Stefano's Pizzeria

Stefano's is a great little find! Being incredibly close to my house and just round the corner from Mount Florida station, I have to admit I stumbled on this pizza place on JustEat one lazy day. It was one of my best online discoveries (and bonus - you can order on line when you leave town and pick it up as you get off the train).

They have a good menu with plenty of veggie choices, a couple of my favourites the Riviera - tomato, mozzarella, black olives, mushroom, pepper and oregano or the simple Basil - tomato, mozzarella, topped with beautiful fresh leaves of basil and black pepper. This one starts at £5.70 for a 12inch pizza, which is pretty good value! You can also add a range of toppings to their wide choices, meaning you can have the perfect pizza.

The pizza's are thin, usually with a crisp base however I have had a couple that were a little soggy in the middle. This is probably the one's with wetter toppings. As the bases are so thin, they are not as heavy or filling as a more American style pizza would be. I imagine this is why their smallest size is 12 inches. I find 12 inches is a bit much for one, the large size size is a nice amount between two for a proper dinner.

As much as the pizza is brilliant, the sides have much less to rave about. There aren't many on the menu, but personally I wouldn't bother with them again. Not awful but nothing special.

They staff are friendly, it's pretty fast service. You can see them making your pizza by hand, and fire it in the proper pizza oven. Think this is why they always have such a lovely crust! If you're in the area I'd definitely advise swinging by.

Popped in for a take out pizza

Looking forward to a simple pepperoni and cheese, then I saw it .... The hot and spicy sloppy Joe ..... Cheese, pepperoni, salami and hot sauce to mention a few

I love a thin crispy pizza, however this one was a little soggy, just need a hotter oven I think to heat the base when cooking

The pizza was a lot hotter than expected, they love the hot sauce and it blew my mouth apart, as I gulped down gallons of water, I just kept going back for more .... It might have been hot but it was tasty

Lost the stars on a slow service and soggy bottom. (Sorry I had to say it)

Another Southside institution, Stefano's is always busy and always serves up a right good pizza which leaves you both full and satisfied.

Stefano's has been open for years upon years and I'm told few who have grown up nearby have yet to try its famous Sloppy Seppy - a strange concoction which manages to be both chilli, hot and tasty. A real treat!

This establishment I once held in such high esteem alas became a bitter disappointment to me this weekend when an order for delivery went awry.

Harry came home harping on about the lovely pizza he had while in town on his man date... which naturally made me crave pizza. I thought, rather than order with Papa Johns, I'd go for an old favourite instead which led me to Stefano's... bastion of pizza perfection.

I made my order online at 20:46, and was super excited for my pizza and mozzarella sticks. The website said the food would arrive no later than 21:25. By 21:45, I still had no pizza and I was super hungry! So I called the restaurant, who (after taking my details) told me that my pizza was only just leaving the restaurant. Oh well, thought I... Food would be arriving at my door soon.

So, it gets to 22:15 and I still don't have my pizza. I called again, and was advised that my pizza hadn't been made! They said that the driver was having difficulties accessing a lot of properties, so they were running behind. Even when I emphasised that my order had been made an hour and half previous. I was then given the option to cancel, but if I waited my pizza would be piping hot when I got it. I was hungry, and didn't want to have to start the delivery process again, so I opted to wait.

To my utter confusion, my pizza arrived at 22:25, which meant on my previous call I'd been confused with someone else, so it's a good thing I didn't cancel! The delivery lady apologised and handed me my pizza.

Down to the main event... the ingredients on a Stefano's pizza can't be faulted, as they are all fresh and top class. Unfortunately, the base was a little singed, and it was barely warm by the time it arrived at my house. I still enjoyed the pizza, but to be honest, by the time it arrived at my home I was so hungry that I practically inhaled it all to myself.

During both phone calls to the shop, there were no apologies given, only excuses made, and no offer of recompense of any sort. Most places throw in something extra when there's been such an awful delay, or offer to refund you on something. I imagine that my review would have been much higher if I had just gone and picked up the pizza, but instead they'd left me wishing I'd just ordered a Papa John's in the first place!

Having lived in the southside for a few years now, I only found out about Stefano's last year through a friend. I'm now I'm eternally grateful to him. If you're a fan of thin crust pizzas, then Stefano's is hard to beat. Pizzas are made from scratch with home made dough and baked in a pizza oven. The menu is chock-a-block with different options, so much so, it might take you a few minutes to decide what you want. From the outside of the shop, it doesn't look anything special. I guess that's what the phase about judging a book by its cover means. As a pizza lover myself, I've tried many places in the southside, and for takeaway pizza Stefano's tops my list.

My elder sibling rarely shows any kind of enthusiasm, but when he first told me about Stefano's the superlatives were coming thick and fast, and after trying their pizzas I can confirm he wasn't joking.

The pizzas are huge and have a wonderful homemade taste far removed from that of Domino's. The pepperoni was one of the best I've had in years and trust me, I know a good pepperoni when I see it. I even found their vegetable pizza quite delicious, and I'm rarely too enthusiastic about eating my greens. Extraordinary.