PIZZA PUNKS - CHRIS EATS

GET PUNK’D UP!

Pizza is a staple of any food lovers diet! Like anything though, lots of places do it well but very few do it excellently. For me Pizza Punks falls into the latter. I’m a massive fan of what Pizza Punks do as they offer something different from the norm. When it comes to pizza there’s not many places I’d rather go in Glasgow. I love Paesano and I hear great things about Baffo but when I want beer and a fully loaded pizza you just can’t beat Pizza Punks in my opinion.

For those unfamiliar with Pizza Punks, this city centre pizza joint charges £10 for a pizza which you can customise as you please from the wide selection of toppings; ranging from classics to some a little more out there (food menu)! If you like being adventurous with your pizza choices then this is definitely the place to go.

They also offer a good selection of craft beers and lagers, including Staropramen kept in large copper tanks direct from their site in Prague, as well as cocktails and wine so all the bases are covered (drinks menu).

One of my favourite things about Pizza Punks, other than the pizza and beer, is the atmosphere. It’s just a cool place to meet up with friends or enjoy a meal for two. As soon as you walk in the door you’re presented with 2 massive copper tanks filled to the brim with the aforementioned Staropramen which I can confirm tastes great! There’s also an open kitchen with a large wood fire pizza oven so you can see what’s going on while you wait.

There’s also some pretty good wall decorations in the place as well as the pictures above demonstrate. I particularly like the anarchy sign and the anarchic feel the place has. It’s like they’re sticking two fingers up to the established pizzerias who like to tell you what ingredients go together and play it safe with their traditional menus. They also play some pretty good music which is always a plus point for me when I’m eating and having a couple of drinks.

So let’s talk about the food now that we’ve covered off all the other reasons this place is so good! Now normally if I’m going for a pizza I wouldn’t feel the need to get a starter as pizza is generally pretty filling. However, this isn’t like any normal time because when candied bacon is a starter on a menu you order it, that should go without saying!

If I’m honest I wasn’t sure what to expect but what arrived was delicious. Basically it was a bowl of candied bacon, no bells or whistles, just bacon in a bowl with what I assume was maple syrup … what else do you need???

OK so pizza number 1! This was the pizza I ordered, though technically both pizzas were discussed beforehand to ensure sharing was possible. For the base I went for the classic sourdough with red sauce and mozzarella and then punk’d it up. If you’ve had a look at the menu or been you’ll know there’s 3 sections of topping to choose from: proteins, veggies and rogue.

The first two are pretty self explanatory with a wide choice. Rogue is where it gets interesting for the adventurous out there with options like Irn-Bru pulled pork, mac ‘n’ cheese, home-made doner kebab and even banana. That said, I’m a firm believer that fruit on pizza is wrong!

So what did I go for? Well the pizza above has a very Scottish theme to it with a little kick! There’s Ayrshire bacon and haggis from the proteins options; caramelised red onion and jalapeno from the veggies options and Irn-Bru pulled pork from the rogue options. To top it off I also went with the chilli flakes for an extra little kick.

As always, the pizza was excellent! The pork is great, I’d be lying if I said I could taste a strong Irn Bru flavour off of it but it was delicious all the same. To my mind it was just the right amount of ingredients, 3 meat toppings and 2 veg to keep the balance slightly more carnivorous while getting some of my five a day!

Next up was pizza number 2 which was predominantly created by the little lady! We had the same base on this one: sourdough, red sauce and mozzarella as it’s a classic for a reason. The toppings on this one were a bit less structured though there was method to the madness. From the protein options we went for chorizo and nduja sausage; from the veggie options we had jalapenos and spring onions and from the rogue options, mac ‘n’ cheese!

The only slight disappointment with this pizza was there wasn’t as much mac ‘n’ cheese on it as I’d have liked or that I’d had on previous visits. The pizza though was still delicious! I’m not sure if mac ‘n’ cheese should work on a pizza but it does! Ever since I first heard of the concept I knew I had to try it and was fairly certain I was going to love it and I wasn’t wrong.

I think it’s fairly clear from the way I’ve waxed lyrical about Pizza Punks that this place gets a massive thumbs up from me! The food is great, the vibe is great and the price is great! Add to that the range of lagers and craft beers and I’m a very happy pizza eating punk!

PIZZA PUNKS REVIEW

Food: 4/5

Atmosphere: 5/5

Value for Money: 4/5

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