You know how they say that a picture speaks 1,000 words? Well, in this pizza essay (or perhaps we should call it an ode to Vacanza pizza), we are going to let the sight of Southern classic-style pizza bring your sense of smell to life.
You’ll be left salivating over the sight of: freshly baked (San Marzano) tomatoes, hand-made dough with a crispy toasted crust, freshly clipped basil, piles of perfectly plump buffalo mozzarella, generous slithers of prosciutto, gorgeous gorgonzola and tender Swiss roasted mushrooms. Add fresh burrata, triple smoked ham, pork and fennel sausage, olives, some hot sopressa, super thin slices of potato, freshly shaved parmesan and a sprinkling of fresh rosemary to the mix, and you’ll give up and just head to Vacanza in Bronte or Surry Hills before you finish reading this.
But stick with us, and we’ll give you the lowdown…
Less is more at Vacanza Pizza
The Italian approach to pizza (it’s a philosophy actually, as the owner of Vacanza Nick Gilbert will tell you) is that less is more. And although we agree, the more of this pizza you can get our hands on, the happier you will be. Make sure you visit with a bunch of friends and order everything on the menu in order to reduce the likelihood of food envy.
Both (super cool) eateries have been rightfully attracting rave reviews from locals and critics for their authentic pizzas, served up in rustic surrounds by staff who are quite obviously delighted to have scored a dream job in a place making perfect pizza.
In fact, Vacanza flew into the top ten Pizzerias in the SMH Good Food Guide, have been featured in The Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide every year since its inception, and Time Out Magazine voted Vacanza as number 3 in ‘Sydney’s Best Pizzas’.
You can be the judge yourself.
Southern Italian roots
Vacanza’s owner Nick is a pizza fanatic whose passion and drive led him to Southern Italy, where he spent his time learning the art of traditional pizza-making before coming back to Sydney to open his prized pizzeria in Bronte and then later in Surry Hills.
It’s not all about the pizzas (but it is!), so you can also tuck into antipasti, pasta and authentic stone-baked dishes. Affordable Australian and Italian wines and imported Italian beers are also on the menu. And, of course, the Italian signature Spritz is a staple.
Every place has its signature dish, and Vacanza’s pizza wonder is ‘Il Pizzaiolo del Presidente Diavola’ – a cult-causing combination of tomato, fior di latte, hot Calabrese salami, fresh chilli and olives. The traditional ‘Brandi Bufalina Margherita’ is Nick’s way of saying thank you to Southern Italy and his time spent there, and the Il Capitano is a wickedly wonderful combination of Swiss mushrooms, goats cheese, Italian sausage and truffle oil.
We did say that you’d be salivating by the end of this. All hail proper pizza.
Book your table (immediately!) via the Vacanza website.
