Firechief
169 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn
03 9831 1700
Italian, Pizza
$$
Food
- King Prawns And Pancetta Pizza
- Margherita Pizza
- Meatballs
The Good
The King Prawns and Pancetta Pizza was quite enjoyable. With a crispy and thin crust, it was topped liberally with fresh rocket. Hidden underneath, were fresh and juicy prawns, though given the size, I am highly doubtful these were king prawns as advertised. The sweetened tomato base was enjoyable and was well complemented by the thick cut pancetta.
The Mediocre
The Margherita Pizza was unspectacular. While the crust was nice and crispy, with just the right thickness, it all went downhill from there. The tomato base was much too sour, and tasted akin to cheap canned tomatoes. The mozzarella cheese was sparingly applied, and we were felt that the lack of freshly topped Mozzarella after the baking process was disappointing.
The Bad
The Meatballs were downright terrible. Arriving rather quickly after we ordered, it was evident the speed was largely due to Chef Mike - the microwave. Despite being steaming and piping hot, the sparingly applied cheese failed to melt. The Napoli sauce was incredibly sour and lacked any flavour of tomatoes. This wasn't helped by the meatballs, which were extremely bland and mushy, clearly of the frozen variety and completely devoid of any meat flavour. All in all, a sour and bland experience. Might as well have gone to Ikea.
The Verdict
The pizzas here used to be our favourite, absolutely delectable on our previous visit. However, on this return, they can best be described as enjoyable though unimpressive, a far cry from what we've previously sampled and come to expect.
The meatballs though, were sinfully disgusting.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
Perhaps not. With such a wide variety of eateries just around the block, I honestly don't think it's worthy of a revisit given the poor performance this time.