Pizza é Vino, Hartenbos

 4 May 2024

 

PIZZA É VINO

Hartenbos Sea Front, Hartenbos

 

Apparently, if you eat here, you should stick to pizza, as the pasta may be iffy. So I’m told. This was my first visit though the in-laws and the wife have been here before and can speak from experience.

 

We took our own bottle of bubbly, so I can’t comment on the  range or quality of the vino.

 

Pizza é Vino is one of a quartet of eateries in close proximity to each other. A Wimpy, a Spur Steak ranch (which, apparently is not much good) and an Ocean Basket  are the others.

 

It’s a large, spacious room with dark wooden furniture and outside seating with a magnificent view over the sea for warmer nights than tonight. Even if you’re inside, though, there is a view through the floor-to-ceiling glass of the huge doors to the deck. Those doors were closed on account of the weather, which made the unventilated, hot, interior a tad stuffy.  It’s the over worked pizza oven, you see.

The wife discreetly inched open a door for some fresh, cool air and all was well.

 

The in-laws shared a squid starter which they enjoyed. 

 

The wife ordered a Bianco-style pizza (the name escapes us) and elevated it with Parma ham and rocket. Her parents shared one a similar pizza.  For the second time today, they failed to provide visual records of their respective meals. 

 

My choice was the “James Brown” with chicken, bacon, guacamole, Cheddar cheese, onion and BBQ sauce.

 

Oh, and according to the mom-in-law, the frutti di mari pizza is also not worth it and not a great bite to eat.

 

A few minutes after the other two pizzas were served and while I was pondering the inexplicable absence of mine, the server popped around with the news that my order had either not been cooked or had found its way into a delivery box for some other lucky punter but that my pizza would now be “expressed” for the oven queue.

 

In the meantime, I shared a few slices of the wife’s pizza.  The outside crust was crisp but on the whole the base was so thin and the topping so saucy that the centre part of the  pizza had the texture of a soft, pliant flat bread. Not unpleasant, the taste was good, but a bit weird given that it came out of a purported white hot pizza oven.

 

The crust of my  “James Brown,” perhaps because the pizza cook had rushed it, was crispier yet the middle of the pizza which was slightly soggy from the wet elements. Hugely tasty though.

 

We didn’t stay for dessert or coffee.

 

Our server didn’t  exactly exude unadulterated joy in being part of the wonderful hospitality industry but was efficient enough and I suppose she ain’t to blame for the kitchen almost sticking it to me. We weren’t charged corkage for our bubbly.

 

The bill came to R803 before tip. Pizza e Vino is not a bad choice for dinner in Hartenbos but best stick to the pizzas.