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Cold Town House: Grassmarket’s Answer to the Neapolitan
Cold Town Beer was introduced to pubs in Edinburgh last year, but now the brewing company have their own place in the Grassmarket and they’re making modern Neapolitan pizza in the attic of the old Robertson Memorial Church.
Walking up the steps to the front door you would be forgiven if you had mistaken it for a church, but once you walk through the doors you are met by a host, in a low light bronze hallway, that will point you in the direction of where you want to go. For food, you go to the pub. It has very unique beer taps that show you not only what beer is on it, but you can see the liquid before it is poured. In the middle of the dimly lit seating area, there is a marble high table with a roaring fire in the middle of it.
All pizzas are named after places in Edinburgh; The Marchmont and The Morningside to name a few. You order pizzas at the bar along with the drinks. Pizzas are priced at around eight to ten pounds, however, on Mondays, you can grab any pizza and any Cold Town Beer (or soft drink) for eight pounds.
The Pizza is hoisted down via pulley system from the pizza oven in the attic down to the bar area, and then served by a member of the bar staff.
The dough is cooked very evenly and has a crispy exterior, the latter being very characteristically Neapolitan. The crust has a leopard pattern of burnt spots that give the dough another layer of texture and taste. The interior is not as light and fluffy as a pizza you would find in Naples; less proofing time and a mixture of Cold Town Beer, organic multi cereal, rye and spelt hybrid flour makes for a firmer interior and acts more as a vessel for the other components on the pizza.
Cold Town House’s sauce is made from San Marzano tomatoes, which are grown at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. In this region, soil richness is very high which makes for naturally sweet tomatoes. The sauce shines through on the pizza - the rich sweet taste would marry well with a salty topping like an Italian salami or ham.
The cheese used is a classic Neapolitan staple, Buffalo Mozzarella. The curds found on the inside of this cheese have a distinct creamy flavour that contrasts the crunch of the dough. In the roaring heat of the woodfired oven, the high level of moisture stops the cheese from going hard and crispy.
My Pizza
I chose the ‘Leith’ pizza. It was topped with spicy salami, oregano and fresh Parmesan.
My immediate impression when I took the first bite was “THAT SAUCE!”. It had a zing of sweetness, instantly recognisable as San Marzano tomato. It makes the pizza, and the melted mozzarella added a chewy creaminess. The firmness of the dough made the pizza easier to eat as the sauce is quite soupy. Oregano added to the aroma of the base, with a hint of bitterness that was also present from the beer in the dough mixture. The salt from the salami and the Parmesan balanced the sauce and the meat had a good heat without overwhelming the palette.
