Alfie Birds, Birmingham - 4/8/2014 and 12/8/2014

or, 'A pizza so nice I ate it twice'. 

Something which is really cool is tasty pizza. Something which is even cooler is tasty pizza which is pretty much on your doorstep. When that tasty pizza also comes with *whisper it* ~vegan cheese~ shit gets positively icy.

As far as I can gather, Alfie Birds is a relatively new endeavour in the Custard Factory, which is a lil complex of independent shops and offices in Digbeth, near the Bullring in Birmingham city centre. It's a real nice place, and they do a selection of food - namely pizzas and burgs - and have a full bar. I like it there a lot, which is why I went twice in nearly a week. The choice of pizzas is vast, and the topping combinations are generally not traditional ones, but they work nicely all the same, imho.

Their vegan pizza is called a Vegan Pesto, and comes with the aforementioned vegan cheese, caramelised onions, spinach, tomatoes and - u guessed it - a vegan pesto ~drizzle~ (the olives in the pic above from my second visit were a very welcome surprise). I would say that I was into this pizza. I think the first time around the crust and base were a little firmer than the second time, and I appreciate a lil bit of crunch with my bite, so that was A+. The second time around things got a lil softer, a lil chewier, but it still tasted good so *Kanye shrug*. Toppings wise, I would say that caramelised onion is a super strong flavour to put on a pizza when you're also combining it with other stuff because it tends to take over (kind of as if it's Beyoncé and the other toppings are Kelly and Michelle), so I was pleased that on my second visit there was a little less of that stuff - don't get me wrong, it tasted good but I think it was nice for the other toppings' confidence that they were able to get some shine - and a more balanced pizza as a result.

In general, Alfie Birds is a really great place with v reasonable prices and inventive pizzas so go hang out there and get yourself a slice or five.

Pizza rating - 7.5/10

Alfie Birds
The Custard Factory, B94AA