I’ll try to keep this one brief. Last Thursday, we went to Santa Maria Pizzeria in Ealing, voted recently as having the best pizzas in London by TimeOut magazine. It’s not far from where we live and so off we went. We were looking forward to trying their authentic Neapolitan style pizzas all baked in a wood burning oven.
When we got there, the tiny place was utterly packed and we were told to wait. We were perfectly fine with this and about half an hour later, a couple left and we got their table. However, after we sat down and were given menus, we had to wait another very long while to get our order in. To her credit, the waitress did let us know that she was coming to take our order soon but the third time she came over to say it was really taking the piss. Service was inefficient to say the least.
First impressions of the pizzas that arrived were good: the crust was thin and crisp, the centre of the pizza held its own, and the toppings looked good. The first few bites of my Santa Caterina pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, Neapolitan salame, fresh chilli, extra virgin olive oil, parmesan, basil) were good too – the crust had a good balance of crispiness and chew and was lighter than that of Franco Manca. Unfortunately, it sort of went downhill from there. Firstly, the tomato sauce was quite bland, lacking a good tomato flavour. And as I continued eating the pizza, I noticed that the crust lost all of its appeal as it cooled down. Towards the end, the crust became too hard and too chewy and my jaw was getting quite the workout. But really, my main complaint is with the tomato sauce – I want to taste that sauce, not just feel it. (The tomato sauce on the pizzas in Rome still stick in my memory.)
I also tasted Blai’s Santa Carmela (tomato sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto cotto, mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil, parmesan, basil) and his was considerably underdone on top (you can see how pale it is in the photo below) while inexplicably, the bottom was quite charred – too charred. Was this an off day? I have no idea but the kitchen sure didn’t seem rushed.
Trying to get the bill was a chore. Our waitress had disappeared and the other waiter was too busy chatting to his mate on his mobile to look up onto the heaving room; we ended up walking up to the counter to pay. I’ve read the other reviews online – most people have commented on the warm and welcoming service at Santa Maria; we found it to be the total opposite on our visit – it was cold and indifferent.
Best pizza in London? Well, they were good but I’m not convinced they are the best. I had really wanted to love them but we left disappointed. Others have had better experiences so I do hope it’s the same for you.
Santa Maria
15 St Marys Road
Ealing
London W5 5RA
Mon, 3 May, 2010 at 22:19
Hi! Since Ealing is your backyard, have you ever been to Okawari? I want to go one of these days as it’s owned by someone I recently met!
Tue, 4 May, 2010 at 08:27
Is this really the right name for a pizzeria?
I’m thinking of how my friend Ricardo reacted to a chicken risotto that … shall we say … wasn’t quite to his liking.
He spat it out, and exclaimed ‘Santa Maria!!’
Tue, 4 May, 2010 at 08:51
I visited yesterday after the Time Out recommendation and it was very busy when we got there. We were told that the wait was about 30 mins but luckily it was more like 5. The service was very quick (despite being busy) and very friendly. There wasn’t a woman waitress there though so there may lye the problem?!
I enjoyed my pizza but wouldn’t say it’s the best I’ve had in London – it was quite chewy and I was disappointed that my choice (Parma and rocket) didn’t have a tomato base – my own fault for not Reading the menu properly.
I liked the atmosphere and the music was playing nice and loud. Would definitely go back if I was in the area but wouldn’t travel specially again
Tue, 4 May, 2010 at 11:39
By coincidence, I’ve just returned from Rome after having tried a couple of your pizza/forno recommendations (Montecarlo and the forno in the Campo de Fiori were great!), and Santa Maria neither looks nor sounds up to scratch. I know what you mean about wanting to taste the sauce – the sauces that have a bright sweetness with a slightly tart finish are my fave.
Wed, 5 May, 2010 at 04:46
This pizza looks incredibly delicious… I love how the cheese is distributed. If i were to make a pizza, I would load it with bacon, ham and salami with lots and lots of mozzarella cheese. =)
Wed, 5 May, 2010 at 11:22
Reading your write-up, I do sometimes wonder whether it’s a bit of a poisoned chalice to be lauded by Time Out. Even if expectations weren’t raised by the positive press, there’s no excusing inattentive service and the rather sad looking Santa Carmela. Notwithstanding how they managed to undercook the top and overcook the base, it should have never reached the table.
