A Taste Of Neapolitan Pizza At 1441 Pizzeria In Mumbai

For some reason, my social media feed is filled with photos of friends and friends of friends and even ex-teachers who are holidaying in Italy. One is posting about the melancholic streets of Venice, while another is rhapsodising about shopping in Milan. Yet another is uploading daily photos of the Tuscan countryside. Missing out on scenery and shopping, I can deal with. But, what really gets that green monster of envy awake is the food photos they’re sharing; one even managed to have an authentic Neapolitan pizza!

Bringing Italy To Mumbai

Luckily, before I could sink too deep into the doldrums, I paid a visit to 1441 Pizzeria in Fort, which has made it its mission to bring the Neapolitan pizza experience to Mumbai. In fact, the Pizzeria is named after the latitude and longitude coordinates of the first pizza parlour in the Naples – 1441. So, the ambience is filled with soft Italian violin music, while the walls are decorated with murals of Italian country sides. There’s a live kitchen and a beautiful wood fired oven nestled in it.

The wood fired oven is not even the best part; it’s what goes into it. 1441 Pizzeria boasts a renowned Italian consulting chef – Renato Viola, known for creating the world’s most expensive pizza. Flour used to make the pizzeria’s pies is imported from Italy and prepared into the dough using a special recipe from Chef Viola. Similarly, the ‘Mama’s Sauce’, which is a topping option, is a recipe from Chef Viola’s family. Meanwhile, the oven and tomatoes are also imported from Italy.

Make Your Own Pizza

Despite the chef’s expertise and the fancy imported toppings, 1441 Pizzeria retains pocket friendly prices when it comes to pizza. The pizza menu is divided into two; Classic Pizzas are between Rs.345 (for a margherita with one topping), Rs. 495 (Veg, unlimited toppings) and Rs.595 (Non-veg, unlimited toppings). Meanwhile the gourmet pizza allows you unlimited gourmet toppings including exotic cheeses for Rs. 695.

Being the cheese lover I am, I decided that I must try the gourmet pizza, and proceeded to load it with Mama’s Sauce, blue cheese, buffalo mozzarella, olives, jalapenos, mushrooms and spicy salami. I watched with fasciation as the maestro behind the counter hand stretched and rolled the dough to create a beautiful thin crust. He then expertly spread on the sauce, generously distributed cheese and toppings on the pizza and slid it into the wood fired oven. Seven minutes later and voila; a culinary masterpiece that had formed between our eyes was produced.

Tasting The Talk

As my dining partner and I waited for our pizza to bake, we were treated to a portion of one of 1441 Pizzeria’s signature dishes; Smoky Dough Balls. The balls were warm, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside and spread with some delicious herbed butter. Further elevating them were two smooth dips and a side of premium olive oil.

As we polished off the last dough ball, our pizza arrived at our table. As we bit into it, we were immediately able to distinguish the distance ‘Mama’s Sauce’ fiery flavour, perfect for the Indian palate. The sauce worked perfectly with the two cheeses, both of which we could also distinctively taste. The olives, jalapenos and mushrooms were lightly baked and tingled our taste buds while the salami added a further richness of flavour.

We polished off the pizza in ten minutes flat already drooling as we anticipated the dessert; a Nutella Pizza. The pizza can be topped with fresh fruit or marshmallows – we went with marshmallows and were rewarded with a delightful balance of textures thanks to the contrast between the pillowy marshmallows and the crispy pizza. The Nutella paired perfectly with the dough.

I’m adding this Nutella pizza to my list of must eat Nutella treats in the city and adding 1441 in general to my favourite pizza haunts. Not only is it moderately priced and beautifully designed, but it also gives customers the options to choose toppings as they please depending on their taste preferences. A complete win!

Can’t get enough of those photos? Here’s something better: a video of our pizza making experience. Enjoy.