Pizza e Birra, Surry Hills

It was our lucky day. Sir D, BLT and I had just driven out to meet Flamezy at Pizza e Birra in Surry Hills for lunch. We were expecting to have difficulty finding parking but lo and behold! A free parking space beckoned to us right outside Pizza e Birra which we claimed without any hesitation. It was just the start of what was going to be a fantastic day.

Seeing how packed the restaurant was and knowing its' popularity, we anticipated a short wait to be seated. Surprisingly, we were seated straight away as if a table had already been set in advance for us. The food gods were definitely smiling on us today! We were handed rustic brown paper menus containing an array of pizzas, pastas, salads and sweets.

Spinaci e Gamberi (Spinach and Prawn) pizza - $23.00

Looking around at other patrons, we saw their pizzas were quite large so we decided to share two pizzas and a pasta between the four of us which turned out to be the perfect amount. The spinach and prawn pizza had a vivid red tomato base and an impressive amount of prawns scattered over the top, along with clumps of cooked spinach and cherry tomatoes. Although the topping was delicious, my favourite part of the pizza was the base - it was light and thin with a puffy crust and so very far from the chewy, bready crusts of the Pizza Hut/Dominos variety.

Estiva pizza - $23.00

The Estiva pizza is from the pizze bianche part of the menu so it comes adorned with ham, mozzarella, leek, taleggio and cherry tomatoes but missing the tomato base. The cheese is grilled to a lovely golden brown colour and basil leaves add flavour and colour to the pizza.

Tagliatelle con Ragu di Anatra (Tagliatelle with duck ragu) - $23.00

We decide to order a pasta as well and the tagliatelle with duck ragu does not disappoint with the long strands of al dente tagliatelle pasta, the rich flavoursome tomato sauce and the tender pieces of duck. It's a shame that the serving is quite small because after dividing between the 4 of us, we only get a little bit each. The sauce is one of the best I've tasted (I'm left wondering why I can't replicate this at home) and I'm almost tempted to order another serving but decide to save room for gelato instead.

Peanut butter and gingerbread gelato at Gelato Messina

Our luck continues as we drive over to Darlinghurst to Gelato Messina and we score another awesome parking spot. Lady Luck also surprises me with a new flavour addition to the Gelato Messina range - peanut butter and gingerbread!

5 scoop plate - $10.00

We opt for the 5 scoop plate to share between us and the flavours we end up with are (left to right) peanut butter and gingerbread, milk chocolate brownie, hazelnut, coconut and lychee, and passionfruit. The peanut butter and gingerbread tastes strongly of peanut butter with a mild hint of spicy gingerbread flavour. Sir D, BLT and I love the passionfruit but Flamezy finds it a bit too sour. The milk chocolate brownie and hazelnut are always crowd favourites and the coconut and lychee has a delicate and balanced flavour. Great pizza, pasta and gelato shared with an awesome group of friends? A fantastic day indeed.

Pizza e Birra

Shop 1, 500 Crown Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Ph: +61 2 9332 2510
Open for lunch, Thursday - Sunday from noon
Open for dinner, 7 days from 5.30pm - 11pm (midnight on Saturdays)
No dinner bookings
10% surcharge on Sundays and public holidays

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Gelato Messina
Shop 1, 241 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Ph: +61 2 8354 1223
Open Sunday - Thursday, noon - 11pm; Friday - Saturday, noon - 11.30pm

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