Die Pizzeria Italy in Eppendorf

There's a whole lot going on in front of the pizzeria there: a colorful bunch of people, despite being strangers to one another, sitting together peacefully. Grandfathers and -sons, hipsters and designers, and a couple wine spritzer-sipping ladies. And there's a tiny dog mingling with the feet underneath the tables. What's special about all this: everybody seems happy! We announced ourselves at the counter so we wouldn't mix up the seating arrangements. We're greeted warmly and were invited to join a communal table.

Somewhat different from your usual German dinner rules, Italians like to have their food served consecutively in small separate courses. Fantastico! That is how we're doing it, then. We started out with pizza's smaller counsin: the antipasti. Crisp and spiced only minimally, we got beautifully colored red pepper, carrots, mushrooms, eggplants and zucchini in olive oil. We paired this entrée with a pinot gris by Weinhaus Heger from Baden, and we did great! The primo piatto followed: Spaghetti Genovese. A zesty, lusciously green pesto alongside diced potato and fine green beans nestled in spaghetti, al dente to perfection!

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The main course was recommended to us as the house's staple: Pizza Tonno i Cipolla. The plate disappeared underneath the big, thin crispy pizza crust. Mouth-watering bubbles rise beneath the layer of fresh tomatos and mozzarella. Topped with 4 slices of hearty red tuna in a coat of coarsely ground pepper, as well as fresh rocket and fine shavings of red onion. We could not be further away from delivery and closer to Italy than that. This time around, the food was accompanied by a ruby-red Sicilian Nero d'Avola.

Il dolce, per favore...fanfares...Tiramisu! Thin airy layers of biscuit alternate with a velvety cream of mascarpone and Amaretto, covered with tart ground cocoa. The mandatory espresso comes with the necessary crema and is hot, hot, hot! On point! Grazie!

Eliane Muller

Guest Author Hamburg