Detroit x Strezza @detroitstrezza recently opened their doors in the old Sainsbury’s site attached to and part of the Industry bar on the corner of Canal Street and Carrington Street
I popped in over lunch to grab a taste and to see what they had to offer, it was no surprise that they are serving up their take on the classic Detroit Style Pizza
What is Detroit Style pizza and how is it different from the sort of pizza we usually scoff?
Well the menu tells us a little bit “Detroit Style Pizza by the slice or the whole pie fermented for 48 hours then baked in blue steel made with Mozzeralla, Monterey Jack Cheese topped with Marinara Sauce”
Basically it is a square or rectangular shaped pizza, like a Focaccia bread, a couple of inches thick, cooked deep in a pan. Don’t arrive here with prejudice looking for a circular pizza like you order from Dominoes just head over the road to Subway and walk on by 🤣😂😜
You can get a whole pie (pizza to you and I) for £10 to £15 or you can buy an individual slice for £3.50 to £5 depending on how fancy your toppings are. I like the idea of being able to buy just a slice as then there are more opportunities to get a taste of more than one pizza
As each pie is made up of 4 slices I figured I would order two different slices since I could eat half a pizza for lunch. Other people were ordering whole pies but I wanted a couple of different bites
My Choices were the DOUBLE PEPPERONI, HOT HONEY (pictured left) and the STREZZA FRIED CHICKEN, BUFFALO SAUCE, RANCH DRESSING (pictured right)
I watched them behind the counter and they seem to take a basic pie and then add the toppings to make each combination before heating them up. Not sure that was how I expected my pizza to be made I was hoping that they had made a batch of each type but I will withhold comment until I taste
DOUBLE PEPPERONI, HOT HONEY
The first slice I tried a bite of was the Double Pepperoni with Hot Honey. The Classic Marinara sauce was smothering and hiding the big disc shaped Pepperoni slices almost as if someone had just tipped half a tin a tomatoes on top.
It was a rather messy bite but pretty enjoyable, no points for presentation but plenty for taste. I wasn’t totally sold on the texture of the pizza, I know it is supposed to be like a Foccacia bread but I found it to be a bit spongy and chewy, perhaps that is how a Detroit style pizza should be and I am just an uneducated pizza hick but it wasn’t quite as I thought it would be. I suspect its early days and it will improve
STREZZA FRIED CHICKEN, BUFFALO SAUCE, RANCH DRESSING
The second slice I tried was the one topped with STREZZA FRIED CHICKEN, BUFFALO SAUCE, RANCH DRESSING straight away I was finding this one a whole lot more interesting.
I really liked the fried chicken thighs on the top, the buffalo sauce was competent, to my my mind it could have been bolder but was tangy as expected taking on the role of toppings leader on the flavour profile. If it had any thoughts of getting ahead of itself it was checked by the ranch dressing which cooled its armor a little. I would order this again.
Is it unkind to say that I would prefer a side of the chicken with sauce as a bite without the actual pizza? maybe but that was almost what I was thinking as I tried to eat the slice. The bread (or pizza) was detracting from the experience.
Eating wise the pizza here is a bit unwieldy to pick up and eat so you probably will need a knife and fork.
They do provide wooden ones but I would bring your own or use the ones in the office if you are taking back for lunch as my wooden one struggled to cut through the dense pizza (it actually broke trying)
They don’t hold back on the toppings and they did seem a bit messy which to be fair was all part of the fun. I took my nice coat off to eat the one topped with Marinara as I could sense spillage 🤣
I wouldn’t come here on date night, I struggle to maintain eating decorum at the best of times and sense that this place would be my basic nightmare 😂
Pondering my thoughts post pizza slice scoffing I would say that flavour wise both had their charms but personally I would have like both to be a bit bolder and punchier but I appreciate not everyone can handle that
I will have to try again when they have been running a while as its tough to judge after just a week open
It was good to see something different on offer for lunch and for the record my two slices with a can of pop was £10 so not too bad at all value wise and it was good to see something more interesting to eat on offer in the area around the station.
Detroit Pizza are located at 81b Carrington Street, Nottingham, NG1 7FE. The pizza kitchen is next door to and adjoined with the Industry bar where you can order a beer to go with your slice if you so wish.
Check Detroit Pizza (Detroit X Strezza) out on their Instagram profile Industry Bar on their website