Pizza Pilgrims, Covent Garden review ★★★★★

In a nutshell: Soho hotspot, Pizza Pilgrims brings cheesy, doughy deliciousness to the theatre district

The welcome: You're greeted with a smile, minimal fuss and remarkably swift service. It's a laid back friendly vibe, perfectly suited for a pre-theatre pitstop.

The room: The cosy space on bustling Garrick Street feels fresh and contemporary, with a few kooky, Instagramable touches. Add tightly-packed tables and you have a buzzy atmosphere with some of the best fast food Covent Garden has to offer — but not quite the spot for long, leisurely catch ups.

The food: Just as you'd expect from a restaurant that's among the new wave of 'posh' pizzerias (Homeslice, Franco Manca), Pizza Pilgrim brings optimum quality and taste to the classic combination of bread, tomato and mozzarella. The stone-baked sourdough is charred crisp round the edges and decadantly doughy and chewy within. You're given cutlery but this is the kind of crust that begs to be torn and dunked in chilli oil. The tomato is sweet and zesty, the cheese is rich, creamy and stringy — what more could you want? Classic toppings are combined with a few flavour flourishes (the Calzone Ripieno with salty slivers of Napoli salami and earthy mushrooms is a particular treat) but you really can't beat the Margherita. We fully intended to save space for some gelato, but the leftover crusts were too tempting (and filling).

Would we go again?
When you go to theatre as much as we do a reliably delicious, reasonably priced restaurant is a welcome regular