If there’s one thing these food festivals and markets do, it’s provide an opportunity to budding entrepreneurs in the field to test the waters and gauge customer reaction to their fare. Once they’re sure they can sell and retain food enthusiasts, they graduate from stalls at food markets and festivals to standalone eateries.

This is exactly what Delish Pizza Bar did. They introduced their thin crust pizzas to Lahore at a farmers market back in 2014 and only a year later following a couple of more of such food outings they ventured out into the industry. It was in May 2015 that they launched their first branch in Model Town, offering only takeaway service.

They went on to open another takeaway joint in Y block, DHA, exactly a year later followed by their first bistro opening its doors on the MM Alam Road just last year only. I paid the pizzeria in Gulberg a visit this week.

Located in Al-Hafeez Plaza on the main MM Alam Road, it’s a small space that brightens up during the day with sunlight. The interior is minimalist in terms of furniture with basic wooden tables, chairs and some stools, while one side is artistically decorated with a wrought iron frame, copper pipes and small pots of plants, creating an impression of a garden.

The menu is run of the mill and not too elaborate featuring the standard margherita, pepperoni, fajita, four cheese, BBQ and others with the prices ranging between Rs500 and Rs1,500, depending on the size one orders – 10 inch, 14 inch or 19 inch. I ordered one pizza divided among four flavours: Margherita, Classic Fajita, Beef Tenderloin and Spinach Alfredo.

Have to say the dough and the crust were soft and fresh. The base sauce of the Margherita was made of fresh tomatoes, which became evident from the slight tartness in the flavour. It was topped with delicious mozzarella and parmesan cheeses and fresh herb. The fajita was topped sufficiently with mozzarella cheese, tender chunks of grilled fajita chicken, and big slices of bell pepper, onions, jalapenos and tomatoes. If you don’t prefer your pizza spicy, this could be your thing, but it was a bit bland for my liking and I thought maybe the chicken needed just a bit more zing.

The beef part of the pizza was scrumptious: a mildly spicy roller coaster of stir-fried chunks of beef, mozzarella, bell pepper, jalapenos, black olives, onions and mushrooms. Just the right assortment of topping I like on my pizza, besides a good ol’ four-cheese pizza, of course.

I was most excited about the Spinach Alfredo flavour as it sounded unique. But it turned out to be a disappointment. Soft chicken chunks, cheese and mushrooms on a spinach Alfredo sauce yells flavour, but it was anything but. All one could get was cheese, which is fine, but this wasn’t a cheese pizza. Not even a hint of spinach.

This humble little joint holds a lot of promise and is not even heavy on the pocket. Visit Delish or have it delivered if you love cheesy, soft thin crust pizzas with just the right amount of topping – just pick your flavour carefully.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2018