Food time. What's for lunch today?

“Pizzeria & Degustation Bar” is the hefty tagline put at the end of the promptly named “+39″ pizza joint on Little Bourke Street. Call me naive, hey even call me stupid, but I had no idea what “degustation” meant. Apparently it means “a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods” (source). I think they’re referring to the sweet pastries etc available over the counter. Fancy.

Back to the pizzas, they’re awesome and you should try them. I had the Sole e Luna (Sun & Moon) for $15 which got me a pizza made up of half calzone fitted with mozzarella and leg ham, and half margherita. It tasted amazing. By the look of the faces around the joint, the other pizzas seemed pretty decent too, all ranging between $10 – $15.

The ambiance was great and there were plenty of tables available if you have a nice sized work lunch crew with you. For those not wanting pizza, there was a nice range of pasta on the menu also. Plenty of wine and beer options and the service was fairly prompt. I had a bottle of Italian mango puree, it kind of tasted like the syrup that you get in a tin of canned peaches, highly recommended if you’re into that sort of thing.

I’m going to strongly recommend this place if you’re considering/craving pizza for lunch, but not going to stick in under my “favorites” column. Why? Not sure really, probably down to my “non-favoritism” of pizza on a whole, even if its creator thinks he’s made art.

I’d say this place would be pretty full most days, as it seems to be aiming the plug the “artisan pizza place” gap where you can grab a decent pizza served up by an Italian for a decent price. It’s working well so get down there early. With quotes like “Pizza is an art, and we’re the best at it” lining the bottom of their handwritten menus, +39 delivers an experience that feels genuine while not too over the top.