The Pizza Box

A five-star dinner for less than $10 a head? We’re pretty excited right now. By Freya Herring Salt Meats Cheese struck a chord and filled a niche when it opened. Produce was top class, staff fun and welcoming, and it was right by the Grounds, so you could pick up your shopping and have coffee on a makeshift farmyard. Totally bonkers, totally worked. So it isn’t a question of “Why open a restaurant at Salt Meats Cheese?” as much as “Why the hell wouldn’t you?” They’ve shipped over an oven from Naples, and it now fits snugly inside, all white bricks and orange flames. The whole place transforms into a rather lovely restaurant come nightfall.

Start with a wine or beer, which can be had for under a tenner. The Montepulciano is a light, fruity and worthy red – “It’s what all the Italians order,” explains our chipper waiter. Pair your drink with a board of meats and cheese to start. Alongside a bowl of grissini from the oven, we get alternate piles of pepper salame, tender prosciutto crudo and soppressata. On top are hunks of cheese: mild and nutty Gruyère; a smooth and creamy Maasdam (sort of like a Dutch Swiss cheese) and a crumbly cheddar with blueberries. Wrap your salumi round the grissini, add a wodge of cheese and dip into the spicy chilli and pineapple relish that weirdly goes with everything.

But to the pizza. The simplicity of a Margherita cannot be overlooked, but we love the ‘Caramelized’: their version of a salami pizza. There’s a thick, melting layer of scamorza affumicata (like a smoked mozzarella) with sweet, caramelised onions and big rounds of fennel salami. It’s smoky from the cheese, herbaceous from the sausage and a celebration of great produce. The signature special, a white pizza with creamy fontina and lobster tail, is scented gently with fresh thyme, but showcases the cheese more than the fish. Like the others, it’s heavy with the toppings, so don’t expect restraint here. Pizza crust is tall, soft and bouncy, with a char and crackle that attests to the elegance of the dough. Real love has gone into making this, and real love will go into eating it.

Try the tiramisú, it’s glorious – a big wedge of sweet, whipped mascarpone layered with coffee-drenched savoiardi. The flavour and texture meld together into mousse-like perfection.

The music pumps along, and there’s drama in watching chefs make each pizza in front of you before throwing it into the fire. It’s also cheap, meaning you can easily eat here for less than ten dollars before drinks. Later, take a stroll around the store in the half-light – you get 20 per cent off anything you end up buying the night you dine here.

There isn’t much to fault here. It shows that you don’t need linen tablecloths, foams and gels to be a five-star eating establishment. They’ve kept it simple, and the results are anything but stupid.

The Pizza Box Salt Meats Cheese, 41 Bourke Rd, Alexandria 2015. 02 9319 2074. www.saltmeatscheese.com.au. Daily 6-10pm.