Dubliners are to get a taste of the authentic flavour of Naples with the opening of the highly affordable Neapolitan pizzeria SANO Pizza, in the old City Temple bar area.
The hipster style pizzeria, which has just opened, is set to be a game changer in the city in terms of price, quality and service speed.
Pizzas will be made Neapolitan style with a softer and lighter base and chewy crusts as well as using a sourdough which has lower salt content than other styles. All dough will be made on site, daily, using only four ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast. The dough will is then fermented for a minimum of 48 hours which breaks down the gluten and starch creating the lighter style. Each pizza will be hand stretched before being topped with ingredients sourced from Naples including flour Napoletana, Fiammante tomatoes and spicy Schiacciata salami. The restaurant has two €15,000 traditional stone ovens from Naples which follow a 400-year-old design and cook 17 pizzas at 500 degrees every 90 seconds.
The menu is straightforward and unfussy. Pizzas include the ‘SANO Marinara simple’ with tomato sugo, garlic and oregano with extra virgin oil, as well as the ‘Sapori Del Sud’ – Italian fennel sausage, nduja (a spicy pork sauce), Italian broccoli, fresh mozzarella, all priced between €6 and €9. Sides, all €3, include artichokes with sun blushed tomatoes as well as cherry tomatoes with basil and extra virgin olive oil. For those with a sweet tooth, desserts include soft vanilla ice cream served in a bowl or cone to the tart of the day made by the in-house bakers at ‘The Bakery’ on Essex street and dessert prices range from €2-€3.
The restaurant sits over two floors with seating for 138 and is open plan which extends to the kitchen allowing diners to see the talented pizza chefs at work. The highly instagrammable design-led interiors are inspired by the hipster trend with exposed brickwork, geometric flooring, industrial lighting and walls covered in irreverent artwork and graffiti murals from Naples.
Co-owner Raymond MacHugh said; “We’re passionate about giving Dubliners a great dining experience and we believe SANO is first to market in Dublin in terms of quality and affordability.
“In other traditional Italian outlets, a family of four could expect to pay in excess of €100, whereas in SANO, which will offer a true taste of Naples and a great environment, the bill will be under €50.”
This is the second Dublin venture for restauranteur twins Raymond and Tony MacHugh who have been in Dublin for the last 28 years with Gallagher & Co Bistro.
No bookings are necessary, opening hours are 12 noon-10.30pm Sunday – Thursday and 12 noon–11pm Friday & Saturday for more information visit > sano.pizza