The battle of the Pizzerias - Bosco Pizzeria vs. Pizza Workshop! Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol

It's the Clash of the Titans… The greatest fight of 2017… The ultimate showdown of the Pizzerias in Clifton, Bristol!

First to the ring in the black, we have Bosco Pizzeria and last but not least in the grey, we have Pizza Workshop.

Please note this boxing analogy has been written by someone whose sole experience of boxing is politely declining an invitation to a house party to watch boxing at 3am on a Sunday morning. 

Round One – Menu / Offerings

Bosco Pizzeria – With a very varied Italian menu covering most bases, Bosco satisfies the trendy small plate Instagram types (with arancini, olives etc), whilst catering to the ‘I don’t do artichokes I want a meat feast' pizza crew. Salads and pasta are also covered - you could take your gran or a fussy teenager to Bosco and they’d be bound to find something they like. Bosco Pizzeria menu.

Pizza Workshop – Workshop are primarily pizza focused (with actual pizza making workshops available). Their menu presents ten pizzas and eight ‘boccas’ (hot sandwiches made with sour dough bread), available 1200-1700. The starter sharing boards give a group sharing vibe to the restaurant. The menu is very well designed, complements to the designer! Pizza Workshop menu.

So at the end of the first round, Bosco side jabs Workshop with its wide representation of Italian eats, so it's Bosco 1, Workshop 0.

Round Two – Atmosphere

Bosco Pizzeria – We visited during the glorious late evening sun, with a table looking onto the street (they open up the windows entirely for an al fresco experience). Bosco Pizzeria has an upmarket feel with marble table tops, a stylish dark stained wooden interior and leather stools at the bar. The vibe is grown up and refined - a good evening date venue.

Pizza Workshop – Bright and cheerful, with a large outdoor seating area and a sharing vibe – you could eat pizza with your hands here. A peruse of the menu online with its chic typeface and simplicity would give a slightly different impression of the restaurant's interior (I was expecting Scandi clean lines and minimal chic). A good place for a large informal dinner.

Bosco packs another punch in the second round with its upmarket feel so it’s Bosco 2, Workshop 0.

Round Three – Starters

Bosco Pizzeria – We had the fritto misto di mare (a mixed fry of seafood with lemon and aioli), wood baked foccacia, Sicilian style octopus and zucchini fritti (courgette chips). Everything was cooked to perfection, the fritto misto di mare included cute little crunchy calamari tentacles with the perfect texture. The courgette chips were crisp not greasy. The octopus was a deep purple, really juicy and meaty, and served with a fresh and gorgeous garlic sauce.

Pizza Workshop – I was shell shocked to find that neither of my dining associates had ever eaten a burrata before! Dear reader, I’m sure you in your infinite wisdom know about the mozzarella cheese ball, filled with a rich cream (Burrata wikipedia link). The burrata was the perfect sharing starter, served with basil and chopped tomatoes of a deep ripe rich red, sweet and full of flavour. We ordered garlic bread on the side, the perfect accompaniment with it's crisp edges and buttery flavour, to scoop up the burrata starter.

Therefore in the third round, Workshop serves an upper cut to Bosco with the burrata, meaning its now Bosco 2, Workshop 1.

Round Four – Pizza

Bosco Pizzeria – We had the emilia romagna (a pizza topped with Italian sausage, San Marzano tomato sauce, Fior di Latte mozzarella, wood roasted sweet peppers, basil and breadcrumbs). Sweet, spicy and savoury, this Neapolitan wood fired pizza really ticked all the boxes.

Pizza Workshop – We ordered two pizzas, the 9 – a pizza topped with Fior di Latte mozzarella, nduja, sweet piquanté peppers and jalapeño peppers and the 3 – a pizza topped with Fior di Latte mozzarella, brown cap mushroom, prosciutto cotto, marinated artichoke and Gaeta olives. Whilst sounding great on paper and tasting fine, the pizzas didn't wow in flavour or aesthetically - they looked pretty beige.

The scores on the doors at round four are now Bosco 3, Workshop 1.

Left image: Bosco Pizzeria L-R emilia romagna pizza, foccacia, zucchini fritti, fritto misto di mare, octopus.
Right image: Pizza Workshop L-R pizza 9, garlic bread, burrata and pizza 3.

Round Five – Chilli oil (AKA the best bit about eating pizza)

Bosco Workshop – I find it hard to believe that I wouldn't have asked for chilli oil but it was unmemorable so I am going to make the assumption that it was also unremarkable (a totally professional judgement).

Pizza Workshop – I had to taste a little of the oil to ensure it was chilli oil before dousing my pizza in it - the chillies had been strained out and the oil didn't look particularly red from the chillies. So whilst Workshop's chilli oil was of a high quality oil and packed a nice punch, the presentation could have been better.

At round five we're getting tired now, I can't even remember if I had chilli oil and the pizzerias are finding all this fighting arduous - no marks for each so it's Bosco 3, Workshop 1.

Round Six - Dessert

Bosco Pizzeria – Affogato (vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso) is great but probably quite easy to get right. Bosco have a great dessert menu and on reflection, I berate myself for not trying something a little more experimental such as the poached chocolate cake or the bitter chocolate, hazelnut and olive oil truffles.

Pizza Workshop – Workshop have gone a step further than the affogato with their Marshfields lemon sorbet with a shot of limoncello! It was actually quite gross and overpowered by the vodka, but I appreciated the creativity.

An easy win for Bosco in the seventh round: Bosco 4, Workshop 1.

Whisky on your cornflakes, Vodka on your sorbet ..... live a little.

Round Seven – Value for Money

Bosco Pizzeria - £48.30 for two people, including a pint of Moretti beer each (excludes service).

Pizza Workshop - £58 for three people, including a bottle of house red wine between us and two desserts between three (excludes service).

The quality of the ingredients shone through at both places, and I feel like we were charged a fair sum at both. The service at both was quite hands off and suited both establishments so no complaints there.

So in the final round, it’s a draw, and I’m feeling generous so I’m giving a point to each. This means that Bosco, with five points to Workshop’s two, is the overall winner and gains the title of Ultimate Heavyweight Pizzeria Champion of Whiteladies Road!

Bosco 5 - Workshop 2

Bosco Pizzeria: 96 Whiteladies Rd, Bristol BS8 2QX www.boscopizzeria.co.uk 

Pizza Workshop: 159A Whiteladies Rd, Bristol BS8 2RF http://www.pizzaworkshop.co.uk

If you made it this far through the boxing analogy, then well done!

Fenn xx

PS: Apologies for the hiatus, I've enrolled onto a diploma through work and it's the ultimate time thief.