Vegan pizzeria Purezza is at the forefront of a new generation of plant-based restaurants which provide a truly indulgent experience, and can be hugely influential in tearing apart common misconceptions about a vegan diet.

The company’s restaurants in London and Brighton are the perfect answer to anyone who thinks they can’t go vegan because they ‘would miss cheese too much’.

Purezza’s outstanding quality has been officially recognised – it scooped a top prize at the World Pizza Championships in Naples this year, beating thousands of classic dairy entries from independent pizzerias around the world.

Menu

Purezza’s Brighton menu is an intelligent balance – providing a diverse range of unique plant-based treats without overwhelming its customers with choice.

While the classic starters of Marinated Olives, Garlic Bread and Harissa Corn & Peanuts are delicious, and the minimalist wine and cocktails list are top quality and value, the ultimate lure of Purezza is its mastery over creating the very best vegan cheeses and pizzas.

Purezza’s homemade vegan cheeses are a serious game-changer across the menu. For customers wanting to experience the rapidly improving artisan vegan cheese market, the Raw Cheese Platter has been fermented and matured for ten days for a starter which reveals the most tantalising plant-based flavours.

For side dishes, the Mac & Cheese has a rich, intense truffle-flavoured sauce which is dripping with Purezza’s homemade vegan cheese – complimented by a satisfying crunch from a generous helping of chia seeds and a crispy surface layer of macaroni – which is gluten-free.

When it comes to Mac & Cheese, the cheese is of course pivotal, and Purezza’s sauce is bursting with authentic flavours.

The restaurant also offers cheesy doughballs – balls of light sourdough literally bursting with impressively stringy, stretchy vegan cheese.

The cheese at Purezza has been such a raging success, the company is even opening its own plant-based mozzarella factory.

Pizza

But by far the main attraction at Purezza is, and rightfully so, the pizzas. The pizzeria has a serious reputation to uphold after national and global victories against dairy counterparts, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

All pizzas are made with Purezza’s light, fluffy, comforting dough which, to be perfectly honest, would be a delicious meal all on its own.

Toppings are consistently generous and range from smoked tofu, wild mushrooms, pulled BBQ pieces, artichokes, beetroots, oven-baked potatoes, seitan, pesto and garlic mayo, to name a few (not all at once, mind).

Main attraction

The Parmigiana Party – winner of the UK’s top pizza prize last year, boasts a thick layer of red tomato base which is smothered with smoked mozzarella, aubergine parmigiana, crumbled sausage and topped with a dusting of nutritional yeast.

The result is an incredibly unique flavour. Vegan pizzas so often struggle to find a balance between offering enough cheese for sufficient flavour, while avoiding creating a sloppy mess which is best eaten with a spoon.

But no such trouble for Purezza – its ingenious smoked mozzarella is mixed with nutritional yeast to boost its dense, robust flavour – creating a plant-based masterpiece.

The frankfurter-like vegan crumbled sausage offers an extra kick and is accompanied perfectly by the subtle flavour and textures of the aubergine.

If you’re in the mood for something a bit different, Purezza offers a Lasagne straight from its wood oven, or a Cheesesteak Calzone which is stuffed full of thick seitan chunks, melted cheddar, caramelized onions, roasted peppers and parsley.

As standard, the pizzas utilise Purezza’s fluffy sourdough base, but there’s also options of hemp or gluten-free.

And if there’s any room for more after this overwhelmingly cheesy, doughy experience, the salted caramel brownie is bursting with intense chocolate flavours to round off a truly indulgent evening.

Purezza is an ideal option to showcase the truly magnificent plant-based options in today’s world to any non-vegan friends and family, and who knows, they may just join the plant-based party for good.

Have you been to Purezza? Tell us about your experience in the comments section below!

Oli Gross

Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation.

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