Review - Purezza - Brighton's Vegan Pizza Restaurant

by - July 07, 2017



An evening at the all-vegan pizza restaurant, Purezza, in Brighton. Veg crisps, coconut cheesey dough balls, courgetti and oh yeah, only a chocolate calzone!




Purezza is situated towards the bottom of St. James' Street in Brighton in the area of Kemptown which is the thriving gay community adorned with rainbow flags and full of hustle and bustle. I'd heard of Purezza through my colleagues as I have two vegans in my office and the wife of a vegan. It was the wife of the vegan, OK she has a name, it's Ali, who was consistently raving about how they'd been to Purezza again and that it was A-M-A-Zing or when asked what her plans were for the weekend she'd say, 'I might treat my wife to Purezza tonight' so it had started to arouse interest and a visit was definitely on the cards.


When we arrived, we were instantly taken aback by the atmosphere. The smell of the restaurant was 'amazing', the decor was inviting; bright, with informative nutrition wall stickers (they had me at hello) and the manager welcomed us while a very knowledgeable and friendly waiter, Ricardo, looked after us and brought us two gorgeous whiskey sours (obviously egg-free)


After looking at the menu (which you can find here) I noticed they also had a RAW food section - Hubba! Heart eyes emoji - featuring raw butternut squash fettucine and my beloved courgetti. This was a relief as, you know me, it's low carb diet over here so as much as I love indulging in pizza, I eat it verrrry rarely as it doesn't sit well with my paleo/keto values. 



That said, the doughballs on the starters menu which were filled with gooey COCONUT cheese had me at 'coconut'. Course they diiiid. Firstly, HOW do you make coconut cheese!? Secondly, DOES it taste like cheese? Thirdly, dough balls are always sexy as hell and OK they're smaller than a pizza so F*** it. (Remember it's 80% being good, 20% of what you fancy)


They arrived shortly after our vegetable crisps which were served up in a big chip fry basket (if you're a fan of wewantplates.com you won't be too set back by this, and personally, I think it's apt) and they were crunchy, colourful and salty. 




So, the question in your mind, I hear you, is "Does it taste like cheese?" 

Well, no. It doesn't. Cheese tastes like cheese - creamy, salty and acidic. 

This has the same texture of melted cheese - that gooey, sexy, to-die-for consistency that is all over #foodporn Insta videos but it tastes like a lighter, more innocent cheese because that's exactly what it is. Angel emoji. I asked the owner how it's made but it's one of Purezza's best kept secret and so he wouldn't tell me. Good for him, because it's awesome and very special. 



I had the courgetti which was absolutely gorgeous. It's a treat to see it on the menu as I love it dearly and I love how it's becoming more mainstream as an alternative to pasta.  I think it's probably one of only about 5 possible courgetti dishes available in Brighton actually. 

We also tried the pea burger which was MASSIVE. The tartness of the sundried tomatoes helped cut through the heaviness of the whole thing as it came wrapped in folded pizza dough for the 'bun' add to that the grainy burger as well as more veg chips on the side,  very carby - you'll be FTB in an instant.
HENCH!
 However it tasted fit. 

We finished with death by chocolate. Literally. I've never fully experienced the meaning of that phrase before but nothing will kill you harder than a chocolate calzone. We'd been recommended it so it was a must and when we ordered the small we knew we were pushing it. When it arrived, wow. 

It's proper sexxxy stuff. You cut it open with the pizza cutter and molten chocolate (made from what tasted like coconut cream, cacao and pistachios) oozes out. You can pick it up and bite it like a extra juicy pan au chocolat, like I did, and get it all over your face and just go for it or cut it up in a civilized manner with a knife and fork and savour it that way. Either way, there's runny chocolate in most places that just begs to be licked. Writing this now I could murder it, right now. Maybe I'll go back one day and JUST order that. Yes. Actually I am going to do that for sure. So please please save room if you want to be able to enjoy it properly because we were popping at this point and although it was awesome, you always enjoy food more when you're hungrier right? But just LOOK at that filling... 


In sum, the menu is diverse and broad, a little like the Pizza Express menu but with more interesting options and more character. We noticed people returning and the restaurant was constantly busy but not overwhelmingly so and everyone was leaving in happy states. The toilets are also all unisex so that's cool and a nice little nod to the demographic of the area. The food itself was incredibly filling - but of course it will be if you're having dough followed by dough followed by dough! So if you're a high carb low fat lover, go for it. You will need stamina. 

If I wasn't reviewing and attempting to try as many things as possible to report to you lovely lot I would have just had one of the raw dishes and possibly a starter so please be happy knowing I stuffed my gut and waddled home so you could know the delights of cheesy coconut bites and chocolate calzone! (First world problems, hey!)

Don't forget the flawless service and delicate cocktails and 10% discount for students. Go check it out! 

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