Indian restaurant goes Italian with pizza shop
AN AWARD-WINNING Indian restaurant is to launch a fifth venue in Birmingham – but this time with a taste of the Mediterranean.
Lasan is to launch Izza! in Selfridges Food Hall this month – with the aim of serving “the best pizzas in town”.
Chef Aktar Islam opened his first Lasan Indian restaurant in the Jewellery Quarter in 2002.
Further businesses then followed, with Argentinian steakhouse Fiesta del Asado, in Edgbaston, Indian cafe Raja Monkey, in Hall Green, and the lobster and burgers diner Nosh & Quaff, in Victoria Square.
Izza! will feature hand-crafted sourdough pizzas, antipasti, cured meats, salads and artisan breads alongside beers, wines and Champagne.
Chef director Aktar Islam, a star of TV’s Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu, said: “Izza! will be a swish, relaxed place where diners can enjoy simple but well-crafted food made from the finest ingredients. People’s love affair with the pizza is stronger than ever, yet we feel it’s received little culinary attention and development, especially in Birmingham. “We’re determined to take this much-loved food to a higher level and serve the best pizzas in town. “We’re using sourdough as it’s not only the traditional way of making bread, it also produces a lighter, fluffier base with a fantastic crust.” The thin-crust pizzas, made of flour imported from Italy, will be baked in a beech wood-fired oven. They will cost around £8 for a margherita made with San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella, to around £15 for a luxurious pizza with truffles and wild mush- topped rooms.
The menu will also include a pizza topped with a slow-cooked ragu using rich cuts of beef such as blade.