A stunning new pizza takeaway has opened in the heart of Edinburgh, with a huge range of 'authentic' Italian dishes.
Created by a group of Italian friends in the city, Pizzologist opened its doors last weekend with the small site on Haymarket Terrace already seeing top-notch reviews. Founded by Italian pizza chef Carlo Bozza and his friends Alberto Ruggeri and Valerio Lo Coco, the venue will be creating the dishes from a traditional family recipe and will perform ‘dough acrobatics’ – an art form where the pizza makers spin and toss the dough in the air.
With more than a decade of experience as a pizza chef in countries such as Italy, Australia, Czechia and most recently at Paesano and Franco Manca in Scotland, chef Carlo was keen to open his own restaurant – sharing his knowledge and passion for Italian pizza.
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After moving to Edinburgh in 2019, the chef said he had started looking into the possibility of a new business and began developing a plan along with two friends. Helping to turn his dream into a reality, Carlo secured a £20,000 funding package from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme, delivered by Transmit Startups.
Stating their dream was to "share their homeland's sacred dish with everyone", the eatery have launched an extensive pizza menu, offering the likes of bruschetta and a fresh burata for starters, as well as your classic olives and a caprese salad.
When it comes to their actual pizzas, the eatery has quite the selection, with different bases and toppings. One of the most simple but effective appears to be the ‘Marinara’, with the base topped only with tomato, oregano, garlic and basil oil.
Other standouts include the ‘four formaggi’, with a tomato base replaced by, parmigiana, mozzarella, for di latte, asiago and gorgonzola.
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To finish, the menu contains three desserts to chose from, a Nutella pizza, tiramisu and classic cannoli.
Carlo Bozza said: “Baking pizza is my passion, and I have wanted to start my own business for a long time and encouraged my friends to join me. In the beginning, we didn’t think it would happen, but Alan at Transmit Startups helped me finalise an excellent business plan and helped me secure Start Up Loan funding which has been critical in getting me to this point.
“When the pandemic hit, we watched many businesses close across Scotland, but it didn’t discourage us. Instead, we focused on the upsides of starting a business when others might hesitate and, after some research, we came across a suitable venue and decided to seize the opportunity.
“We were immediately attracted to this excellent location. It used to be a pizza restaurant, so much of the equipment was already here and we could focus on the recipes and colourful menu straight away.
“In the future, we would love to open a second branch of Pizzologist – maybe in another Scottish city. Expanding the business further would definitely be another dream come true.”Available on Deliveroo and through click and collect, the takeaway is open Tuesday to Thursday: 16:00 - 23:00 andFriday to Sunday: 17:00 - 23:00.
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