Review: La Bella Vita, Leytonstone

I like pizza a lot. Its very existence is the main reason I could never give up carbs. I’d go as far as to say it would be my death row meal, should I ever find myself in that unfortunate position. Consequently I’ve eaten far too many in my time but, in all my years living in E11, I’ve never found a great local place until – spoiler alert – now.

La Bella Vita opened under new management in autumn last year but we only visited for the first time last week. Conveniently close to the Red Lion, but on the other side of the road, LBV is a casual kind of place, with enough tables to feel cosy, without feeling like you’re being encroached upon by other diners. Plus there’s a couple of tables outside for sunny days and evenings.

The menu, which is a little over-extensive, includes meaty grills, pasta, salads and seafood; but, for me, when there’s pizza on the menu I rarely consider anything else. That said, we started with a plate of calamari fritti to share. It was crispy and squiddy and came with a tartare sauce dip, and, while unmemorable, was polished off with zest in order to get to the main event.

In the interests of being able to write about both pizza and calzone we ordered one of each to share. It’s all about the base (thanks Meghan Trainor) and sure enought, LBV’s are those thin Italian style ones. After much deliberation we went for the fiorentina, which brings baby spinach, egg and parmesan into the mix, and was, in fact, 12” of perfectly-stone-baked deliciousness.

Keeping with the veggie theme we tried the calzone alle vedure, which is filled with artichokes, mushrooms, olives, asparagus and baby spinach. So that’s your five portions of veg for the day in one crisp-on-the-outside, oozy-on-the-inside parcel, right? Pizza? Totally healthy. Oh, and meat eaters, don’t panic, there are plenty of options for you too; and if the set calzone combinations don’t appeal you can make up your own.

To drink we shared a bottle of Petite Papillon Grenache Rouge, which comes from the Languedoc region of France and – if you close your eyes – has peachy-pineapple flavours going on. While I don’t approve of the latter fruit on a pizza (utter madness) it turns out it works well in a French red.

After practically scraping the pattern off our plates there was sadly no room for dessert, but I did have a double espresso for the road (my bit of E11 is a good walk away, alas).

It was quiet when we arrived early on a Tuesday evening, but filled up with mostly canoodling couples. The service was friendly and efficient, but at no point did we feel as if we were being hurried out of the door. And, for the shallow of pocket, the prices are very reasonable too: our meal of one starter, two mains, a bottle of wine (which was more than one up from house, but not the most expensive) and coffee came in at £35.10.

So: where do you eat pizza in E11, E10, E17 and the surrounds? Share your recommendations and tips below.