Itsa Pizza

Nilma Dole

“Deliziousa pizza!” (Delicious Pizza)

“Per favore, mi dia più la pizza!” (Please give me more pizza)

“Mi piace la pizza” (I like pizza)

These are some of the phrases you’ll hear as you step into the premises of the Urban Kitchen (UK), snugly located at Hyde Park Corner Arpico.

If you don’t know what that means, then you haven’t checked out the pizzastic place in Colombo that comes in the form of ‘Regina Margherita’ which has its main branch at Park Road, Colombo 5.

It’s charismatic and friendly entrepreneur, Barbara Gamage (nee Avossa) who subsequently gave up her criminal lawyer profession to be a full-time restaurateur and a soon-to-be-Momma said that she opened the place because it was all part of friendship that got her involved with the UK concept.

“The managing partners of Urban Kitchen are my best customers at my Regina Margherita outlet at Park Road and they loved the taste of my pizza so much they wanted it at their place too,” she said.

The fact that the outlet not only gives its clients affordable pizzas at nearly of a fraction of a cost normally available at their Park Road outlet but it also is baked in a clay oven fired with cinnamon wood brought down all the way from Matara.

Speaking to Daily News was Executive Chef Jerome Labrooy who said, “Our price range is so reasonable that anything from Rs.30 to Rs.850 is available from our clay oven which is simple, clean and adheres to strict quality standards”.

He said that they use all home-grown produce and locally-made vegetables to produce their pizza masterpieces. “We are open from 10am to 11pm where we take our last order, we offer takeaway and we will be offering home deliveries very soon” he said.

Veteran Chef Luigi who comes from beautiful Southern Italy has been making pizzas for the past thirty years reflecting the true art of perfect pizza which signifies the spirit of Italy.

This chef fell in love with Sri Lanka and its cuisine so much that he even has a special pizza flavour dedicated to Sri Lanka aptly called ‘Chef Luigi loves Sri Lanka’ with the optimum concoction of capsicum, pepper, chilli, tomato and spices to suit anyone’s fancy.

The Urban Kitchen concept has been in business for about 4 months employing about 100 in total for serving the best in quality, taste and choice.

“We serve food that is 100 percent halal and we don’t use artificial flavours to our foods which are all healthy and nutritious,” said Chef Jerome. He also said his Sous Chef Herman hailing from Australia also helps him run the kitchen show by giving his expertise on the Asian kitchen side of UK.

“We are open for lunch having wonderful lunches of Sri Lankan and Chinese and have everything from an array of delicious sandwiches and salads to grilled items. Italian dishes to accompany your Regina pizza and an Asian corner for special delicacies with yummy and tasty desserts for the yearning sweet tooth is also present,” said Chef Jerome who has nearly 40 years of experience home and abroad, a culinary expert in major dishes. Somewhere hidden in the confines of the Urban Kitchen is a private snack counter, a coffee and juice bar and a kiddie’s play area for those daredevils.