Daily Times

The authentic pizza is a very contentious issue in among the pizza loving gluttons and believe me there are many. Some like the new York slice, some like the comforting predictability of pizza hut style desi variants of pizza, then there have been some lacklustre attempts at the deep dish pizza which finally brings me to the authentic Neopolitan Pizza – considered by many Pizza purists as the holy grail of the authentic pizza experience. The difference between an ‘original Italian size’ pizza and the regular fare goes involve how they are prepared and the ingredients. Most authentic Italian pizzas have to be prepared in ideally a wood fired brick oven, while the dough the primary base ingredient has to be have of Italian provenance and that also goes for the ingredients that go into the pizza like the marinara sauce and the other ingredients. That’s the closest one could get to having an authentic Italian pizza without booking a flight to Naples.

WHAT IS IT? — enter Amichi, which stands for friendship in Italian, is a joint establishment owned by a group of friends which ticks almost all the boxes when in bringing the authentic pizza experience to their patrons. Upon entering one is greeted by an open kitchen which is always a reassuring sign, giving anyone on the other side of the glass a window on the hygiene standards, methods of food preparation among other things. Also one bears witness to the wood fire brick oven where the pizzas are being prepared, making for quite a spectacle.

WHERE IS IT? — Amichi is tucked away in Khayaban-e-Nishat, Phase 6, right next to Prime 109.

WHAT I HAD? — to start things off I ordered the coconut prawns which were essentially prawns deep friend in coconut batter. Next in line was the main event: the steak and cheese pizza had shavings of a rib eye steak along with onions, fresh mushrooms, mozzarella, parmesan and classic red sauce. The 4 cheese pesto pizza which had 4 kinds of cheese in it including feta, parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta was the star of the show and certainly the most unique offering at Amichis. The Bees Lasagne with the home made Bolognese sauce and ground beef was a solid contender for the best lasagne I have had in ages. To wash it all down there was the Rose Saffron Soda.

Amichi is tucked away in Khayaban-e-Nishat, Phase 6, right next to Prime 109

To end things on a sweeter note the Belgian Mud Cake was an ample sized dessert instead of the minuscule slices one is served usually.

VERDICT — Amichi has a lot of spirit that it brings to the game, pizza is a crowded market and there certainly should be more options that bring a different twist to what we have become accustomed to with every pizzeria tasting the same. This is where Amichi shines, it breaks convention and goes the path less travelled and ends up as a treat to the senses. The menu doesn’t stray away from pizzas and pastas and that denotes a sense of focus that one doesn’t usually witness. All things considered Amichi is a pretty good option when it comes to having that authentic Pizza experience without booking a flight to Italy.

The writer is a freelancer and can be reached at raheel_@outlook.com