Last Friday, I went to Bosco in Clifton Village, Bristol, a quiet, quaint and achingly upper middle class part of the city, not far from the suspension bridge.
It was a warm Friday night and I was fresh from a long, arduous week at work, and the promise of pizza, and not only that, but specifically a place I’d wanted to go for some time was an exciting prospect.
That evening, I was accompanied by my partner Holly, my sister Betsy and my friend Elis. I was pleased for their company, partially for the social aspect of it, but mostly as I would be able to maximise the number of pizzas I could nick a slice of.
This was ostensibly to ‘maximise the variety of pizza I was judging’, to ‘get a more even idea of the pizza in general,’ but clearly this was a thinly veiled excuse to in fact maximise my pizza intake, which everyone in the party was more than aware of.
An unassuming, mildly cramped (yet inviting nonetheless) restaurant, we wormed out way through the dimly lit, bustling dining area, past the open, firewood oven and the bar to a bright sunlit room out the back, with plenty of space to sit and relax.
Bosco was founded in 2014 to bring the owners’ love of Italy to the Bristol, by bringing authentic Italian food- particularly pizza. Specifically, Neapolitan pizza.
The sourdough isn’t exactly traditional, but everything else is. Although one can barely move for sourdough pizza in England, at least Bosco was ahead of the curve. And even if it is a bit of a fad at the moment, everything else is as it should be- a decent amount of crust, not too much of the simple tomato sauce swirled around, and torn mozzarella dotted on the base.
The only beers on the menu were Peroni and Moretti, which I guess is traditional Italian, in its way.
And it was great. It was a slopfest, to be sure, with the only reasonable way to eat a slice to fold the bottom back on itself and then fold in half, to stop the toppings sliding off. The crust was chewy rather than crispy, and gave my jaw a challenge at points but it was worth it. A simple, punchy tomato sauce and mozzarella made the Marg my favourite pizza I had. Bosco mention on their site that they look for the best produce, and it shows with their Marg.
The second pizza we tried was the mushroom and truffle white pizza, which is a combination that rarely disappoints, and this time again, it did not.
Disappointingly, the pizza I ordered was the least enjoyable, though was still damn good. The whole pizza tasted of the spicy ‘Nduja sausage, and that is by no means a bad thing.
Afterwards, despite finishing all of my (and a number of slices of Holly’s pizza) I still went for the Affogato to finish.
Beaut.
So, in conclusion, get your arse to Bosco. Yes, it’s sourdough, which is essentially the only pizza one can get in the UK in any independent pizza restaurant anymore, however Bosco is a fantastic place to get a definitive version.
🍕🍕🍕🍕+ 🍕/2
Cheers, Con
Pizza on Earth 