Scream for Pizza opens in Sandyford

Having followed the Scream for Pizza crew for many years now and are happy to report that Goldie, their signature vintage pizza van, has been joined by a restaurant in Sandyford. Last night (17th May) was opening night and it’s fair to say that folks were clamouring for their pizza. At the moment the restaurant isn’t taking bookings and is operating on a first come basis. I arrived at 5:30 – 30 mins after they officially opened – and there was already a half an hour wait for a table. By the time we left people were waiting over an hour. As there’s no area you are directed to Harissa or the local pub while the tables are turned round, but I just sat in my car with Dinky until ours was ready. It is worth bearing this in mind if you go with a grumbly tum. Is it worth the wait?

The restaurant itself has been kitted out beautifully and the menu appears to have something for everyone. I especially liked the branded plates. I’m pleased to report that vegan options are not something that you have to put in advance notice for and feature on the ‘standard’ menu. There’s even vegan ice cream! As it was opening night everyone was finding their feet so service wasn’t as smooth as it hopefully will be, but everyone seemed to be understanding on that front.

I ordered a Vegan Truffle Shuffle and Live and Let Fry, two fried pizzas usually topped with stracciatella and DOP tomato sauce. Because these were for Dinky we omitted the cheese. We also couldn’t visit and not have Scream for Pizza’s signature Wor Margaret, which was obviously consumed by our resident non-vegan.

Due to the wood fired oven taking pride of place in the restaurant there tends to not be a long wait for food to arrive, even with a packed restaurant. There’s a selection of starters to choose from while you wait, and we had fries with a lovely garlic mayo to whet our appetite for main course.

My Vegan Truffle Shuffle (£12) was spot on, especially the dairy free creme fraiche that was used to create the white base. Having the creamy mayo to dip the crusts into was a big bonus.

I have to say I prefer Vegano’s Pizette over Scream’s Live and Let Fry. It’s a good pizza, don’t get me wrong, but feel that Vegano’s base is a lot lighter and lends itself better to the frying process. Another table told me they ordered these minis for their kids as they are easier to eat than the standard pizza and I’d agree.

The Wor Margaret was perfect, as usual. At £7 for a 12 inches it is great value for money. For an extra quid you can add buffalo mozzarella, but I don’t think it’s needed. That garlic mayo was put to good use again!

The vegan chocolate ice cream was very rich and I personally found the flowers added nothing other than making it look pretty. Dinky spat hers out! I was happy to see something other than sorbet offered as a vegan dessert option, and hopefully in time there may be a sweet vegan pizza too.

It’s great to see street food businesses like Scream thrive and move into permanent homes like this, and hopefully those queues out of the door will long continue. I didn’t want to take too many photos of the interior as it would have impinged on the dining experience of those around me, so apologies for their lack. You can find out more about the new restaurant on their Facebook page here.

Thanks for reading,

Pip x