Now everyone can satisfy their Italian food cravings.

You wouldn’t necessarily think Italian cuisine is the most vegan-friendly gastronomy out there, and recalling Italy’s endless cheeses, the cream, the hams and the seafood, you might be quite right. But Pizzare is here to prove us wrong. And to ensure that no one has to go on living without pizza in their lives. Thankfully.

It’s all about being inclusive.

Located up the slopes of P-Berg’s Eberswalderstraße, Pizzare sees itself as being an inclusive Italian restaurant. In other words, this place is about making people from all walks of dietary preferences (all eaters, vegetarians, vegans, lactose-intolerants, gluten-free folks, etc.) sit together at the same table and enjoy freshly-made, delicious Italian food.

They have an endless menu of traditional (read: non-vegan) Italian food, and an equally large menu of vegan alternatives. Gluten-free options are there, with a full menu soon to be joining the others. What all these menus share though, is a strict policy of impeccably high-quality ingredients.

Our friendly host could go on and on about their search for the best vegan cheese with the right texture and flavour, the vegetables imported from Italy, the mozzarella di Bufala from Caseificio Roberta (a historical producer of Napoli’s finest cheese), which they proudly use, and their constant concern about the quality regarding taste, health, nutrition and environmental impact of each product.

No palm oil is used, vegan products are mostly soy-free, all meat comes from recognized producers and a big portion of the ingredients are organic, so no worries, they’ve got your dietary and moral compasses covered.

A “fast-casual” concept: food, not candlelight.

It’s important though to point out that Pizzare is what they call a “fast-casual restaurant”. Think: good quality meals served façon fast-food for a moderate price. That means no romantic, candle-lit ambience, no picturesque decoration reminiscent of your holidays in southern Italy, no chic yet condescending waiters. Instead, it’s a self-service counter decorated with ’90s style steel arabesques, their finest ingredients on proud display, an open kitchen housing state-of-the-art pizza machinery. You come for the food, the friendly staff, and a simple and honest experience.

The vegan-Italian experience.

But enough about the concept, what about the food? On the account of a mysterious and harmless misunderstanding, we got the full vegan treatment, from vegan Foccacia and cheese, vegan Melanzane Parmigiana, vegan pizzas, vegan lasagna to vegan desserts. For me, this was a completely new experience. Not only am I not vegan, but I’m also not very familiar with vegan cuisine. That day, I got the chance to discover it with an open mind and only the slight prejudice that vegan food’s weak spot is probably texture.

Vegan cheese was an unexpected discovery. Although the cashew nut-based Camembert didn’t quite leave an impression, the Parmigiano was flavorful and with a pleasant texture. The Melanzane Parmigiana (oven-baked eggplants with parmesan cheese) was delicious and homey, while the lasagne felt rich and extremely satisfying. And as for pizzas, we were suggested to try two of their “premium three cereal” crust pizza and one gluten-free.

One of them had slices of avocado as a topping, which, as much as I love avocado, still makes a bit of a bizarre combination. But I particularly liked the vegan Norcia’s black truffle & sausage pizza (bless the mighty truffle taste). You should know though that vegan mozzarella doesn’t really do the trick of emulating real mozzarella’s creamy unctuousness, still the doughs were crunchy, the toppings tasty and the pizzas truly enjoyable!

Dessert, the evening’s highlight.

Overall, the experience was a pleasant one food and company-wise. My personal highlight of the menu, however, was the desserts, which is why I would like to finish with this.

Picture a tiramisu as creamy as can be, a Waltz fudge cake (a chocolate sponge cake hugging chocolate fudge) that is pure cocoa punch and the delightful Pannozetto with Crema Gianduja, a hedonistic bomb of soft/crunchy pizza bread filled with the best chocolate hazelnut paste you will ever try. An absolute must!

Pizzare organises a lot of vegan-friendly events as well as pizza-making workshops, visit their Facebook Page for more info.

Pizzare
Eberswalder Str. 21,
10437 Berlin