind in the south, it's kinda gloomy (but completely gorgeous) up here but road tripping past lochs and mountains all day has been dreamy. The food has also been uh-mazing so far. I've been taking plenty of photos so expect a blog post soon - right now I'm sitting on a camping chair looking out at Loch Leven. It's lovely.
Before heading north I popped to Brighton to grab some camping stuff from my storage unit and managed to fit in some eating whilst I was down there. I only had 36 hours so I had to prioritise and getting my paws on some pizza from Purezza, the UK's first 100% vegan pizzeria, was a top priority.
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Before heading north I popped to Brighton to grab some camping stuff from my storage unit and managed to fit in some eating whilst I was down there. I only had 36 hours so I had to prioritise and getting my paws on some pizza from Purezza, the UK's first 100% vegan pizzeria, was a top priority.
I visited early on a quiet Thursday lunchtime but from chatting to owner Tim I gathered that this wasn't usual. As the afternoon progressed the place filled up with people searching for delicious Italian food and I was excited to hear that they're in the process of adding a downstairs dining room so that everyone can get their pizza fix even at peak times.
I struggled to decide what to order because the menu is epic; there are classic pizzas, special pizzas, and calzones, with combo's ranging from the classic Funghi to the more out there Giardino which consists of a hummus base, green olives, artichoke hearts, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, parsley, and chives.
In the end my dining companion and I chose three pizzas - the Quatro Formaggi, the new to the menu Courgette Flower, and the Spartana on a gluten free base. The Quatro Formaggi is a classic and was definitely my favourite pizza pre-vegan. I haven't tried many vegan versions because your average pizzeria doesn't have that many cheeses to choose from but I can assure you that this is up there with the best of them. The cheeses are made from coconut, soya, cashew, and almond and together they create a wonderfully cheesy pizza experience.
I only tried a small slice of my pal Justine's Spartana but it was excellent. The sauce is made from asparagus rather than your classic tomato and toppings included artichokes, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, pistachios, walnuts, and a generous sprinkling of fresh herbs. Being a gluten free vegan living in Brighton Justine's actually eaten the GF pizzas at Purezza a few times and she really rates their gluten free base. It was thin and crispy like their regular pizza base, albeit with less of a deliciously doughy crust, and whilst you can tell that it's gluten free it was still delish' even from this gluten lovers perspective.
Purezza's unusual courgette flower pizza turned out to be a fantastic choice and I'd go as far as to say that it was actually my favourite of the three. I don't think I've eaten courgette flowers before, perhaps in a salad at Terre à Terre many years ago, but the combination of courgette flowers, tomatoes, melted cheese, thinly sliced courgettes, and fresh basil was a delight.
I was a little gutted that I couldn't squeeze in any dessert because their chocolate calzone with walnuts and pistachios sounded dreamy. You can bet all of your favourite things on the fact that I'll be back there eating it as soon as I set foot in Brighton again. I also have my eye on the divine sounding white based Pere pizza which comes topped with pears and walnuts. I also need to try their classic Hawaiian pizza because that's always a favourite of mine.
Whether you're visiting Brighton for the weekend or living there full time you definitely need to pay Purezza a visit. The food's great, as is the service, and they even deliver. What more could you ask for?
My meal at Purezza was provided free of charge for review purposes but as always all opinions are both totally unbiased and 100% my own.