Food
From bread to ingredients, almost everything here is homemade, which sort of explains the comparatively high price tag.
We started off with the Garlic Bread with Sun-dried Tomatoes (Rs. 990). Pizza Bakery's take on garlic bread is unique to them; it's not the garlic buttered up, toasted French bread that you usually get.
Ours had caramelised onions stuffed in the edges along with a layer of cheese in the middle. The bread was fresh, airy and served warm. Decorated with a handful of sun-dried tomatoes on top, the garlicky hints were somewhat subdued by all the other elements at play, but it was flavoursome, nonetheless.
Pizza Bakery doesn't necessarily have the half-n-half option for every topping they've got on the menu unless you don't mind Margherita being one of the choices. We opted for the Margherita-Four Cheese Rocket combo (Rs. 1800).
Beautifully puffed up at the edges and thin at the centre, they had nailed the texture of the crust here. Very light, nicely airy, without a scrap of doughiness while producing a lovely crunch at every bite.
The Margherita half as good as it can possibly get, and featured the usual elements in the right ratio; mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, a splash of olive oil and a handful of basil.
Featuring dollops of mozzarella, feta, parmesan, and blue cheese, the Four Cheese Rocket half was delicious too. However, the cheeses weren't infused into the base; it was more like a paste slathered on top. The base looked and tasted a lot like the Margherita. Combined with the leafy note added by the rocket leaves, it's a good choice to go for if you're a turophile or a vegetarian.
The Hell Boy landed on our table as a concoction of beef pepperoni, birds eye chilli, jalapeño, fermented chilli honey, and mozzarella. This assortment of ingredients is, in fact, inspired by a recipe by New York's popular pizza spot, Paulie Gee's.
Each bite was rich with high-quality pepperoni and cheese, making for a meaty, cheesy treat. There was a subtle spiciness running through; a bit more of that would have made it perfect. Pizza Bakery allows you to add fun twists to your pizzas. We literally flamed up our pizza by getting the Flambé (Rs. 250) option; where they throw a shot of dark rum on top of the pizza and light it up using a flame gun.
We highly suggest you do that too, as dark rum adds an extra zing to the overall flavour.
Our dessert was this Nutella & Mascarpone Sourdough (Rs. 1000). A sourdough bread filled with cinnamon mascarpone and sea salt, it was generously drizzled with Nutella and chunks of roasted almonds. The bread itself was light and crispy, and the nutty notes of the Nutella were further enhanced by the almonds.
Drinks
On the drinks side, they've got mocktails, milkshakes and juices. We opted for the Virgin Cosmo (Rs. 570) and Strawberry Cheesecake Shake (Rs. 700).
Reminiscing the sweet, sour and fruity flavours of a Cosmo in a totally non-alcoholic way, the Virgin Cosmo was a refreshing one. It's a simple unification of cranberry juice, triple sec syrup, and lemon.
The Strawberry Cheesecake Shake was deliciously creamy and milky with hints of strawberry syrup seeping through. There was a mild tartness swirling through as well, which quite didn't stand out; probably because of all the other flavours at play. We'd have liked it better if it was a bit stronger than that.
Ambience & Service
It's very cosy and relaxing up here. They lie in a corner of the Sunset Terrace of One Galle Face, right behind Crystal Jade. From the outside, it looks like the entrance to a tiny little house with a white coloured, wooden terrace adorned with potted plants.
The walls are decorated with a few Mona Lisa spoofs (Mona Lisa drinking milkshake and beer etc.).
Our food and drinks took around 20 minutes to arrive. The staff seemed quite energetic and was well-aware of the menu.
Conclusion
With taxes and service charges, our total bill came to an even Rs. 9304, which makes it land on the expensive end of the scale. Nonetheless, it's easily one of the best picks for pizza in Colombo with the speciality of sourdough bread-based pizzas. Any pizza lover should check it out; especially if don't mind having to pay a bit more than usual.