Wed, 5 May, 2010 at 11:24
Look here, Su-Lin: http://www.santamariapizzeria.com/blog/
To be honest, I don’t think judging a place straight after it’s won an award from the most popular listings magazine in London is entirely fair. It’s been given this title that they didn’t ask for, but someone has independently judged them good enough to attribute with the tag, because of hard work and a commendable ethos. Is it ever going to live up to the title of best pizzeria in London? Well, everyone is going to go and expect fireworks now. My brother went and really enjoyed his pizza, though he went at a time when it was quite empty, so I dunno, maybe give them another visit…
travelrat – It’s on St Mary’s Road – St Mary = Santa Maria, as I’m sure you’re aware.
Wed, 5 May, 2010 at 12:20
Kay: No, I’ve not been! I usually get as far as Ealing Common for Japanese
travelrat:
Well, we were highly amused by the naming of the pizzas as various other saints. There’s a big St Mary sculpture inside too!
Food for Think: Interesting that your service was much better than what I experienced. Where do you rate for pizza?
An American in London: I’m so glad you liked those places – come to think of it, we went twice to both!
Micah: That’s a lot of toppings for an Italian pizza!
Mr Noodles: Exactly.
Ibzo: I did see that but it doesn’t fully account for the service we got. We did expect to stand in a queue and we did expect things to be slow but for entirely different reasons than we encountered. I didn’t put up everything we experienced service-wise as I thought it would be nitpicking but it really was quite shoddy. Likewise, if as they claim that they must take time to deliver a product that they are proud of, why give us that undercooked Santa Carmela? I’d rather that they took a little longer and give us one that was fully cooked. If it had just been the pizzas then I’m pretty certain I would definitely return as it’s so close but the service has put us off a lot. And it’s all about opinion too – I notice that TimeOut describe their sauce as “subtle” but to me, it was bland. Perhaps it was an off day, both service and food-wise.
Thu, 6 May, 2010 at 14:32
Hi
I can see the different opinions about Santa Maria. and its ok like this.
First of all i wanna apologize for the slow service and for the pizza that wasn’t that great. Yes we had the title taht we didn’t ask for, increasing our number of pizzas by 5-6 times…basically what we used to do in one week, now it’s done in one week. we knew we were going to be busy, but not this much. We were born as a local pizzeria, we have never thought we were going to be under the spotlights of this huge city. we were just growing gradually, Time Out just boosted our popularity in such a short time. and it’s natural that someone gets out of Santa Maria disappointed, expecting fireworks like Ibzo said, we can’t expect to make everyone happy.
Unfortunately i wasnt there, the night Su Lin was there, so you are welcome anytime for a free dinner, and let you try the pizza that gives the title of best in London.
Yes, an off day, is totally possible and understanding, the reviews pre Time Out are all super positive!
Hopefully the hordes of Time Out readers will decrease, bringing Santa Maria to our regular standards.
Thank you
Pasquale Chionchio
co-owner Santa Maria Pizzeria
Thu, 6 May, 2010 at 18:56
*what we used to do in one week, now it’s done in one day
Fri, 7 May, 2010 at 14:29
pasquale: Thank you very much for your response. I will not take you up on your offer for a free dinner only because that’s the way I roll – however, with your words in mind, I do hope to return again in the future. Also, I do hope the service issues have been ironed out – it would be a shame if the quality of service were to decrease when the owner is away! Anyway, congratulations on your title!
Wed, 28 Jul, 2010 at 14:28
I have now been to Santa Maria four times and have to say the pizza is by far the best I’ve ever had, never been disappointed. If you want to get served quickly and you want your waiters to be quiet and proper then this is not the place for you. You very rarely get a table straight away but that gives you the chance to have a pint in the Red Lion right next door while you wait!
According to my Italian mate the best pizza’s you can get are from Naples (he is from Rome) and the lads and ladies from Santa Maria are from that neck of the woods and I don’t think there pizza can be bettered anywhere in London.
Apparently the great taste is all to do with the temp of the oven, but that’s all a bit technical for me!
Tue, 17 Aug, 2010 at 13:58
Samo: It’s funny that you mention that one could have a pint in the Red Lion while you wait… You see, we thought we were first in the queue when we got there but the waitress said that no, there was a group before us and I saw them come from the pub. I mentioned to my husband, “Oh, look! We have have a drink while we wait!” and the waitress immediately barked at us to stand there in the queue and that we couldn’t leave because she couldn’t remember faces. Right. So yeah, I was unable to have that lovely drink next door.