21 June 2016

A Slice of the Action at Mamma Dough, Peckham

One of the main reasons I prefer to travel around London by bus or on foot is because of the potential for spotting interesting-looking new restaurants, cafes and shops — in familiar and less familiar neighbourhoods. A few weeks ago, on the way to Model Market in Lewisham, I noticed a pizzeria that was about to open in Queen's Road, Peckham. Mamma Dough has already established restaurants in Honor Oak and Brixton but it was great to see the sourdough pizzeria opening up a little nearer to home.


My brother, sister-in-law and I went to check out the new Peckham branch on a rainy Sunday lunchtime. Mamma Dough is located on an unassuming stretch of the busy Queen's Road, a block east of the Overground station. There were a few other diners while we were there but it wasn't busy; I suspect the inclement weather, combined with the slightly off-the-beaten-track location, may have been to blame.



The main section of the restaurant is light and airy, and has a rustic style, with long wooden tables and colourful art on the walls. There are a few smaller tables in the back near the pizza oven.



The drinks menu was relatively simple: a few south London beers (including Kernel and Brick Brewery), several well-priced wines, and several soft drinks, including homemade ginger ale (£3.50), which can be made 'hard' with rum or bourbon for another £2.50. I had the soft version and it was delicious and very gingery.


As for the food, sourdough pizza is the only main course option, with the six pizzas ranging in price from £6 to £11. We shared a meat plate to start (£8), which came with really good-quality cured meats, sourdough bread and pickles. The plate didn't go that far between the three of us, but the price was still reasonable. The bread was particularly moreish, although I was trying to save room for my pizza.


We all ordered the same — off-menu — pizza: a margherita with buffalo mozzarella and nduja (£8 + an nduja supplement). And how did it perform? Very well, as it happens. Pizza Pilgrims is still my favourite London pizza purveyor but the quality of the ingredients at Mamma Dough is really excellent: the mozzarella was creamy and rich, the nduja spicy and meaty, and the tomato sauce very flavoursome. The pizzas are also pretty large; they are thin too, and with a much crispier crust than at Pizza Pilgrims. The slight sharpness of the sourdough base contrasted very nicely with the creaminess of the cheese. Unsurprisingly, I ate my whole pizza, despite its size; the crusts were much too good to leave.


There were a few puddings (tiramisu, affogato, brownie and ice cream), but nothing particularly appealed to me (also, I was full). I did have a macchiato, which was fine, although it was served rather too hot and thus slightly bitter.


Mamma Dough's Queen's Road location is a little out of the way, but within easy reach of Peckham, Brockley and New Cross, and is well worth the trip: we all agreed that the pizza was really top-notch.

Mamma Dough. 179 Queen's Road, Peckham, London SE15 2ND (Queen's Road Overground). Website. Twitter. Instagram.

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