Na’Pizza is a 6 month old pizzeria tucked away on Friar’s street just down the road from 22 Baker’s. This tiny Italian oasis churns out over 100 pizzas a day, and that number just keeps growing.
From the beautiful hand painted tiles and the massive, quirky wood fire oven (flown piece-by-piece all the way from Italy, mind you) to the gorgeous hand-made pizzas, I have found my new favorite place in Stirling. To top it off, Na’Pizza prices are crazy reasonable (even cheaper than getting your pizza fix from Dominos, that’s for sure).
I got to spend a Sunday afternoon at one of their weekly pizza making classes, and it was easily one of the best foodie Sundays I’ve had in ages. 10 people, myself included, crowded into the tiny restaurant that afternoon to learn how to make hand-stretched Italian pizza from the experts.
We met the owner of the place, a friendly guy named Alex, who not only owns and runs Na’Pizza but is also a sophomore at the University of Stirling. How does he do it? God knows. What I do know is that he’s mad about making pizza and it’s infectious.
Alex and Francesco (Na’Pizza’s strong and silent pizza chef) demonstrated everything that goes into making pizzas at their restaurant. Everything in store (except the fresh herbs which are bought locally for convenience) is imported in from Italy and prepared in store. Something unique about Na'Pizza is the way they handle their pizza dough. They let the dough rest for about 3 days before baking, which makes their bases taste like thin, chewy sourdough heaven.
At the end of the demonstration we got to make our very own margherita pizzas, and let me tell you it's harder than it looks. While it took Francesco two seconds to flatten out and shape his blob of dough, I was struggling with mine for a full minute or two. Which doesn't sound like a lot, but when you've got 9 other people watching you it does feel like ages.
The fun bit is when you get to shove/slide the pizza onto the paddle to go into the oven. There's a knack to it though! It definitely takes some practice to quickly shovel your pizza onto the paddle without busting the glass front display or taking someone's eye out.
30 seconds later, my pizza emerged from the oven in all it's beautiful gooey glory. Guys. This pizza was everything you want a pizza to be.
The dough was strong and salty (sidenote: that would be an EXCELLENT prison nickname), and the sharp tomato sauce cut right through the stretchy mozzarella. PROPER mozzarella mind you. None of that thin, filmy nonsense. This cheese smelled rich and could stretch for DAYS.
For £6, this class is an absolute steal and a brilliant way to spend a weekend afternoon. If you’d like to blow off some steam, this little spot of Italian sunshine (just a 15 minute walk from Stirling castle!) is the perfect place to go. For more information about upcoming classes and additions to their menu check out the Na’Pizza facebook page.