Bristol’s pizza scene just got even better with the new Flour & Ash and Pizza Bianchi

Let’s get the disappointment out of the way first. There were no negroni slushies available at Pizza Bianchi on Tuesday lunchtime.

But let’s now take a short breath before the realisation hits. There are going to be negroni slushies at Pizza Bianchi!

After soft launches for friends and family, it was the first day of both Pizza Bianchi on the Clifton Triangle on Tuesday and also Flour & Ash a few hundred metres away on Whiteladies Road.

The first, the latest opening from an experienced team of restaurateurs with a selection of pizzas and ox shin ragu fries on the menu. The latter, the latest opening from an experienced team of restaurateurs with a selection of pizzas including ox cheek and red wine ragu.

Those pizzas at Flour & Ash were not available on Tuesday lunchtime because of a problem with the gas. But after being informed of this by the apologetic team, the realisation here was that lobster arancini, seared beef fillet carpaccio and porchetta could be eaten for lunch.

Out of a sense of duty to our readers, Bristol24/7 returned for dinner that same evening to sample the pizzas and Flour & Ash’s shandy made with Lost & Grounded Keller Pills and grapefruit juice.

Flour & Ash on Whiteladies Road has opened in what for many years was Entelia, and recently Polpo, Mary Jane’s and No. 50 – photo: Martin Booth

Pizza Bianchi serve pizza by the slice from a hatch in the window of their new restaurant on the Clifton Triangle, which for 30 years was Rocotillos – photo: Martin Booth

BBC News recently praised Bristol for being at the cutting edge of transport innovations, and now it’s time for us to roll out the cliché and say that pizza restaurants are like buses (if a metrobus route did go up Park Street): you wait ages and then two arrive at once.

Both restaurants have stories to tell. Flour & Ash’s begins with their original restaurant on Cheltenham Road, involves a fire at what used to be The Ox further up Whiteladies Road, a joining of forces as Flour & Ash’s pizzas first made a reappearance at Bambalan before this phoenix from the flames under a new partnership.

Pizza Bianchi was also originally in a different location: the car park of Lakota to be exact soon after Lakota Gardens got up and running. But their story starts around a decade ago with a pizza pop-up called Cafe Mulino in St Werburgh’s; with the cousins behind that going on to open Pasta Loco, Pasta Ripiena and Bianchis, before now returning to pizza.

So those are the back stories. What about the food?

At Flour & Ash, lobster arancini (£7) and beef carpaccio (£12) made for an exciting array of small plate starters.

The carpaccio was a textural delight; tender beef dressed with mushrooms and fresh peppery rocket. The arancini bar has been set high in Bristol; rarely a week goes by when the katsu infused creation from Seven Lucky Gods doesn’t get a write up on Twitter.

The lobster infused golden delights paired with a parmesan aioli certainly delivered. It was a distinctly lobster flavour and the light citrus in the aioli brightened it beautifully.

The risotto was skilfully cooked and silky and the crunch of the breadcrumbs was extremely satisfying. However, sharing a street with the likes of Bosco means fierce competition in the world of Italian small plates, and Flour & Ash’s arancini were on the smaller side if you were to compare the two.

The roast porchetta (£18) was a melt in the mouth delight – complimented by fennel infused roasting juices. The crackling on the side would give the Bank Tavern or the Lock Up a run for their money. Perhaps not the first place you might have considered for a Sunday lunch, but for an Italian twist the new Flour & Ash should be high on the list.

Once the pizza oven had fired up, a return visit that same evening meant a chance to try the pizzas being expertly cooked by Hyde & Co Group’s exec chef Todd Francis, while Mirco Bertoldi (one of the original founders of Rosemarino, now also part of Hyde & Co) kept an expert eye on front of house.

Pizzas range in price from £9.50 for the margherita to £16 for the salsa di tartufo, each coming with a sharp knife to cut through a chewy crust perfect for dipping in one of three choices: parmesan aioli, nduja mayo or pesto mayo.

Flour & Ash founder Steve Gale built up an award-winning business on Cheltenham Road and the winning formula remains with the pizzas at this reincarnation of the original restaurant. The margherita is an undoubted classic and the roasted aubergine (£10.50) with garlic, parsley, chilli, pomegranate and tahini is a hit of umami next to the smoky and sweet aubergine.

The house porchetta at Flour & Ash – photo: Martin Booth

Flour & Ash’s roasted aubergine pizza – photo: Martin Booth

Over at Pizza Bianchi, the hanging lights are the one remnant from when this was Rocotillos, a hatch outside now serving pizza by the slice to hungry passers-by who visited here to pretend they in Skins.

It has an Italian-American diner style – chips in baskets, and red and white tiles. It may be new but it could have been here for years. It’s what the Bianchi group do so consistently; it seems everything they touch has an instant sense of style, community and warmth.

Fans of Rocotillos will be delighted to hear that milkshakes are very much on the menu. With three ‘classics’ – vanilla, chocolate and strawberry – and five boozy options, there is plenty of choice for a dessert-based drink after your pizza.

Small clusters of suits and students were already gathering around the hatch at lunchtime, through which high fives were being given out alongside giant slices of pizza, with freshly baked panuaozzo sarnies now available from 8.30am.

It’s easy to imagine students grabbing a five-minute slice between lectures or spending a couple of hours relaxing in a booth with several negroni slushies and pizzas, which start at £8.50 for the margherita and rise to £13.50.

The ox shin ragu fries (£6.50) were generous both in portion size but also in flavour, which seems true of everything on the menu.

The ox shin ragu fries at Pizza Bianchi – photo: Meg Houghton Gilmour

First, the Tuscan pizza (£13.50): fior di latte, fennel sausage, taleggio and roast shallots. The dough is everything you’d hope; soft but chewy and holds its own despite it’s heavy load of generous toppings. The fennel sausage is of the highest quality, and the sweetness of the roast shallots was balanced perfectly with bitter spinach leaves.

The tartufo – fior di latte, porcini mushrooms, sage and truffle ricotta – was a masterclass in how to use truffle: delicate enough to dance on the tongue, but not overpowering. The ricotta was generous and incredibly creamy., topped with bountiful lightly fried sage which both looked and tasted fresh and punchy.

Classic shakes are joined on the menu by ‘naughty shakes’ with vodka, limoncello and rum added to the mix, while that negroni slushie will soon be joined by an ‘Aperol goal’ with Aperol, prosecco and orange.

Pizza Bianchi’s Tuscan pizza – photo: Martin Booth

Tartufo pizza at Pizza Bianchi – photo: Martin Booth

Flour & Ash and Pizza Bianchi have burst almost fully formed onto Bristol’s restaurant scene and it’s little wonder why, thanks to their respective pedigrees.

And it’s certainly not just pizza either, with both restaurants having an infectious sense of fun: from those negroni slushies at Pizza Bianchi to soft serve ice cream experiments at Flour & Ash.

The last word should be left to Bill Murray, who is quoted on Pizza Bianchi’s menu: “Unless you are a pizza, the answer is yes, I can live without you.”

It’s hard not to smile when perusing Pizza Bianchi’s menu – photo: Martin Booth

Dinner service at the new Flour & Ash – photo: Martin Booth

Main photo: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

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