Date of Visit: Monday, December 23, 2024
Occasion: Family Dinner
Ambiance:
Purezza in Brighton offers a delightful and intimate dining experience. The restaurant is small yet charming, with a large brick oven emblazoned with the name "Purezza" that adds a rustic touch. The atmosphere is vibrant, enhanced by fun music that sets a pleasant mood. The noise level is just right — lively enough to give you the feeling of dining out, but low enough to enjoy conversations without strain. Seating comfort was decent, with no notable issues.
Service:
Service at Purezza was prompt and professional. While there were no moments of exceptional service, everything ran smoothly and effectively, ensuring a consistently good dining experience.
Booking Experience:
Booking was easy through the First Table website. When we informed the restaurant of our First Table booking, there were no issues, making the process seamless. We will definitely use this service again in the future and have even downloaded the app for convenience. However, we had to make two separate bookings — one for a two-person table and another for a four-person table — to accommodate our group of six, which was less convenient and incurred two booking fees. A single six-person booking would have been more practical and cost-effective.
Food:
Knowing that Purezza is a vegan restaurant was exciting and perfectly accommodated our dietary preferences. The staff were also able to accommodate a tomato allergy and offered gluten-free options, as well as artisanal vegan cheese available for purchase at the front.
Starters:
- Dough Balls (2x): These were bite-sized delights filled with melty cheese — an excellent way to start the meal.
- Seasonal Sourdough: Essentially a small pizza, perfectly baked and flavorful.
- Pistachio Mac & Cheese: Packed with flavor and served at an ideal temperature, this dish was a hit.
- Spiced Corn: This was the only item that fell short of expectations — baked and seasoned similar to pretzels, it was pleasant but unremarkable and perhaps better suited as a complimentary starter.
Mains:
- Four Cheese Pizza: A delightful combination of blue, camembert, mozzella, and feta cheeses, complemented by pancetta and chilli jelly. The blend of flavors was exquisite.
- Pistachio Pizza: An indulgent creation with mortadella, superstraccia, and pistachio pesto.
- Fuoco d’Amore Pizza: Featuring warm autumnal flavors of butternut squash and spicy Calabrian chilli — a perfect balance of spicy and sweet.
- Pepperoni & Agave Pizza (2x): A classic with a twist, loaded with spicy pepperoni and hot agave for an exciting kick.
- Margherita Pizza: A simple yet satisfying pizza with mozzella, extra virgin olive oil, and basil.
Every dish was absolutely delicious, with pizzas that looked perfectly baked and tasted wonderfully flavorful. The portion sizes were generous and excellent value for money. While the spiced corn was underwhelming, it did not detract from the overall high quality of the meal.
Dipping Sauces:
Garlic, Calabrian Chili, and Pesto: These dipping sauces were excellent, with the garlic and pesto being exceptionally creamy, and the chili providing a delightful diced chili in oil style.
Beverages:
- Martini with Passion Fruit, Vodka, Vanilla: Excellent.
- Peronis (2x)
- Organic Verdejo
- Organic Pinot Grigio
- Spiced Apple, Cinnamon, Tequila cocktail
All beverages were great and complemented the meal well.
Overall Impression:
The standout aspect was the sheer deliciousness and visual appeal of the food, compounded by the fact that the entire menu is vegan. This perfectly accommodated everyone in our party, including those with dietary restrictions. Our non-vegan family member noted only a slight difference in cheese texture. Purezza offers exceptional dishes that satisfy and impress with their quality and taste.
I highly recommend Purezza to friends and family and will certainly return.
Rating: 5/5 stars