The barrio of Chueca is known for many things, perhaps most famously though as the epicenter for the world-renowned Madrid gay pride festival – which is ultimately when the barrio becomes a riot of all things rainbow coloured and the always lively neighborhood really ramps things up a notch.
But over recent years I’ve noticed a shift from Chueca being all about bars. More foodie spots have sprung up encouraging you to part with your hard-earned cash. Just last week I accidentally sampled yet another insta-worthy poke bowl place which continues to be all the rage across the city. But what I’m getting to with this review (and I will get there eventually) was the most perfect pizza place that I stumbled across a few weeks back.
Massa Pizza is a stone’s throw from the perennially popular Mercado de San Anton and could certainly be described as warm and inviting upon entering. A couple of gin fizzes in, myself and my dinner date selected some starters and neither one disapointed. Beef carpaccio (which is always up there as one of my death row dinners) and roast chicken croquetas which were bites of utter joy – now I realize it might sound strange for croquetas to have made their way into an Italian menu but I’m all for fusion food that’s filling and fun.
We both then opted for individual pizzas (I’m grateful that the concept of a doggy bag is becoming increasingly popular in Madrid) – eyes bigger than Nelly much? Both pizzas were lush, doughy but not soggy, crisp on the edges but not burnt and the perfect cheese/tomato ratio in my humble opinion.
Now some people at this point might have needed to be rolled home. Not us. We saved space for the extremely cute (and Instagram worthy) dessert tray/box which was heaving with bite-sized little puds for you to select from. The cheesecake and tiramisu were to to die for but alas, all good things must come to an end.
Massa Pizza makes for the perfect low-key date night (as it did for us) and it’s ideally located smack back in the centre of the city. What do you get when you combine pizza and pride? A combo that’s as appealing as gin coupled with tonic.
Marina
Yummmm. This makes me want pizza for breakfast.