Restaurant review: This pizza place has the best base I’ve tasted anywhere
The interior of Reggie's, Dublin
- Reggie’s Pizzeria
- 221-223 Rathmines Road Lower, Dublin 6
- reggies.ie
- Open: Monday - Thursday: 4.30-9pm; Friday - Sunday: 12 noon - 9.30pm
- The bill: Four starters, four pizza and two desserts plus a bottle of wine and a sparkling water cost €166.45, just €41.61 per person.
Like the song says, it’s all about that base. If a pizzeria is offering extra cheese and meat and piling your pizza high, ask ‘what are they hiding?’.
Reggie White has become ground zero for pizza in Ireland and I know he would agree. He was the pizza consultant behind Pi, Little Forest, and Bambino — the latter with a permanent queue of 20 people day and night.
Reggie’s Pizzeria is in the old Sprezzatura building in Rathmines and is simply furnished but nicely lit with a mix of seating to suit groups and couples and even a bar counter.
I visited with three Food Writer (FW) friends and we were as giddy as children on Christmas Eve, such is Reggie’s reputation.
Besides the nine pizzas on offer there are six starters (snacks), all crowd pleasers. First to arrive was Cacio e Pepe arancini (€8.50) with Parmesan custard — a crunchy exterior giving way to a positively unctuous interior packed with rich cheesy peppery goodness.
The parmesan custard they sat on was irresistible — we found ourselves dipping our fingers in it and mopping it up with the garlic bread.
Oh yes, the garlic bread (€6.50). Three inch thick slices of fresh focaccia (made daily) doused in brown butter enriched with confit garlic and cut with aromatic fresh herbs. Crunchy, pungent, and satisfying.
Ricotta meatballs (€9.50) were meaty and tender with a noticeable herbal accent and are also recommended.
Chicken wings with nduja and honey (€11.50) had perfect crispy skin and retained enough moisture to be succulent while the honey sweetness was cut by the peppery nduja and slices of pickled green chili to add pyrazine freshness and extra heat. Order double portions.
Pepperoni is what I mostly make in my wood-burning Ooni at home, but I need to up my game having tasted Reggie’s Pepperoni (€16.50).
The crust had bubbled and browned to create dark spots — ‘leoparding’ is the term according to FW no 1. The base is a thing of wonder, it stays firm, has perfect crunch but somehow retains moisture for a light doughy flavour.
For the nerdy, Reggie is using Wildfarmed organic flour from the UK and a sourdough format — just water, salt and flour.
Bacon, pineapple and jalapeño pizza (€16.50) had a pleasing kick of sweetness from the pineapple to counter the heat of the peppers and the salty free range bacon (Crowe’s in Tipperary). Yes tinned pineapple and plastic ham is horrible on pizza: this is not that.
Leek, Cashel Blue and honey (€16) is one of Reggie’s best sellers and it is complex, rich, and satisfying although I found it a touch too sweet — two of the FW’s vehemently disagreed.
Finally, a Hen of the Woods mushroom, spinach and chicken fat white pizza (€18.50) also proved divisive, the mushroom flavours were indeed excellent but I wanted more cheese.
My colleagues loved the umami complexity of the mushroom and we all agreed that the chicken fat glazed crust was a genius addition.
THE drinks list includes a couple of craft beers (eg, O Brother Brewing) and 20 wines with good organic and biodynamic representation.
It is also fairly priced with five options under €40. I was overruled on the wine choice (I wanted red) but to be fair the Meinklang Grüner Veltliner (€43) was bright, tangy, and crisp and a solid match for most of the pizzas.
Two desserts are offered with the star being Reggie’s Ice-Cream Sundae (€8), a proper old-school sundae in a tall glass filled with good quality vanilla ice cream, lots of caramel, chocolate and crunchy biscuit crumbs — and best of all it was topped with caramel popcorn.
We duelled spoons valiantly and polished it off quickly.
Milk chocolate custard (€7) was creamy and lush, and topped with crunchy chocolate crumbs and sea-salt which acted as a foil to the sweet-soft richness.
I’ll say it plainly, not only is this Reggie’s best pizza place yet, I think it is probably the best base I’ve tasted anywhere.
I love that Reggie’s menu has gone for twists on the classics while also keeping in mind the things Irish people crave when they go to a pizzeria like wings, proper garlic bread, and chocolate for dessert.
Reggie’s name origin means ‘King’ — he really is king of pizza in Ireland right now, and long may he reign.
Food: 9/10
Drinks: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Value: 9/10
