Recently, I was a tour guide for a day as a favour for James, and dinner was already preplanned for Pizzeria Barbarella. See, James has a bit of a man crush on Terry, the owner of this place. He makes great pizza, starting from his days out at Ah-Beetz in Abbotsford. In the days since his opening, I visited once but then never got around to making another visit until now, but from the looks of it, it’s constantly busy in here.
The decor here is simple, black walls, exposed bulbs, plastic chairs and beautiful reclaimed wooden tables. The focus here is on the pizza, ambience will naturally build itself. With Daniel Jeff and Andy tagging along, we decided to order 4 different pizzas in order to maximize the experience and get some variety. This worked out well, as each pizza is sliced into 4, each about the size of a small plate. Fold it like a sandwich, let it droop, or eat it with a fork and knife like Daniel and Andy do.
salsiccia $16
tomato, fior di latte, aged mozzarella, house made fennel sausage, pickled peppers, basil, parmigiano reggiano and extra virgin olive oil
The house made fennel sausage has a bit of spice to it, and overall this pizza is like a souped up version of a classic margherita.
diavola $16
tomato, fior di latte, aged mozzarella, spicy salami, nicoise olives and extra virgin olive oil
I would describe the diavola as a pepperoni pizza but much better and classier, this is a very “safe” choice. More olives please!
fuoco $16
tomato, fior di latte, aged mozzarella, hot capocollo, fresh jalapenos, parmigiano reggiano and extra virgin olive oil
On paper, it seems like a great combination, but this was definitely very salty and the capocolla definitely seemed muted, overall a very “heavy” pizza.
funghi $17
besciamella, fontina, oven roasted cremini mushrooms, parmigiano reggiano and white truffle oil
By far the favourite of the night, for me at least, the earthiness of the cremini mushrooms, the creamy besciamella sauce (like béchamel) and truffle oil just sent this over the top. If you aren’t a fan of mushrooms, this may change your mind.
All four pizzas came out after the other as cooking time is very short, about 60-90 seconds, but with the sheer amount of patrons, both dine in and take out, it made the wait seem excruciatingly long as we were quite famished. Once they were on the table though, they seemed to disappear equally as fast, until I got to my last slice, which is when I realized I was actually getting quite full. For most, 1 pizza would be more than enough to enjoy for a meal.
After the fact, I realize that the prices are a bit on the higher side, especially considering it’s the neighbourhood of Fraser and Broadway, not downtown or Gastown, but I will pay the price for the quality, passion and dedication Terry Deane has put into this quaint pizzeria.
Pizzeria Barbarella
654 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC
(604) 210-6111
Facebook
Twitter
About