Taste Test Pinsarke Italian Pinseria
A Southsea Italian restaurant is thriving, with customers wowed by a little-known dish whose origins began in ancient Rome.
Pinsarke, in Clarendon Road, is Southsea’s first ever pinseria, serving traditional pinsa with toppings inspired by the different culinary regions of Italy.
What is pinsa? While it looks a bit like pizza, it is made from a different type of dough which uses three types of flour, and 70 per cent water, making it healthier than a normal pizza. It is a recipe used in ancient Rome.
The restaurant was started by Laura Simbari and her husband Raffaele Vrenna, a chef who learned to cook pinsa the traditional way in Rome.
Having moved to Portsmouth in 2020, the Covid lockdowns did not deter their dreams of opening a restaurant that showcased the tastes of their home country.
Pinsarke opened in 2021, serving delicious ingredients from southern Italy as well as giving nods to areas further north.
Erika Lazzaro runs the restaurant with her mum and step-dad.
She said: “We are different because we make pinsa. It’s very light and the nice thing about pinsa is you can add lots of different toppings on it and it is very tasty. We are the first people in Portsmouth and Southsea to serve this product.”
Pinsarke serves two varieties of pinsa. The red pinsas have a base of tomato sauce, while the white ones have a base of cheese.
Erika said: “We are opening a new menu which we have started testing, it has seven red pinsa and seven white. All have different toppings and all are from different regions in Italy.”
While pinsa is the star of the show, Pinsarke offers much more besides, including a selection of pasta and pizza dishes.
Erika added: “In our menu we have a good variety, different types of starters which come from different areas of Italy. On the pinsa, as well we use different types of cheese, some of them come from Sardinia, which is famous for its different types of cheeses.
“We are from the south, so we tend to have a lot of nice cheeses, spicy sauces like Nduja, and nice wines.
“We have just finished a new menu which will provide new toppings for the pinsa. It is good to change up the menu a bit and give people even more knowledge about our food in Italy.”