Waltham Forest recently beat 22 competitors to become London’s Borough of Culture, winning £1.35m of funding for cultural activities. This was not long after a Walthamstow take away business was shut down due to ‘shocking hygiene’ and mouse infestation.
So Sadiq Khan’s Borough of Culture initiative may do something positive for “The Forest”. Or will it just accelerate the type of gentrification that sometimes sucks the authenticity out of communities to replace it with a watered down version of what it was?
One of the best things about of living in a city as diverse as London is that we can try something authentic from various cultures without having to fork out on plane tickets. Trouble is, some cafe owners pile on the price and re-design the place to make it ‘authentic’, when all they are really doing is making it fit with a hipster’s idea of the real thing. Yuk!
When attempts to recreate Italian food go wrong, you could argue that it’s a case of ineffective cultural appropriation! So I am on a quest to find Italian restaurants that have got it right, and as I’m Italian I’m pretty sure you can take my word for it.
For my battle of the pizzas I chose to order a Margarita in two East London establishments.
ASK ITALIAN – Pizza Margarita £9.75: Tomato and mozzarella with Oregano
An Italian restaurant in London’s O2 super venue.
ASK Italian opened its first branch in 1993 and now has 120 around the UK. However, although the joint sells itself as an “Authentic Sicilian Kitchen”, my experience was underwhelming.
Yes the ambience was inviting and the decor had some style, but that couldn’t distract from the fact that the actual taste of Italy was missing. To put it bluntly, the pizza was almost tasteless! The dough was under cooked and had not risen properly, and the quality of the ingredients was not up to scratch. I could tell that the mozzarella wasn’t the one typically used by Italians.
SANTI – Pizza Margarita £6.95: Mozzarella fiordilatte & Parmesan cheeses with basil.
“Delicious Italian cuisine, prepared by our expert chefs using the finest ingredients we can source“
The second Italian restaurant I visited was Santi in Stratford’s East Village. Now this was what I had been looking for! Here I felt closer to my homeland. The staff are Italian which is a bonus, and the Italian music playing in the background creates an authentic vibe. This time the dough had been given enough time to rise, and it effortlessly melted in my mouth. The mozzarella fiordilatte was delicious, and creamier than the mozzarella typically found in Neapolitan pizzas. To see the chef work his magic in the kitchen, watch the raw video footage below.
If you’re looking for a place to simply get together with friends, I wouldn’t totally rule out ASK Italian, but their margarita pizza just didn’t do it for me. But I’d recommend Santi for a more authentic approach – not only for the food, but for the ‘Italian’ experience. Plus the pizza is £2.80 cheaper than at ASK Italian.