PIZZA PLUS – Paparazzi

Sometimes a pizza is all you want or need. Somehow we found ourselves in Redfern the other night. Regent Street, not familiar, so I spent a few minutes checking out if there was anything on offer, and wandered over the border (unknowlingly) into Waterloo. Imagine my surprise to find this little gem tucked in amongst greengrocers, a hot bread shop, an IGA supermarket and a laundrette – the bones of what will be a useful and bustling local shopping strip for locals as the area continues to gentrify.

Here I discovered the Paparazzi Bar, brightly lit and beckoning with spotless outdoor tables, good Segafredo coffee aromas and better yet, a comprehensive list of pizzas. I was almost swayed by the sparkling glass-fronted display counter of lasagne slices, wraps and salads (ignoring the gelati bar with New Year’s resolution strength) but settled at last on a Napoletana pizza, while my friends ordered one beef and one nachos pizza. Yes, I know, the  purists will faint at the idea of sticking corn ships up on sour cream dollops on Mexican beans, but it tasted good I was told, and that’s what matters. Call it a Mexican bread-based snack if you must. The beef pizza was spicy and tasty and not at all as bland and boring as its one-word name suggested. And the Napolitana? Base well-browned, topping cheesy and not too heavy.

Redfern or Waterloo, Paparazzi Bar is worth a visit.

Paparazzi Bar, 9 Botany Road, Waterloo, NSW, 02 9310 7711. 

(visited anonymously and meal paid for)