What’s on offer?
Shane Crilly opened Base Wood Fired Pizza in Terenure in 2008, serving traditional, Neapolitan-style pizzas from the takeaway. In 2013, Stephen Cooney and Brian O’Malley, directors of the Loyola Group (which includes The Old Spot in Dublin 4 and The Cheeky Pup In Quinta Do Lago), invested in the business with a view to expansion. Crilly stayed on as part of the new management team. The group now have eight pizza takeaways across Dublin and Wicklow.
The pizza dough, which proves for 72 hours, is made with 5 Stagioni Pizza Napoletana 00 flour. The pizzas are baked at 500 degrees in Earthstone Wood-Fired Ovens, using Irish kiln-dried beech and ash. There is a core selection of pizzas, and seven new pizzas were recently added, which include burrata Italiana, and pollo picante. For more flexibility, it is possible to customise your pizza. Three different sizes are available: 9½-inch for €15; 12in for €19; and 14in for €21; all with four toppings.
What did we order?
A 9½-inch diablo, quattro formaggi and vegetarian pizza.
How was the service?
Ordering online is straightforward and the pizzas were delivered hot and on time.
Was the food nice?
While the dough doesn’t have a flavour that will have you questioning the nuances in it, it is tasty, clearly cooked at the requisite heat and has plenty of blistering. The diablo has a kick of heat from the fresh chillies and jalapeños, and has good flavour from the Gubbeen chorizo, pepperoni, marinara sauce and mozzarella.
The quattro formaggi pizza is well made and loaded with mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmesan and taleggio, on a white, garlic brushed base. I had, for a while, found this pizza to be inconsistent from Base, so it was good to see that it was back to its old form.
The vegetarian pizza is topped with mozzarella, aubergine, courgette, red onion, roasted red peppers and fresh basil. It is tasty but would have benefited from just a little more marinara sauce and cheese.
What about the packaging?
The pizza boxes and greaseproof paper liners are recyclable if clean. Base launched the Base Case earlier this year. Like the Keep Cup model, it is a reusable pizza case that can be used for collection pizzas.
What did it cost?
€47.50 for dinner for three people: A 9½-inch diablo, €14.50; 9½-inch quattro formaggi, €14.00; 9½-inch vegetarian, €14.50; and delivery, €4.
Where does it deliver?
Delivery, 5km radius, via their own app and website, plus Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Check stores for individual opening hours: Terenure, Ballsbridge, Stillorgan, Glenageary, Lucan, Castleknock, Killester, and Greystones.
Would I order it again?
Yes, although it’s on the expensive side; we had ordered the smallest size.
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