Pizza Please Jamaica: A Little Taste of Italy in each bite
Pizza Please Jamaica’s new lease on life: 27 new round 8 inch pizzas plus more
Sunday dining in Kingston have gotten a complete foodie makeover and I'm totally here for it. On Sunday October 3rd, Pizza Please Jamaica marked a new chapter in their journey of providing authentic Italian pizza experience when they launched their newly available 8 inch round pizzas and deluxe pastas.
Over the years Pizza Please Jamaica has been recognized as being Jamaica's very own slice of Italy melded into the Jamaican heart. Since its inception in 2006, the company has transformed the thoughts of Jamaicans from what we thought pizza should look like. The love child of owner and proprietor, Pietro Guiliani who sought to blend memories of his native Italian upbringing and culture and marry it into his new love and home of Jamaica; has seen the company introduce unique culinary adaptations of a classic local favourite finger food that somehow work seamlessly despite your belly’s first instinct of side-eyeing the toppings. Your taste buds are left satisfied and your tummy full of deliciousness.
These past few weeks food has been at the epicenter and focus of the Jamaican lifestyle and culture scene. From the annually held Jamaica Food and Drink Festival which happened this past October/November and the recently held Restaurant Week Jamaica which celebrated its 15th year, the food focus has taken over the country one city at a time. But Pizza Please decided to be the forerunner of the food-tivities and began its own transformation and unveiling prior to all the food centered hullabaloo. Thus the introduction of its new pizzas and pastas.
Now for those of you what are unfamiliar with the brand, you may be wondering…. what is so special about round pizzas? Aren’t pizzas always round? Well not exactly. You see when Pizza Please first opened its doors in Village Plaza in 2016, they sought to create a uniquely different experience for the customers. Instead of the traditional round pizzas, they chose to make square pizza slices that offered the customer the ability to customize their pizzas by mixing and matching options rather than selecting whole pies. It created a special lore that added to the already attractive appeal of the interesting pizza toppings that the company had boasted.
So why change the formula if it has been working all this time?
Well, because the customer is always right. As it was explained by Pietro, the introduction of the new round pizzas came at the hands of numerous customer requests and demands. Customers wanted to carry home and share more of their favourite pizza pies and have a little extra to circle back to later after your belly is filled. Not only that, the company also serves pastas that have become customer favourites too and the customers wanted more. And customers wanting more of your pizza and pasta is definitely a good problem to have. They had no choice but to expand their offerings.
Now I think the Jamaican living is truly rubbing off on Pietro because the company was not settled on just changing their already established menu to round pizza status. Oh no that would be too easy and definitely un-Jamaican who love doing things big and extra. Pizza Please decided to wow the customers with a go big or go home attitude and instead introduced a whopping 27; I repeat TWENTY SEVEN new pizzas. All new toppings and a whole new experience. Before I go one, I must admit that I was a bit crippled by choice overload when I saw the extensive Pizza Please menu. There were just sooooooooooo many options available. And that is definitely not a bad thing.
Now to the meat of the matter. How was the food?!!!
The first thing that caught my eye on the menu was the names of some of the pizzas. Borrowing inspiration from local and Italian hotspots, Pietro created customized pizzas that he felt matched the vibe or the feelings emitted by the different destinations. With names like Hellshire, Roma, Blue Mountain Peak, Kingstonian, Portofino, Lime Cay and Montego Bay, these pizzas had big shoes to fill if they are to match their namesakes.
This particular Sunday I was joined be 3 friends and we sought to get the inside scoop on how good these pizzas really were. We were sent the menu before hand so we could look at and choose which pizzas piqued our fancy the most. We settled on BBQ pork pizza, the Chicken Poker Pizza and for my pick, I chose to venture off to the pasta world and got a Deluxe Chicken Alfredo pasta.
