| Ambiance: |  (3.5 / 5) |
| Service: | (3 / 5) |
| Value for money: | (5 / 5) |
| "Pizza: | (0 / 5) |
On a drunken evening in Babel, Clapham Junction, whilst playing wing-man for a friend, I was introduced – well forced into meeting this guy, who once told about my pizza idea, wouldn’t stop going on about a place called ICCO. I wasn’t overly impressed, possibly helped by nothing really impressing me that evening as I felt pretty shoddy, but also because it sounded like a fast food version of pizza but he was so excited about it, that I thought I should probably add it onto my list.
I actually visited ICCO by mistake. I know this seems to happen a lot, but as usual on an outing with Ben, we got lost. We discovered ICCO during a day of Boris biking, and with a little yelp of glee escaping my mouth when I realised where we were, we parked up (literally opposite) and agreed to share a pizza, with the idea being that we would be eating food all throughout the afternoon so wanted to pace ourselves. On first impressions, it was pure tack – they used the Italian colours, but the menu was on a massive plastic board behind the counter, a bit like what you’d see in late night kebab houses. I was surprised by how big the venue was though, as I’d imagined it to be a tiny shop with only a couple of tables to eat if you chose to. The reality is that it’s almost like a restaurant, well a Greasy spoon type of restaurant – with metal chairs and blue-ish/grey plastic tables. Definitely not glamorous, but this was reflected in the cost of the pizzas. Starting at £3.50, you could get a margherita, with the most expensive pizza being £7.50.
We chose the ‘special’ – it had artichokes, black olives, ragu and an egg. I LOVE egg on pizza, Ben on the other hand not so much, so I instructed him to eat around it ;). We were given a buzzer while we waited and sat down at a table by the window (always the best in the house in my humble opinion) and four minutes later, the buzzer went and our pizza was ready. It was delivered on a circular china plate (which was more than I was expecting) and Ben came back with some chilli sprinkles (Reminded me of Pizza Hut) and garlic oil (yummy). The pizza, on the face of it was very disappointing looking. It was thin, with that cheap marbled tomato/cheese effect of what looked like a Tesco Value pizza. The toppings were also sparse, and very sporadically positioned across the pizza. I personally like a more even spread, but that’s probably my fault as I like sharing and one person always ends up losing out if the toppings lack symmetries!
But the proof is in the taste and it did deliver there, but it was definitely one of those pizzas of which you’d follow the Italian custom of folding it in half and make a type of calzone with. It was well seasoned and very easy to eat, and I could definitely have managed a whole one to myself. And in hindsight, I can now see what that guy meant about it being a pretty perfect lunch, as it didn’t leave you with the same bloated feeling as eating a normal pizza would and if anything, It left me wanting to come back for more. A perfect tactic surely?!
Recommendation:
Overall, I can see why people rate ICCOs as it does what it said on the tin, and was quick. But you can’t really complain anything when you’re being charged so low. I probably wouldn’t go back, but I would recommend if you’re in the area and fancy a quick, cheap and not too filling lunch.
Extra Information:
Address: 46 Goodge St, London W1T 4LU
Phone: 020 7580 9688
Website: http://icco.co.uk/
NTK: Even if you’re not overly hungry, go for a whole pizza otherwise you’ll be left wanting more!
