Eco (Bar, Restaurant)

Best for: inventive pizzas, Italian cuisine.

Great: homely design and atmosphere.

Full disclosure: I bloody love pizza. The subconscious pull of sun-drenched Mediterranean shores and a fervent passion for dough have led to a lifelong obsession with Italy’s greatest export. So you’d think that the gods were smiling on Eco Pizzeria of Clapham High Street before I’d even set foot through the door.

And yet; my passion for baked cheesy goods has led to a scathing mistrust of any cheap imitations or inferior produce. I am also doggedly conservative and narrow-minded when it comes to dining out on pizza, and any dedicated merchants of Margherita have to offer up something pretty special to tempt me away from my north London parlours of choice.

So a lot more was at stake on this visit than first met the eye. Eco needed to make a damn good pizza, or risk the fury of a calzone connoisseur scorned.

To my delight, they came out all guns blazing, and I can confirm that Eco is now on my fiercely selective list of top-notch London pizzerias.

The décor played a large part, certainly: the narrow main room is split over two levels and has been thoughtfully renovated, allowing a certain traditional charm to shine through all the shiny modern fixtures.

The high, duct-strewn ceiling, supporting girders and chrome tables call to mind chains such as GBK and Pizza Express, but the potholed brick walls, rough wooden floor and warm lighting ensure Eco isn’t too impersonal or severe in design.

Eco’s expansive lay-out includes outdoor seating, long wooden tables and an open-front kitchen (with a giant pizza oven in orange ceramic tile, no less), encouraging a communal, easy-going atmosphere which is reinforced by laid-back music and informal yet efficient staff, who are quick to pick up on any queries or orders.

The food isn’t half bad either. Although the starters are a little insubstantial for their £4-£7 price tag, Eco’s pizzas are a revelation, blending organic ingredients and a touch of flair. The wild mushroom, truffle oil and pecorino combination that I sampled was surprising, rich and memorably tasty; exactly what was needed to justify such an unusual excursion south of the river.

Other quintessentially Italian dishes – including lasagne, penne al vongole and even oven-baked stone bass - are also available at very reasonable prices, if you must ignore the pizza, while the house raspberry panacotta hits the spot for dessert.

Factor in an all-encompassing arsenal of wines, beers and bubbly, and you can see why the good folks of Clapham have turned Eco into a veritable institution over the years. And with its new look, which strikes a neat balance between modern symmetry and one-off individuality, this restaurant looks set to cement its reputation for many years to come: good news for pizza enthusiasts everywhere, no matter how staunchly one-track-minded they might be. ...read more