Meet the pizza toppers

Cauliflower and feta pizza

Often at the receiving end of the similarly treated vegetarian biryani ("it's not a biryani, but a tehri or at best, a pulao"), the veggie pizza has also received a somewhat stepchild-like existence. Deemed to lack the panache and culinary creativity of their meaty counterparts, most are wedged between the boring, ‘garden lover' and ‘veggie delight' iterations.

Pesto potato pizza

Thankfully, The Art of Pizza (TAP) has nothing to do with facilitating a paradigm shift in the realm of vegetarian pizza. Offering up 16 different options of vegetarian and Jain pizzas, this new delivery-only pizza chain, operating out of Juhu, Powai, Parel and Fort, Andheri West and Borivali, prefers to trudge the experimental path.

Plant protein BBQ pizza

Take for instance the cauliflower and feta pizza (Rs 315/549 for M/L size) that we first try. What might seem like an utterly bonkers idea on paper, works well with the subtle cauliflower flavour acting as a foil to the robust, salty feta cheese. The black-and-white pizza box tells us that the thin-crust pizza base is made using the high-protein, Italian 00 flour and that the cheeses used are all natural and processed-free.

Dark chocolate cakesicle; (right) Jain stuffed Mumbai masala sourdough balls. Pics/Shadab Khan

Enrobed in an herbaceous pesto sauce, the disks of potato in the pesto potato pizza (Rs 315/549 for M/L size) have a delicious smokiness to them. While our exotic eggplant pizza (Rs 315/549 for M/L size) spares us that unappealingly mushy brinjal texture we had dreaded. Instead, what we get are firm, tangy cubes of the vegetable, all generously slathered with molten mozzarella cheese.

Co-founded by animal lover Yadika Sharma - who also founded and currently runs pet bakery, The Spoilt Brat Barkery that was started eight years ago - the reasons for going all-vegetarian with the menu at TAP are pretty straightforward. "Our menu aims to bring compassion and creativity together," says Sharma. "We've partnered with some of the leading plant-protein companies to pioneer three mock meat pizzas that gratify our meat-loving customers."

And so, on cue, we bite into the surprisingly ‘meaty' and scrumptious plant protein BBQ pizza (R345/595 for M/L size). With its shredded chicken-like textured mock meat never once making us miss our animal protein. The sweet BBQ sauce and sautéed onions add on layers of taste and texture. We also try the mock meat in its minced form in the plant protein pesto pizza (Rs 345/595 for M/L size) which again tricks our palate into believing we are tucking into a flavourful lamb pesto mince.

But sadly, the tasteless Jain stuffed Mumbai masala sourdough balls (Rs 195 for five) fail to create any taste bud magic. Stinting on their promise of a mozza-cheddar cheese and spicy masala-oozing core, this quintet of hollow, doughy excess is best avoided. The same fate befalls the insipid basil watermelon cooler (Rs 95) that has an artificial melon flavour and no perceptible basil hint.

Our other drink of a well-made lemongrass lemonade (Rs 95) fares much better with a strong, floral-citrusy burst of flavour coming through. We end our TAP innings by devouring a generously-endowed slab of gooey chocolate cake dipped in molten chocolate that creates a crunchy shell. Dubbed the dark chocolate cakesicle (R199), this ice-cream stick doppelganger dessert is not just creative, but delectable to the last crumb and criminally encore-worthy.

At Juhu, Powai, Parel, Fort, Andheri West and Borivali.
TIME 11 am to midnight
Call 9833532328
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