A TASTE of Italy is available at a new pizzeria in the Bradford district run by a man who only took up pizza making during lockdown.
Il Pirata Pizzata, based in Bingley Road, Saltaire, is owned by Simon Towers who started pizza making in his work lunch breaks during the first lockdown in 2020.
He is juggling running the restaurant with still working full-time as a digital engineer.
The restaurant initially opened with a soft launch on July 2 and will be open to diners every Friday between 4pm to 9pm, Saturdays from 2pm to 9pm and Sundays from 2pm to 7pm.
He says he hopes to increase the opening hours, including initially adding Thursdays, in due course.
He started his pizza business initially as a pop-up at the Cap and Collar bar in Saltaire in October 2020, which was followed by a twice-weekly residency at the Tambourine café, also in the village.
It is the first restaurant Mr Towers has run himself and he trained as a commis chef at college in 2005, but then opened his own engineering consultancy where he has worked for the past 10 years.
Mr Towers, 33, who also lives in Saltaire, says the opening of the restaurant has already proved a hit with diners.
He said: “It’s going really well.
“It was my ultimate aim to have our own restaurant. It’s been fantastic. It feels nice.
“It is in a great location. It’s a dream come true. I worked in kitchens many moons ago and I didn’t think I would go back into hospitality.
“We have been refurbishing the restaurant since February this year.
“I would look at a few more locations eventually.”
Il Pirata Pizzata has a number of pizzas available on its menu, featuring options for vegetarians and vegans. These include Chaippucci which features peaches and mint, and margarita and they also sell alcohol and soft drinks.
Mr Towers has made a meteoric rise in the pizza industry after being selected as a Petra flour partner, which is a brand of flour that chooses partners where they can guarantee a certain level of quality. He is believed to be the first non-Italian British person to gain this status.
The dough the restaurant uses for its pizzas is pre-fermented with around a 48-hour process before being hand-stretched and cooked at 500c for less than 90 seconds to give a light and airy crust.
Go to ilpiratapizzata.com for more information.
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