It’s been a whole year already since beloved Grimsby pizza restaurant Tredici moved to its new premises on Abbeygate – and the team have launched an extensive new Neopolitan menu to celebrate.
The pizzeria has gone from strength-to-strength since first opening at its original premises back in 2017, and has served thousands of their signature authentic Italian sourdough pizzas to the people of North East Lincolnshire ever since.
In November, Tredici marked one year since the business expanded to the premises of the former Henri Beene shop just across the way, following an extensive renovation.
To mark the milestone, owners Simon Jowitt and Marie Chuka have launched a brand new menu inspired by the culinary heritage of Naples, featuring traditional favourites with some innovative twists.
I obviously had to get down there and give it a try for myself.
(Image: Grimsby Live)
After being seated and ordering drinks, we had a browse of the new menu – and one thing instantly stuck out to me. It felt more like a really interesting educational experience as opposed to a standard food menu, because it actually explains in detail how Neopolitan pizza is different to other pizza, and even tells you how to eat it!
The menu advises to eat the pizza with a knife and fork – the “Italian way to do things” – after cutting it with one firm action into four slices to allow the crusts to cut cleanly and the pizza to be easily pulled apart.
It goes on to state: “Neopolitan pizza is often described as soupy due to its thin, soft crust and minimal toppings. The high hydration level of the dough, along with a brief cooking time in a very hot wood-fired oven, results in a softer and moister texture. Additionally, the use of fresh, high-moisture ingredients fresh mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes contributes to the characteristic ‘soupy’ quality of Neopolitan pizza.
“The crust of a woodfired pizza is called a cornicione and the cornicione will have some serious bubbles indicating that the dough is perfectly fermented and activated in the hot oven. Neopolitan pizza should typically have just a few toppings, usually no more than three. The most common choice includes tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil.”
I can’t say I’ve ever heard a pizza described as “soupy” before, so I was already so curious (and hungry) before I’d even ordered.
For starters, we went for the Antipasti Classico sharer, which beautifully combined cured Italian meats, cheese, olives, flatbread, mixed nuts and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip. It was presented immaculately and was just the perfect appetiser to go with the gorgeous white wine I was drinking – I’d call it the “ultimate picky plate”.
(Image: Grimsby Live)
For mains, I chose the Modena pizza, which combined San Marzano D.O.P tomatoes, Fior-do-Latte mozzarella, goat’s cheese, caramelised red onions, wild rocket and Balsamic glaze.
My partner opted for the Veneto pizza – or “white” pizza with no tomato base – which instead had a Ricotta base with Fior-di-Latte Mozzarella, herb chicken, mushrooms and fresh spinach.
Because Neopolitan pizza takes hardly any time at all to prepare and cook, our pizzas were with us in no time.
After slicing mine into four pieces with a pizza cutter, I was ready to dig in – but instead of picking a slice up like I usually would, I thought I’d do things a bit differently and follow what the menu said, doing things the “Italian way” by eating mine with a knife and fork.
Unsurprisingly, the pizza itself was delicious. We asked to keep the olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip from our starter on the table so we could dunk the pieces of pizza on our forks into it – and it was absolute heaven.
(Image: Grimsby Live)
I’m a massive fan of the combination of goat’s cheese, caramelised onions and Balsamic vinegar and will typically always order this as a pizza topping if it’s available. Tredici’s creation didn’t disappoint one bit – and the sourdough base was light and airy with a thick, moreish crust.
Because the portion sizes were so generous, I was absolutely stuffed after a few slices, and had to (shamefully) ask for the rest of our pizzas to be boxed up to take home. I didn’t hesitate in polishing it off for my lunch the next day – and will definitely be back soon to try some more delights on the new menu.
But the ultimate question is this: is Tredici’s pizza still my favourite in Grimsby? Without a doubt – it’s the most authentic Italian pizza in the area you can get, in my opinion.
