Pinsa’s

Yesterday night I have not walked 500 miles, but I definitely put some effort into getting to Houthavens. Okay, fine, we Ubered – no, we’re not THAT lazy, it just really rains a lot these days. Why venture into the unknown through such miserable weather? To get to Pinsa’s!

I’ll be honest, Pinsa’s is not a name I have heard before until recently. The Italian pizza place has recently changed its management and it is now starting over. I am guessing that is why they have been advertising this offer of “buy one pizza, get one for free”. Five years and a half in this country got me to be really excited when I hear the word “free”. To be honest, I’ve always liked that word. Who doesn’t? Well, that’s how and why I made it to Houthavens.

Pinsa’s is on a nice street with loads of shops and restaurants. The interior is simple and very welcoming, and so was the lovely waitress on Wednesday night. The restaurant is fairly spacious for the average Amsterdam experience, which I really appreciated for a change.

We started the night off with Moretti beers, a brand that you will not see often outside of Italy. The recommendation came from Hayden and I will support it – a much better beer than Peroni, in my opinion. Light and easy, it goes nicely with a carbs filled dinner.

While waiting for our pizzas we also shared some olives – I do not have much to say about these for obvious reasons, other than they really, really don’t taste like Albert Heijn ones. They come with a spicy pepper; it’s spicier than I thought. I just had it on its own which is what probably gave me stomach aches later. Well, that’s just me being blonde sometimes.

After a short wait, our pizzas have arrived! Bonus points from the start: they came with a pizza cutter. I can not say this loud enough, to all pizza restaurants out there: PLEASE BRING PIZZA CUTTERS. Knives are most of the time not fit for cutting pizza.

Now, my theory is that if you really want to judge a good pizza, you need to go with a classic. The moment you put 5-10 toppings on it, the art is dead. Therefore, I chose the Margherita Chic. Why is it chic? It comes with fresh basil and buffalo mozzarella…on top of the normal mozzarella.

The pizza was definitely above average and will go into my top 5. It was well cooked, not too raw or too crispy, and the crunch was so good I actually ate part of it – Hayden stole some.

What I would have liked: the buffalo mozzarella to be spread on the pizza, or for it to be soft enough for me to spread it. The parts without the buffalo mozzarella were a bit bland. Overall, a good Margherita that I would gladly have again. Oh, and I will – leftovers, yay!

Hayden, on the other hand, thinks Margheritas are boring – or did he call them “lame”? Anyway, he’s lame. He had the Quattro Formaggio E Nduja. The pizza had the promised four cheeses, and the spicy sausage in some points.

Hayden had the same complaint as me, that he would like the toppings (here, the sausage) to be spread on the whole pizza instead of in one point. However, this one you can easily spread yourself. Another point he made was that he would have liked more blue cheese. I argued that it would take over other aromas. A matter of taste, probably. He liked his pizza more than he liked mine and was also a big fan of the decor around.

We’ve had a great date night this week at Pinsa’s, with good beer, good food and a nice atmosphere. Due to this magical coupon our bill was under 30 EUR. I think it is fair to say that even the full price would have been worth it for the food quality.

They claim their dough is light and so you will not have to deal with the “dough belly” – which is pretty accurate. I felt like I ate enough without even finishing the pizza, but I did not feel bloated or heavy.

In the ladies’ bathroom there is a flier which says Pinsa’s pizza was awarded “best of The Netherlands” three times. My personal number one remains Pizza La Perla for now.

Value for money: 8 (without the coupon)

Food Quality: 9

Location: 7 (Spaarndammerstraat 772)

Service: 9

Website: http://pinsas.nl/

Have a suggestion, question, or just want to hola at me? Find me here: sayhello.eatandtell@gmail.com