Pizza Romana al Tavolo

While visiting the São Jorge castello at dusk, we got hungry. I felt like pizza and started looking for options. There were plenty, but Pizza Romana came rated as 4/5 on HappyCow, and was only a 15 minute walk down the hill.

The rating was well-deserved. I believe there were three vegan pizza options: a Marinara, an eggplant/orange zest/sundried tomato pizza, and a multi-vegetable pizza. We got the last two, and a vegan focaccia, too.

The small ("piccolo") version of the multi-vegetable pizza (in the feature photo) was packed with veggies, like we often make ourselves with homemade pizzas. It was still good comfort food, but the layers of grilled vegetables made the flavors blend into each other and become less distinct. This one is a 3/5.

The orange zest pizza was remarkable. Sundried tomatoes generally have a strong flavor. They can be overly chewy, but these were somehow softened enough for easy eating. The smooth grilled eggplant flavor further soothed the sharper tomatoes. The orange zest added a subtle but noticeable accent that was unexpected, yet very welcome. 4.5/5, or even 5/5?

Both pizzas came with tomato sauce base that was applied over the crust too, something I haven't seen before. There was also no vegan cheese, which I didn't miss.

The focaccia seemed to be "just" a thin, full pizza base with some rosemary and salt. It was OK, but a little dry, as far as the bread goes. I generally prefer thick-breaded focaccia. They did however provide a collection of four flavored olive oils, which was great. 2.5/5

I kept leftovers for dinner the next day, but couldn't finish the focaccia.

The service was efficient and friendly enough. The seating area was maybe a little warm, but also nothing to really complain about.

For the rest:

• This one is as "Pizzeria Romana al Tavolo" on Google Maps, probably to distinguish it from their other "Chiado" location. On OSM, these distinctions were also made. On HappyCow not, which was a little confusing.
• This restaurant is part of a franchise with some less common principles; check it out: https://www.romanapizza.it/.