Chef Gil Guimarães, owner of the title of “second best pizzeria in Brazil” and one of the best in Latin America, according to Top Pizza, António Setembrino and Pedro Ivo Carvalho have high hopes for one of the latest pizzerias in Lisbon, at the specialist in Neapolitan pizzas Sofi’ Pizza e Vinhos, where this cheese-filled sin is joined by a good selection of wines.
The small and friendly pizzeria, located in Cais do Sodré, just off Rua Cor de Rosa, may even go unnoticed, as it is “hidden” under several construction hoardings in the building where it is located, but that doesn’t stop you from trying its pizzas and wines at Travessa dos Remolares 23.
We’ve already been there. We weren’t too keen on the pizza dough, but we loved the wines and dessert!
The dough or the sauce? We liked one better than the other!
We know how sensitive it can be to give any opinion on pizzas! Some like the crunchy dough better, others like the richer, thicker sauce… in short, tastes are not debatable!
We have only one certainty: a good pizza is made with dough made from scratch and tomato sauce prepared with a lot of love and care.
And that’s exactly what you’ll find in this pizzeria in Cais do Sodré. Although we were not very fond of the dough with which their pizzas are made, because they are less crispy (yes, we are like that!) than what we were expecting, we loved the sauce and all the toppings used to make them, with products from the source that are fresh and delicious.
The dough may not be one of our favorites, but the truth is that it is duly certified by the “masters” of this Italian specialty, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, whose rules imply great care in the hydration and fermentation of the dough, ready to serve in less than a minute in the dedicated electric oven which, according to Chef Gil Guimarães, was an adventure to place inside this small space with seating for about 15 people.
Classic menu, with author’s inspirations
The love of the city and Portugal has already led the Chef to create some pizzas dedicated to national flavors, which you can try with the Serra da Estrela pizza (16€), to which he adds the famous cheese with spicy Portuguese chorizo.
Also national is the tomato used in some of their recipes: the ox heart, which offers a delicious and interesting difference to what we’ve tasted in other pizzerias.
The list includes six other delicacies, which can change according to the seasonality of the ingredients, and we tried the Pata Negra e Burrata (€16), with burrata heart, fior di latte, acorn-fed black pork ham, pomodoro pelati bio and lemon zest; and the simpler but very delicious Marinara Sofi’ (€10.50), with beef heart tomatoes in olive oil with fleur de sel, garlic, oregano and extra anchovies. Both choices were accompanied, at the chef’s suggestion, by Stracciatella cheese for an extra €4.
To accompany it, we chose a very fresh white wine from the wide range on offer, hand-picked by the sommelier on duty (we advise you to do the same).
For dessert, you only have one choice, and it’s extremely delicious, even considered one of the biggest sins of this little store: the Cannoli (3€), with orange and pistachio-scented sheep’s ricotta cream.
“Getting on the list of the best 50 in the world!”
We mentioned at the beginning of this text that the owners of this pizzeria in Cais do Sodré had high expectations for the evolution of this place, which is to enter the list of the best 50 in the world.
Knowing that this is a Herculean task, we can only applaud the ambition and wish the project the best of luck.
On our side, even though it’s not one of our favorites, we really enjoyed visiting the distinguished space, admiring the Neapolitan mythological paintings by artists Catarina Chaves and Rita Pedro, and, of course, once again tasting these Neapolitan specialties in the city.
Address: Travessa dos Remolares 23 (Cais do Sodré)
Hours: Tuesday from 6pm to 11pm; Wednesday to Saturday from 12pm to 3pm and 6pm to 11pm; Sundays from 6pm to 11pm