'We tried the village café serving up 'the best pizzas…

'We tried the village café serving up 'the best pizzas in the UK'

Eating out can be hit and miss can't it, especially in unfamiliar surroundings.

So when you stumble across somewhere that ticks all the boxes, it's well worth shouting about.

It was just by chance that we visited Hangin' Pizzeria on a recent trip to North Wales.

The place sits in a row of shops and eateries close to the railway station in the picturesque village of Betws-y-coed, the gateway to Snowdonia National Park in the Conwy valley, where we stopped off after our adventures at the nearby Zip World.

It sits in a row of shops and eateries close to the railway station in the picturesque village of Betws-y-coed (Manchester Family/MEN)

Thankfully they had a table free and we were allowed to take our dog inside too.

It's a quirky looking place with a huge gorilla statue outside and photos of apes and orangutans adorning the walls, a sign of the wildlife charities it supports.

If your USP is pizzas then you need to get them right and this place does them to perfection.

There are 11 fresh stone baked pizzas to choose from in all, four of them vegan. While the kids opted for the basic tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil, £9.95, us grown ups chose the tomato, mozzarella, piccante salami, prosciutto ham, chillies and red onion, £12.95. One each of course.

The pizzas are something else (Manchester Family/MEN)

They came within a few minutes, which was a relief as our Labrador was racking up a bill of his own chomping on the 30p dog sausages they sell.

A true sign of decent food is the silence that engulfs a table once it arrives. I don't think any of us uttered a word as we devoured every single piece, stopping only to drop the morsels of meat for our drooling hound.

It's not that unusual for our 12-year-old to declare it's THE BEST of 'something or other' he's ever eaten, he sure likes his food, but in this case he was right.

The reviews of this place speak for themselves - more than 2,000 of them in fact, most of them giving five stars - and not only praising the pizza, but the friendly staff and warm welcome too.

"I’ve been to Italy four or five times but the best pizza I’ve had in my life was in this small Welsh café. Bravo," said one customer.

Milo waiting for his sausages (Manchester Family/MEN)

"Hands down the best pizza I ever had," said another. "Fast and fresh with friendly service and it was utterly delicious."

A third added: "The best pizza in the UK. There is no competition!"

Others praised the vegan and gluten-free options at the site, which opened in June 2016.

"If all gluten free pizzas were as good as this then I'd be a fat ba**ard," said one. "Finally somewhere that can make one that isn't the size of a cracker and actually tastes good. Amazing."

And another added: "I ordered one of the vegan pizzas and it was genuinely some of the best pizza I've ever had full stop. We came to the village to go to the pub but the kitchen wasn't open. How fortunate that should lead us to finding this gem of a restaurant. Highly recommended."

Its cannoli treats have people queuing in their droves (Manchester Family/MEN)

It's not just pizzas pulling in the punters either.

A window hatch lets customers order takeaway from outside and its cannoli treats have people queuing in their droves.

The tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, costing £1.25 each or six for £6, are filled with a sweet, creamy filling with flavours including vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio, lemon and tangerine.

We made the error of ordering a couple to see if we liked them. Who were we kiddin'? There's a reason the mountains of them in the window were dwindling by the minute.

It's probably for the best that this place is a two-hour drive from Manchester. But we'll certainly be making a beeline for it the next time we're heading that way.

Do you have a favourite pizza place or restaurant you visit? Is there somewhere you've found on holiday that you visit every time you're there? Let us know in the comments.

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