Mad Pizza E Bar, Surry Hills

Dinner with D&J a couple of Saturdays ago. D had suggested Mad Pizza on Crown Street, which we were happy to try out having had a pleasant meal at the Darlinghurst branch.

V ordered the Otto, a Roast Potato Pizza with White Prosciutto, Fresh Rosemary, Garlic Oil & Anchovies. The potatoes were appropriately sliced such that the pizza wasn’t too carby. This was a pleasant surprise.

Otto - Roast Potato Pizza with White Prosciutto, Fresh Rosemary, Garlic Oil & Anchovies

I ordered the Polpette, the Beef Meatballs Pizza with Roast Peppers, Bocconcini, Roma Tomatoes & Basil Leaves.

Polpette Pizza - Beef Meatballs with Roast Peppers, Bocconcini, Roma Tomatoes & Basil Leaves

The traditional Pepperoni Pizza was spruced up with some olives and basil.

Pepperoni Pizza - Sliced Pepperoni, Roma Tomatoes, Black Kalamata Olives & Basil Leaves

My favourite of the bunch was the O Tropo, whose toppings consisted of Grilled Chicken, Crisp Bacon, Pineapple Chunks & Red Onion with Spicy Pirri Pirri Sauce.

O Tropo Pizza - Grilled Chicken, Crisp Bacon, Pineapple Chunks & Red Onion with Spicy Pirri Pirri Sauce

Regarding the sizes, each pizza is good for 1.33 people. So between the four of us, three would have been just right.

The interior was slightly confusing. The space was clearly meant to be modern; what with the curved wall, curved drop ceiling and polished wooden bar. To contrast this (and to presumably give the place some DIY character), are the handwritten scribbles on the walls, the distressed menu design and some moody lighting. But just so you don’t forget it’s a pizza joint, they’ve accessorised with red gingham table cloths and a painted Italian flag on the wall. Kinda like someone wearing an Ed Hardy t-shirt with an ill-fitting off-the-rack suit jacket because they saw their cool cousin pull off that distinguished but casual look. In this case, it was pulled off by their “cousin”, the Darlinghurst branch, and the Surry Hills one is a poor replicant.

Interior

The service was uneven. Our waiter, while placing our pizzas on our table, spilled J’s drink, partly on his lap. While he got us some tissues, nary an apology nor a replacement drink was offered. Later on, a hard bone shard (or perhaps a plate shard?!) embedded in a meatball on the Polpette nearly cracked one of my teeth. Another gentleman, who I assume was the manager, noticed I didn’t finish my pizza. Upon showing this mystery shard, he kindly took that pizza off the bill.

The word? Perhaps our experience was unique but the spotty service turned us off. The pizzas were tasty and filling but undistinguishable from the multitude of “gourmet” pizza joints popping up. I’ll be giving this place a miss next time.

View Larger Map

Mad Pizza E Bar
241 Crown Street,
Darlinghurst
(02) 9380 7186

If you like this content, please share your thoughts in the comments below, add me on Instagram @jbjose,Twitter at @jbjose or Google+.