Ladybrand’s Spizzy Pizza signs up for pizzeria challenge

by Kyla Van Heerden

Recently voted by consumers as one of the top five places to eat in Ladybrand in the Free State, Spizzy Pizza is the latest restaurant to sign up for this year’s Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge which aims to find the country’s favourite pizzeria as voted for by the South African public.

We sat down with the owners to ask them about their eatery and their pizzas.

How and when did Spizzy Pizza come about?

Spizzy Pizza started 25 years ago by Gaetano Costa, an Italian gentleman that was working in Lesotho at the time. He sold it three years later to a Fatima who ran it for 22 years and we recently acquired the restaurant three months ago.


Where does the name come from?

The original owner was responsible for the name. I haven’t heard how or why it was called Spizzy so if there is anyone out there that knows, I would love to hear about it.


Tell us a bit about your menu and what makes your pizzas so popular in Ladybrand?

Our menu is made up mainly of pizzas and pasta dishes with a few local favourites added such as burgers, salads, fish and chips, steaks, lamb shanks, curries, that sort of thing. Our pizzas have thin based crusts which we make using imported flour only and we don’t cut corners when it comes to the quality and freshness of the ingredients.

Can you tell us a bit more about the ingredients you use?

We only use 00 imported flour and top-quality cheeses, and our tomato base is made fresh every day with the best quality tomatoes.


What is your signature pizza or best-seller?

Our signature pizza is the Bolognaise, which is not on the menu. As the name suggests it is topped with our special Bolognaise mince which is cooked for six hours. Some of our other popular pizzas are the Honey Soy Chicken (chicken, peppadew, caramelised onion, honey soy sauce), the Papalina (bacon, ham, salami), the Parma (mushroom, prosciutto, fresh chillies, and Parmesan shavings) and the Texan (tender steak strips, caramelized onion, blue cheese and mushrooms).


What is your personal favourite pizza topping?

Salami and anchovies.


Is there anything that should never be on a pizza?

No. Tastes differ so anything goes.


What wine do you drink with your pizza?

I like a glass of chilled Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc which pairs nicely for me with the salami and anchovies.

Are you offering any specials or promotions to encourage your patrons to vote for you?

We are offering a free glass of Porcupine Ridge wine with any Gourmet Pizza.

Now in its fourth year, the Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge has the public voting for their favourite local pizzeria via a dedicated website: https://votepizza.wine/. The restaurant with the most votes will be crowned South Africa’s favourite pizzeria, picking up ultimate bragging rights as well as wine and marketing collateral to the value of R40 000. A new introduction this year, sees additional prizes for all top 10 restaurants, with each one receiving R1,800 in vouchers for their staff plus three cases of wine to award to their top, Porcupine Ridge-selling servers.

Restaurant-goers voting for their favourite venue, can win weekly prizes of a mixed case of Porcupine Ridge wine and EarthFire pizza accessories, with one lucky voter selected Grand Prize Winner at the end of the competition to claim an EarthFire Tabletop Pizza Oven, pizza for a year from their favourite pizzeria (to the value of R2 000) and five cases of Porcupine Ridge for a combined value of R10 000.

The competition kicked off on September 1 and closes October 31 with the top 10 announced in mid-November.

Spizzy Pizza is located at 28 Erasmus Street, Ladybrand and is open Monday to Saturday from 11h00 to 21h00. Bookings can be made at 079 1278 857.

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