Pizza Heaven in Hammersmith – Pizza: A really good pizza is something very special, and it doesn’t always need to have lots of expensive toppings. In fact, one of the best ones I ever tasted was in a back street café in Naples and it just had tomato, some herbs and mozzarella. It’s all about the dough and the heat of the oven, of course. Lots of pop-up pizza places have sprung up in the last few years, and recently I kept hearing about a fabulous new place in Hammersmith (the Chiswick High Road end). It’s called Base Face Pizza and was born during the lockdown as a charitable fundraiser. It created such a loyal cult following across Chiswick and Hammersmith that it now has its own, bricks and mortar, premises at 300 King Street.
Why is it called Base Face Pizza you must be thinking? Well, founder Tim Thornton a trained jazz musician, like so many others, lost his income due to Covid. Having an Ooni oven in the garden, time on his hands, and unable to find a pizza he liked locally, he worked on creating a dough that’s lighter than a classic sourdough, and even more delicious. Having created his own Slow Dough (fermented for a minimum of 48 hours) he started making pizzas for friends and family under the watchful eye of his Italian wife. Tim’s Slow Dough uses an original new flour blend, part 00 flour and part Tritordeum flour, grain bred from Wild Barley and Durum Wheat, to create a base with a very low GI. To that, he adds loads of local ingredients ranging from Acton’s La Latteria Burrata and Cobble Lane charcuterie to Chiswick Chillies oil. He was giving his pizzas away initially but asked for a donation of £5 per pizza to NHS Charities.
Well, the result is one of those classic, uplifting, success stories. So, we decided to head over to check it out. And am I glad we did! My husband enjoyed a beer from Jefferson’s Brewery in Barnes, while I sipped a Negroni, and we chose our pizzas. It wasn’t easy, as they were all so tempting, but I chose Truffle Shuffle (mushroom and truffle crema, mixed wild mushrooms, mozzarella, and olive oil – £12). Our other choice was Sausage & Chilli (fennel sausage, Chiswick Chillies Chilli jam, Cornish Kern cheese, pickled red onion, tomato, basil and olive oil -£13)
They were both sensational, and one of the other clever things is a choice of homemade dips to help you enjoy every last bit of your pizza crust. We had balsamic aioli and it was an inspired choice – they should bottle it and market it separately!
Sensibly the dessert menu is very concise: Tiramisu, Cannoli or Bears ice creams. I chose ice cream with tomato, basil, and strawberry jam: yes, you read that correctly – OMG it was stupendous! My husband enjoyed a pistachio tiramisu that was also declared exemplary.
We’ll be back soon, but Base Face does takeaway too, for collection or delivery. It’s well placed for the tube or buses, but the delivery area is gradually expanding from the current Chiswick and surrounds, so keep an eye on the website basefacepizza.
Alison Jee
The Seasoned Gastronome