When a business closes down in a town the probability of it reopening as a nail bar, a vape shop, charity shop or for food and drink is high. In the case of Pure Kutz in Beeston it's the latter - the former hair salon has been converted into a pizza joint.
Everyone in the town raves about Poppa Pizza, a stalwart in the pizza-making trade, but we decided to give this newcomer a try after a Friday night drink at the Crown nearby. The recently opened business, near the traffic lights that divide High Road and Beeston Square, goes by the name of Artigiani Pizza, and as soon as you walk up to the counter you'll see the wood-fired oven.
We had been deliberating over eating in but because it was empty we opted for a takeaway. There's no choice when it comes to pizza size on the main menu. It's 12in and that's it. However, after asking I found out the kids' section has 9in pizzas with a choice of three different toppings.
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If you're an adult after a ham and pineapple you'll be disappointed and probably thrown out of town as it's a real no-no as far as Italians are concern, or at least so I thought until I saw a Hawaiian listed under the kids' pizzas. However, if you have a taste for anything from a simple three-ingredient margherita (tomato, mozzarella and basil) to a spicy pescatora (squid, prawns, mussels and chilli) you are very much in luck.
The menu has a decent choice if you want something meaty with pepperoni, salami, chicken or Tuscan sausage among the toppings. Veggie wise there are two or three that would hit the spot.
After ordering the assistant tells us to take a seat at one of the empty tables. It feels like a long wait - it must have been 30 minutes and it's hard to say what the delay is as we can't see what's going on behind the counter. It's still early days for the new business and I'm sure they will speed up once they get bedded in.
By the time our pizzas are ready the small unit has filled up with other customers who are also having takeaways rather than eating in. We whisk our pizzas home and despite the drive they're still hot. Lifting the lid they have the look of a Neapolitan-style pizza with that bubbled up crust, slightly charred around the edges. Spot on.
The Calabrese comes with spicy 'nduja, a spicy firecracker of a sausage and very meaty. It's dotted with pepperoni and green and yellow peppers. I can't fault the taste but for £13.99 I wouldn't have minded the toppings being a little more generous. As we were sharing it was almost a fight to get the slices with the 'nduja.
The £12.99 Napule has a better smattering on top. Salty anchovies, tart capers, and punchy black olives might not be to everyone's liking but they're certainly to mine, especially when combined with gooey cheese.
The dough on both is what makes this style of pizza so good. Whereas you might want to dip with certain well-known chains, this crust is flavoursome in its own right and doesn't need pot a of garlic and herb sauce to make it palatable. It's light too, so you don't feel uncomfortably bloated afterwards.
Taste-wise the pizzas are impressive but there's just one thing that has wound me up - and it has nothing to do with the food. When we walked in an older man greeted us, or rather my husband, with 'Hello Sir' as if I didn't exist. It's rude, it's sexist, and honestly, in 2022, please just say hello to us both.
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