Down with pizza
We love a good pizza. And we have many places to choose one. But a repeat haunt of ours has become Sotto Pizzeria.
Located in South Street, Valletta, as you are walking towards Hastings Gardens, you are immediately greeted by an enveloping and comforting smell of pizza baking. That's how you know you've found the place, before you see the sign above the door. Run by the same people who run Zero Sei (also in Valletta), this is their restaurant dedicated to pizza.
You step through the front door and down the stairs you go into a cantina, the restaurant, which is usually full of people sitting at their tables tucking into their pizza. Management have done the best they could to turn around a pre existing space, a cantina, into something they could work with, and which invites people to stop and stay. More recently they have removed a pre-existing piece and have installed a communal table/bench which we find is better suited to the ambiance and makes better use of the first room. At the back of the second room you see the pizzaioli buzzing away making pizza after pizza. They serve so many people that we're sure it's just like running a marathon for them.
The menu is uncomplicated - there are some starters if you're interested, but everyone gets served a bruschetta to get you going while you scan the menu. Naturally, the menu is pizza heavy. However there is some baked pasta, and salads, on the menu. We haven't tried any of the salads. Sorry (not sorry actually).
There are various forms of pizza on offer, and so many to choose from. The management is known for their public denial of serving pineapple on pizza - it's an abomination to them. We usually gravitate towards the Carbonara pizza (yes, pizza not pasta), or the Amatriciana. These are particular, and really excellent if you are so inclined. Why be limited by having this sauce on pasta only? Thank you Sotto, for opening our eyes to the wonders of this sauce on a pizza.
The pizza in general is thin, light, with a crispy crust, and oval, not round, in shape. You get served on a wooden board, and the pizza reach you pre sliced into rectangles. We usually order a bottle of wine to wash it all down - the wines on offer are simple and mainly Italian. This makes them the best wine pairing for a pizza, while being pocket friendly.
The desserts are shared with Zero Sei, meaning you get one of the tiramisu in Malta. The cannoli come served as a portion of three mini cannoli, but 99% of the time, we go for the tiramisu as it is a treat.
We recommend you book ahead, the place is busy and gets full very quickly - for both lunch and dinner. You can book by calling or online.
Only recently we have noticed that the pizzaiolo from Vecchia Taranto (another favourite of ours) has moved here, to Sotto. We're sad to not find him at VT but happy that he's still making pizza at Sotto - the guy's got talent.
We've been dining at Sotto ever since it opened, and must say the quality has remained the same. We will definitely be back.
Sotto Pizzeria
32, South Street, Valletta
Closed Mondays
T: 21220077
http://sottopizzeria.com/
Located in South Street, Valletta, as you are walking towards Hastings Gardens, you are immediately greeted by an enveloping and comforting smell of pizza baking. That's how you know you've found the place, before you see the sign above the door. Run by the same people who run Zero Sei (also in Valletta), this is their restaurant dedicated to pizza.
You step through the front door and down the stairs you go into a cantina, the restaurant, which is usually full of people sitting at their tables tucking into their pizza. Management have done the best they could to turn around a pre existing space, a cantina, into something they could work with, and which invites people to stop and stay. More recently they have removed a pre-existing piece and have installed a communal table/bench which we find is better suited to the ambiance and makes better use of the first room. At the back of the second room you see the pizzaioli buzzing away making pizza after pizza. They serve so many people that we're sure it's just like running a marathon for them.
The menu is uncomplicated - there are some starters if you're interested, but everyone gets served a bruschetta to get you going while you scan the menu. Naturally, the menu is pizza heavy. However there is some baked pasta, and salads, on the menu. We haven't tried any of the salads. Sorry (not sorry actually).
There are various forms of pizza on offer, and so many to choose from. The management is known for their public denial of serving pineapple on pizza - it's an abomination to them. We usually gravitate towards the Carbonara pizza (yes, pizza not pasta), or the Amatriciana. These are particular, and really excellent if you are so inclined. Why be limited by having this sauce on pasta only? Thank you Sotto, for opening our eyes to the wonders of this sauce on a pizza.
The pizza in general is thin, light, with a crispy crust, and oval, not round, in shape. You get served on a wooden board, and the pizza reach you pre sliced into rectangles. We usually order a bottle of wine to wash it all down - the wines on offer are simple and mainly Italian. This makes them the best wine pairing for a pizza, while being pocket friendly.
The desserts are shared with Zero Sei, meaning you get one of the tiramisu in Malta. The cannoli come served as a portion of three mini cannoli, but 99% of the time, we go for the tiramisu as it is a treat.
We recommend you book ahead, the place is busy and gets full very quickly - for both lunch and dinner. You can book by calling or online.
Only recently we have noticed that the pizzaiolo from Vecchia Taranto (another favourite of ours) has moved here, to Sotto. We're sad to not find him at VT but happy that he's still making pizza at Sotto - the guy's got talent.
We've been dining at Sotto ever since it opened, and must say the quality has remained the same. We will definitely be back.
Carbonara pizza
Pizza funghi
Sotto Pizzeria
32, South Street, Valletta
Closed Mondays
T: 21220077
http://sottopizzeria.com/
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