I guess we had a ‘stereotypically Italian’ day in London eating faultless pizza and appreciating Renaissance art but in one way I felt like we were on our own micro London equivalent of A Roman Holiday. If you have the chance I definitely recommend the pizza and if you have the time before June, and have a quiet enthusiasm for classic art, then this is the exhibition in town to see!
Pizza
A while back on Facebook we both saw a video, on Time Out London’s page or something similar, of chocolate calzone while I had given up chocolate for lent so we both insisted that we had to go once lent was over. So Friday 28th April was the day.
Pizza Pilgrims, 136 Shoreditch Highstreet is the newest addition to this growing London brand who pride themselves on their authentic Italian pizza; with a hell of a story behind it and pure dedication to good food this restaurant is undeniably excellent. P.s. it's brings your own booze!
With the original intent of stopping in for a quick chocolate calzone, we were
instantly sidetracked, upon entering the quirky, modern, cafeteria style restaurant with a strong Mediterranean vibe with a sensory overload. The sight of pizza everywhere was mouth-watering let alone the aroma of baking pizzas, cooked pizzas, melting mozzarella and crunchy crusts. So after attempted resistance (sarcasm) we gave in to the overwhelming choice of pizzas and decided to split one, and follow it up with a chocolate calzone.
We chose the Portobello & Truffle pizza: White pizza with portobello mushrooms, fior di latte, parmesan, basil & white truffle oil. Although my boyfriend and I eat pizza a lot, and he has eaten more than a lifetime's
worth of pizza having been born and raised in Italy, his face explains how good this pizza was. Pure delight. The mozzarella was so good, stringy, perfectly melted and creamy, the mushrooms were woody and earthy yet faultlessly complimented by the truffle oil, the parmesan and basil added to a great combination of flavours. Yes, Pizza Pilgrims I love your pizza, but I also cannot express how much I appreciate that you cut the pizza before serving… it makes the experience so much simpler, something so tiny but so helpful!
Priced at £9.75 this is such a cheap lunch, it was perfect for us to share but if you’re super hungry you'd have no problem finishing it yourself. Cheaper than the majority of pizzas in London and in addition friendly service and a great atmosphere made this an all round experience.
The chocolate calzone, perfection - instead of bringing your own chocolate bar they now have a choice of 3 chocolate bars which changes every month, we opted for the Mars bar and although the calzone was relatively small, it was perfectly cooked - crunchy on the outside and filled with gooey chocolate on the inside. Hot like lava, so maybe be a little less eager than I was to eat it, but a great idea and again perfect for sharing as a dessert or all to yourself as a sweet brunch accompanied by a cappuccino. I’m sorry I can’t remember the price but I think it was less than £6 so again not pricey at all.
In conclusion, this is amongst the top three best pizzas I have had in London and have no hesitation to return, I'm glad we made the journey to Pizza Pilgrims and would highly recommend this restaurant, or any of the others around London, to anyone visiting and in search of a quick, delicious lunch!
Art
The Renaissance is amongst one of my favourite periods in classical art. A small portion of the wall in my university room hosts postcards of works by Botticelli, Giotto and Angelico amongst others; so when I heard about the current exhibition it was instantly added to my bucket list. Sometimes it’s just nice to take a break in a quiet place, immerse yourself in something you truly enjoy and clear your mind and this exhibit allowed exactly that. We realised, on our way there, that it was bank holiday Friday in Central London and that it possibly wasn’t the best choice of days to go, but nevertheless, we kept to our original plan.
Currently in London (15 March - 25 June) at The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, is the Credit Suisse Exhibition featuring various works of Michelangelo and Sebastiano. Despite our initial struggle to find the entrance to the exhibit and being seemingly invisible to countless arrogant tourists who enjoyed jumping the queue we did eventually find our way and entered this seamless exhibit.
Consisting of six rooms exploring various aspects of Michelangelo’s career and Sebastiano’s contributory role to this, the exhibition is well organised and thought out in general. You are given a guide book upon entry that simply replicates all descriptions on the accompanying panels but also has the option of purchasing an audio guide, which we decided not to. Although we prefer to read
and look, the audio guides are definitely advisable for someone who may struggle with this aspect of the exhibit.
Origins, the first room, was amongst my favourite. Exhibiting preliminary sketches and unfinished works it shows the process of both artists in producing their works and their varying styles. The exhibit also hosts some original letters between Michelangelo, Sebastiano and other figures hinting at the daily life, friendships and rivalries that constituted the art world of the Renaissance period.
For me the pièce de résistance of the exhibit was the 3 sculptures, the copy of Pietà which I managed to sneak
a photo of out of innocent ignorance of the fact I couldn’t actually take photos; The Giustiniani Christ, left unfinished by Michelangelo and later finished by an unknown artist and a copy of The (succeeding) Risen Christ which was a radical reinterpretation of the original unfinished work.
This exhibit consists of a wide variety of works by both artists as well as highlighting their life and the issues they faced as artists, their involvement with The Vatican and the preparation of various works. My only qualms with this exhibit were the bizarre order of the exhibits in some rooms, they were hard to follow and not very thoroughly thought through, but overall the flow of the exhibit worked well and left a lasting impression.
Concessions at £9, adults at £18 I highly recommend this exhibit for just over an hours art appreciation and don’t forget to wander, and most likely get lost in the extensive labyrinth of, The National Gallery and find some conversation starters of your own.
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