We’re fans of pizza. No matter its shape, no matter its size, it puts smiles on our faces. It can stick to tradition like Dante’s Pizzeria Napoletana or go deep-dish like Slabs Pizza, we’re going to eat it, we’re going to enjoy it and we’re going to come back for more. But, Auckland’s pizza game is strong and there’s a new contender after our hearts and that’s Ooh-Fa.
Having opened this year, the pizza and natural wine bar comes to us from the masterminds behind Pici. They’ve teamed up with head chef Fraser Childs who has outdone himself with a pizza dough that takes three days (or more) to perfect. We’re talking sourdough here and we’re talking more than 70 hours of fermentation time plus another six for proofing. Then, it’s ingredient time and into the wood-fired oven it slides.
The pizza menu is small but when they’re this good, you’re not looking for a million options. And each of them is quite simple, with just a handful of ingredients that go incredibly well together, like Nduja, Ricotta, Mozzarella and Garlic Honey or the Cavelo Nero, Spicy Italian Sausage, Mozzarella and Oregano. Bear in mind that the menu is subject to change, which really is just another reason to continually visit.
The menu also boasts a handful of snacks/entrees to begin your dinner as well as a couple of sweet treats for dessert. A few cocktails and beers can be found on the drinks list but natural wines are going to be the order of the day, which you can order by the glass or the bottle.
We could try to describe to you the taste, the sensation, the feeling of taking a bite of Ooh-Fa pizza but no adjective will do it justice. In fact, your first reaction is probably going to be some kind of translation of ooh-fa, which in Italian means something like Oh Man which in turn stands for something like that’s good—not strictly, but you get the gist. Now, go and try it.