The humble pizza takes a step up at Fire and Stone with toppings including tandoori chicken, duck and a full English breakfast.

The Venue
Fire and Stone is a long, L-shaped room located in the complex built on the site of Old Spitalfields Market, with throngs of visitors passing by all the time. Although only recently opened, it has already found its clientele and is doing very well.

The Atmosphere
When it’s busy there’s a real buzz here. The noise level goes up on account of the hard, bright surfaces and high ceilings but it never reaches an unbearable level. The staff are very friendly and helpful and put customers at their ease. It’s not your regular pizzeria on account of its unorthodox dishes, so no doubt the oddities on the menu provide a talking point during any meal.

The Food
The pizzas (£7.45 - £8.95) come from all over. Four seasons, American hot and four cheeses are classics. With the Margherita you can add toppings to your liking, alongside the Florence (tomato, pepperoni), the Napoli (pepperoni, anchovies) and the Lombardia (courgettes, artichokes). A Greek version has feta cheese and pine nuts, the San Sebastian chorizo sausage, while the London has a full English breakfast topping. From Africa comes the Cairo, the Casablanca, the Cape Town and the Marrakesh, all with individual ingredients. The Americas offer Acapulco, Maui, New York and Texas, Australia has Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Byron Bay (sweet potato and macadamias). From Asia the Bombay has tandoori chicken and the Peking shredded duck with spring onions, cucumber and hoi sin sauce, like a huge open duck pancake except on a pizza base – a tasty mixture of flavours and textures nevertheless.

There are also other options. Pasta (£7.95 - £8.45) includes penne with bacon and mushrooms, chorizo rigatoni, and mushroom and mascarpone pappardelle. Salads (£7.50 - £9.95) have the Caesar, a Greek, an Israeli couscous, goat’s cheese and smoked salmon. The classic Nicoise has all the right ingredients: a ton of tuna, crisp cos lettuce, egg, new potatoes, green beans, olives, red onion, basil and vinaigrette dressing, and it’s all that it should be, a refreshing taste of summer.

Mini pizzas make good starters (£1.95 - £7.95), or try crispy won ton king prawns, bruschetta, buffalo mozzarella, pitta bread with dips, and antipasti sharing plates (meat or vegetarian). Deep-fried calamari, hot, fresh and delicious, is nicely presented with salad and tartare sauce, while the classic prawn cocktail is heavy on the seafood in a creamy sauce with baby gem lettuce and smoked paprika. Desserts (£2.95 - £4.95) offer ices, waffles, brownies and ice cream, cheesecakes or chocolate mousse with brownie chunks. The tarte au citron is nicely tangy, and the vanilla pannacotta with mixed berries is a refreshing finish.

The Drink
The wine list has eleven whites (£14.95 - £31) and ten reds (£14.95 - £32.50), a couple of roses, champagne and sparklers. Half the wines are available by the small or large glass. The Chenin Blanc from Argentina is a good standard white, while the Ca di Ponti, Nero d’Avola Italian red is well fruited and quite intense. Beers, ciders, spirits and cocktails (£16.95 for a jug to share), plus the usual soft drinks, waters, smoothies and shakes are all available.

The Last Word
Fire and Stone has seen a gap in the market and filled it admirably. It’s good value too, especially for lunch on Monday to Wednesday when any pizza, pasta or salad is just £4.95.

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