Food&Drink Editor Sophie Skrimshire reviews Rudy’s Pizza, an affordable Neapolitan style restaurant with two locations open in Birmingham’s city centre.
With two restaurants now open in the city, Rudy’s is a must when trying out new pizza places in Birmingham. Serving up in a Neapolitan style, Rudy’s pride themselves for their use of authentic Naples dough and ovens, San Marzano tomatoes and Fior di Latte cheese.
Visiting on a Saturday night, the Bennett’s Hill premises had a bustling atmosphere and cosy interior. Despite being very busy, the staff were welcoming and highly attentive as soon as we stepped through the door. Service was quick, with our food arriving a mere 5-10 minutes or so after ordering.
The staff were welcoming and highly attentive
There are a wide range of options on the menu, each entirely customisable with an array of extra toppings that would suit both meat eaters and plant-based diners. You are also able to swap cheese on any pizza to vegan cheese, smoked, bufala mozzarella, or you even top your meal with a whole burrata!
Aside from pizzas there are also a selection of starters, sharers and salads on offer. From garlic bread to veggie or meat campana, there are certainly a wide array of options to add something a little extra to your meal. As for dessert, traditional Italian items such as tiramisu, affogato and gelato are available.
I had a ‘Tonno’ pizza, though I removed the tuna topping. It had roquito peppers, fresh chilli, red onion and parmesan. My friend had the Carpicciosa which was topped with prosciutto cotto, kalamata olives, portobello mushrooms and artichoke hearts. We also decided to share one of the ‘Chilli Honey’ dips.
You are also able to swap the cheese on any pizza to vegan cheese, smoked or bufala mozzarella
With a very thin base and large crusts, Neapolitan style pizza is different from your typical store bought or take-away pizza. Light and soft, the toppings to dough ratio was perfect. My favourite were the roquito peppers which melted into the tomato base. The base itself was thin and almost crepe-like, meaning that Rudy’s pizzas are definitely a knife and fork job! Or, if you’d rather eat with your hands, you can ‘fold for strength’ as they recommend by rolling the pizza up into its crusts.
@ Sophie Skrimshire
The crusts themselves were equally as moreish as their centres. Rudy’s explain that the quick firing cooking style in the pizza ovens works to caramelise the sugars in the dough to give the crusts a charred ‘leoparding’ effect. I would recommend eating the crusts with one of the dips on offer. The chilli honey dip was a perfect accompaniment with its tangy sweet flavours. Other options were the ‘Garlic Aioli’ and ‘Njuda Aioli.’
If you don’t fancy venturing into the city centre… Rudy’s are also on Deliveroo
With each pizza priced at around £11.50, the menu was affordable (especially given the pizza’s huge size!). The dip cost £2, though we had plenty left over. With leftovers welcomed, waiting staff happily provided takeaway boxes to guests, and the dips came in plastic sealable pots making them easy to carry home.
If you don’t fancy venturing into the city centre, and would rather have a night in, Rudy’s are also on Deliveroo. My housemate recently tried their takeaway service which they said was equally praiseworthy! They recommend that upon delivery you heat your pizza in the oven to crisp it up a little and warm it through, which they said worked well to recreate the ‘fresh out the kitchen’ experience.
Overall, I would certainly recommend Rudy’s to anyone looking for a Neapolitan style pizza. Affordable and with excellent service, I couldn’t fault our experience.
Check out more pizza reviews from Birmingham restaurants here!
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