On Sundays, the meals are done to order so that they can guarantee the freshest creations straight from the oven, so it was a little bit of a wait for our orders to come out. But this gave us the opportunity to chat with Pietro who gave us the backstory of why they were introducing the round pizzas because of patient request and how he came up with the names for the new pizza creations. Being someone grown and bred in Rome, Pietro is always looking for ways to blend his love for his home country and his love for his new home. Thus, all the mouth-watering innovative creations he was able to come up with over the years. He also added that ingredients are sourced locally and pizzas are made fresh using the traditional Italian method/style of pizza making.
BBQ Pork Pizza
This artisan pizza creation saw exquisite tomato sauce, mozarella cheese, bbq pork, sweet pepper and bbq sauce being intimately connected onto a crust snd baked to delicious perfection. Bellissima!!! The pizza was fully loaded with ingredients. As a matter of a fact, you had me at pork. I am a supreme lover of pork. It just always seems like the most delicious choice when the options are presented. Chicken or fish is the safest but pork is the showstopper in my book. So imagine how excited I was to try this concoction.
I found this bbq pork pizza was satisfyingly delicious but there was just something missing to make it that of so perfect pizza. I don’t know what it was exactly but I just found that something felt absent. Now don’t get me wrong, the pizza was delicious. The pork was abundant, the toppings were fresh and the crust was amazing but there was just something off balance about it. Maybe it was a case of my own preconceived notions of taste but I think there definitely is something needed to give it that extra oomph to make it perfect. I think I would definitely try it again to see if they have worked out the kinks.
Chicken Poker Pizza
For the chicken lover, this pizza is definitely to be added to your to try list. This pizza is a combination of tomato sauce, double mozarella cheese, bbq chicken breast, jerk chicken breast, chicken ham and chicken sausage sprinkled liberally onto a delicious crust. I found this pizza to be a little spicy to me. I am not sure which ingredient had the spiciness (maybe the jerk chicken) but it was a bit overpowering. I think other than that, the pizza tasted pretty good. I think where it feel a bit short was the presentation, particularly, the chicken sausage. My companions and I felt like the sausages needed to be a bit thinner and blend more seamlessly into the presentation. It literally draws all your attention away from the completeness of the pizza. For my companions it was very off-putting and they even sought to pick off some of the chicken sausage so they could better enjoy their meal. To me it wasn’t that bad but I do think if the sausages were better introduced into the mixture, it would make it more appealing. As, I mentioned before, it does taste pretty good, so it isn’t a taste issue more of a presentation issue.
Deluxe Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Admittedly, I get a little excited around food. Okay I get a lot excited around food. Especially, comfort food like pasta. Sometimes I even break out in song and do a little jig. Yes I am that extra sometimes. Needless to say, I was ready and excited to have my pasta. I don’t think you can really go terribly wrong with pasta. Well I hope not. But this pasta was pretty good. Now it isn’t about to steal the pasta champion of the world crown but it was pretty good. Not to mention, it was a lot. The box was full and stocked to capacity. And I am not talking about just full of pasta but no meat. No I am taking about belly buss full of meat and pasta. It was scrumptious and tantalizing to the taste buds. I honestly could not finish it and had enough to have on another day and still be full. As in it was full of food and flavour. And if I had to choose the winner for the night, this would be it. It was grrrrrrrrreeeeeat!
Overall:
I do think Pizza Please Jamaica is on to something with these new pizzas and deluxe pasta. I think with some ironing out of a few kinks they will definitely hit it out of the park. I appreciated how warm and inviting the staff was and also how receptive Pietro was to our concerns and suggestions. It made us feel like our input was truly valued and that the business is truly customer focused.
Just a note that this menu of 8 inch round pizzas and deluxe pastas are only available on Sundays when they are opened between 1 pm - 7 pm. The rest of the week is their regularly scheduled programming of square/ rectangular pizzas, normal sized pastas, salads and chicken. With their menu so wide and extensive, there is definitely something to be found for everyone. Vegan and meat lovers alike. And you can even customize your pizza to your liking. So you should most definitely stop by and try something from their menu.
So what is your absolutely favourite pizza topping? What is the most interesting topping you have ever tried? And what is the most intriguing topping you would love to try? I love hearing from you guys so leave your comments down below.