A new pizza restaurant has opened in the Imperial Arcade – and how nice it is to see businesses returning and new life being breathed into this little strip of history.
The new boys on the block are Riccardo and Stefano, two Italian gentlemen who have just opened Pommy’s, which serves up grande New York-style pizzas whole or by the slice.
Pommy’s had a launch night on Friday and a few members of The Argus team headed over to get a piece of the action.
Upon first glance, the venue looks sharp and well renovated. Neon signs give the place a reddish hue, which combines with the white table tops and green chairs to create the impression of walking into an Italian flag.
The restaurant looks like an Italian flag (Image: The Argus) As any Italian will tell you though, the most important thing is the food.
Making sure I was able to report on the new restaurant as thoroughly as possible, I selflessly sampled as many different slices as I could manage.
Read more
First off was the Pesto (£8 a slice, £28 whole), a margherita with pesto, rocket, cherry tomatoes and parmesan added liberally on top. The pesto and rocket worked very nicely, adding a verdant freshness to a classic pizza. With the cherry toms and shaved parmesan as well, it feels like having a nice salad on a pizza base – so basically healthy.
I tried the Burrata (£8/£28) – tomato sauce with olive oil, parmesan, and slathered with creamy burrata cheese – and the Marghy (a margherita, £7/£25), both of which firmly hit the spot.
The Pesto slice (Image: The Argus) With all the pizzas, the tomato sauce was a standout star. Pommy’s promise “100 per cent Italian tomatoes and 0 per cent British weather”, and their name comes from the Italian word for tomatoes (pomodoro), so you would expect a decent sauce – and they certainly delivered on that.
Read more:
But my favourite was the Ronnie (£7.5/£27), a piece of pepperoni perfection. The meat was delish, and the drippings of hot honey were a delectably sweet and spicy addition.
So I can highly recommend Pommy’s and its pizzas. The restaurant feels fun, and you can sit outside without being assaulted by seagulls, which is always worthy of appreciation.
All the pizzas were on point (Image: The Argus)
The price is the only slight sticking point, with slices costing between £6.50 and £8, and whole pizzas ranging from £22 to £28.
The pizzas are huge, much more appropriate for two people than for one, and a single slice would probably do you for lunch, but it’s definitely not cheap.
But maybe that’s just what it takes these days to run a legitimate business in the centre of Brighton.
Either way, the pizza is on point, the guys are lovely, and I wish them all the best with their new endeavour.