Walthamstow now appears to have three great pizza places. Mondragone's back (and more reasonably priced). The poshicatessen Spar in the village operates a pizza in-store. And now this rather quirky cafe on an unloved section of Forest Road is turning out arguably the best pizzas in Walthamstow.
They say they're wood fired - but it looked like a fairly standard pizza oven to me. Anyway, as well as ciabattas, jacket potatoes and paninis, as well as a few Internet stations and coffees, there's the pizzas. And while they may not be wood fired, they're wicked.
Obviously, being veggie, I can't speak for the meat and fish options. But our 12" Fiorentina came with a just firm-enough egg, fresh spinach, nice olives and plenty of herbs. The goats cheese pizza was also similarly tasty. Bases are thin to the point of being perhaps too thin and not quite crispy enough. But I'm comparing Oregano to Mallettis. They're easily the equal of Walthamstow's other pizza joints.
The minus marks come not for the food then, nor the pricing (4.50 or so for a 12" good quality pizza) but sadly, the ambience. When we arrived the door was wide open - whipping in a serious cold breeze (customers were huddled in coats). And in with the wind came the whiffs and noise of Forest Road at full flow - arctics, lorries, motorbike couriers etc. whizzing past. That said, the staff were lovely and friendly - and when we asked if we could shut the door, immediately leapt to do it. Just a bit sad that they hadn't noticed the issue before. In a similar vein, one bloke (appeared to be a mate of the owner) was using one of the Internet computers to watch wacky racing videos - with the sound turned right up (bringing some of Forest Road's ambience in, despite the door being shut).
Aside from this detail. And specifically for food, pricing, smiles Oregano's a good 'un! read more