Pizza & Bolle (Pizza & Bubbles) is the entrepreneurial venture in Rome that honors pizza the most. Freedom, democracy, maturity – these are the qualities of the group, evident in every location, with every taste of the various doughs and toppings featured on the menu.
The story
Pizza & Bolle, the increasingly successful combination of perfect spheres of edible happiness, materializes in the eponymous triad, born from one of the most successful gastronomic enterprises in the capital. I'm talking about Sant'Isidoro, San Martino, and San Biagio, the three venues of the Pizza & Bolle group that explore the world of doughs 360°, from Neapolitan to Roman, passing through pan pizza. Always to be accompanied by one or more glasses of Italian bubbles and beyond, including Champagne, Franciacorta, Trento DOC, Refermented, and other fine Cuvées, to break the routine of the usual pizza and beer pairing.
The project, born a few years ago in 2019, now takes multiple paths in Rome, attracting more and more loyal customers. The credit for all this success? Certainly, a fundamental role has been played, and is still being played, by the 6 partners, including the well-known Roman actor Alessandro Borghi. On the operational side, there are three key figures, also a 'Holy Trinity': Jessica Ciaralli in the roles of PR, HR, and training for the dining room, Cristiano Ciaralli in administration and development, and Riccardo Squillace, a gastronome selecting raw materials.
In addition to them, a central role in the brand's success is played by those behind the counter, in the pizza and kitchen department. Giovanni Nesi handles the Neapolitan doughs at the Sant'Isidoro pizzeria in Via Oslavia, Mauro Pedone prepares the crispy pans of San Biagio in the small venue right next to Sant'Isidoro, a few houses down, Alessio Muscas, a well-known and beloved volcanic pizza maker, is always active behind the ovens of San Martino in the Ostiense area, recently awarded three Gambero Rosso slices, and finally Francesco Azzarretto, the chef behind all the fried and topping creations for the group.
It seems like a lot, but there's more. Pizza & Bolle has also conquered the splendid stage of Ripa Grande in Trastevere with an exciting offering for contemporary Neapolitan pizza. Thus, the offer of an entrepreneurial venture that honors pizza democratically, without factions, without products of class A or class B, with three different teams led by three talented pizza masters, appears broad and diverse. Because pizza is pizza, good in any form, leavening, hydration, and baking. Made with technique, awareness, and love. Pizza & Bolle in Rome breaks down borders and conflicts, urging even the most local customers, fans of Neapolitan or Roman pizza, to try everything by moving from one location to another, deepening their knowledge of different doughs and the history of products.
The pizzerias
Let's start from the Ostiense neighborhood. Here, in the spaces that initially housed Sant'Isidoro and Neapolitan dough pizza, San Martino now stands with the low and crispy pizza of Alessio Muscas, a young talent from the Callegari school coming from the Sbanco oven. San Martino, a tribute to the saint of hosts and abundance, is the most authentic and genuine venue of the group, smoothed and modernized thanks to Alessio's talent in producing elegant and contemporary pizzas, enriched with toppings studied like a high cuisine dish, perfectly calibrated for the low and crispy dough.
"There's a lot of talk about contemporary Neapolitan pizza, but less about contemporary Roman: my Roman pizza is contemporary because it's hand-stretched (not rolled with a rolling pin), so it has a slight alveolation, a significant structure compared to traditional thin Roman pizza, and is therefore a handmade product with higher hydration. The crust is super crispy, with the central part more 'soft' that lets you feel the dough well when you bite, so it doesn't remain flat like a cracker," explains Muscas. "Neapolitan pizza was my first love, but Roman pizza – as a Roman from Rome – is in my blood. The common thread that accompanies me in this delicate transition from contemporary Neapolitan pizza to Roman pizza is the study of high-level doughs and the crunchy aspect (I even have a tattoo with the word 'crunch'). Neapolitan pizza has given me a lot, but now I expect the same from Roman pizza," concludes Muscas.
The true Neapolitan pizza is ordered and enjoyed in Prati, at Sant'Isidoro, the 'Agricultural Saint,' protector of farmers, the flagship of the Pizza & Bolle Group, recently transported to one of the most lively areas of the capital. Here, master pizza maker Giovanni Nesi, a Neapolitan born in '89, offers a contemporary Neapolitan pizza, with a well-pronounced crust with a slight hint of crunch.
"My pizza is a contemporary Neapolitan one, with a well-pronounced crust as tradition dictates, made with great attention to innovative dough processing techniques, which give great lightness to the final product. I care a lot especially about this last point: pizza must always be tasty and at the same time highly digestible," explains Giovanni.
Also in Via Oslavia, next to Sant'Isidoro, there is San Biagio, a tribute to the patron saint of the throat who, according to legend, multiplied the volume of a panettone. Working day and night in the venue is Mauro Pedone, a very young '92 class trained with Pierdaniele Seu. His product is light and crispy. "My idea of pan pizza comes from the desire to rediscover the crispy sliced pizza that I ate when I was a child. Obviously, making it all more modern through innovative work on the dough: the use of ancient grain flours and 80% hydration make the structure fragrant and at the same time digestible," explains Mauro Pedone. Not just pizza: at San Biagio, there is a rotisserie for rotisserie chicken, fried foods, and a gastronomy counter populated by Norcian excellences to make the perfect filling.
The foundations, the doughs, are there. But who paints them with original sauces, toppings, and spices? Francesco Azzarretto, he is the chef behind all the toppings, fillings, and extraordinary fried items that define the menu of the Pizza & Bubbles group. Through constant and careful dialogue with the pizza makers of each venue, with precision, creativity, and balance, he concludes a job started hours earlier in the mixer. "Creating a recipe to put on a pizza is very different from the classic plate service: the dough already has a well-defined structure, and here at Pizza & Bolle, there are even three different ones; it's all a matter of balance between taste, measurements, quantities, and consistencies.
And the same goes for aesthetics: one thing is plating on a white and smooth base, another is doing it on a pizza that carries with it all the signs and beautiful imperfections of its craftsmanship. I try to transfer my idea of cuisine into pizza and fried foods, made of great tradition and bold flavors, incorporating the use of more modern techniques, such as low-temperature sous-vide cooking. At Pizza & Bolle, we have fun, experiment, and push ourselves beyond: we make a supplì that is practically a fried risotto, and we've put grilled meat on the pizza," says the chef.
The pizzas
There are many novelties in the group's pizzeria menu. Among mushrooms, artichokes, and pumpkin, two stand out: the arrival of the tasting menu and the Marinara menu. The first, available both at San Martino and Sant'Isidoro in Prati with different tastings, consists of a journey created to taste the most representative new pizzas and the iconic ones paired with great wines and bubbles. It consists of two appetizers, four slices of different pizzas, and a dessert at a cost of 27 euros (beverages not included), 38 euros including beverages (glass of Sparkling / Refermented, glass of Classic Method, glass of Franciacorta), 43 euros including beverages (glass of Sparkling / Refermented, glass of Franciacorta, glass of Champagne).
The other novelty of the two venue is the Marinara Menu consisting of 5 pizzas: a classic marinara plus four interpretations, such as the Marinara Arrabbiata with San Marzano DOP spicy tomato, cherry tomatoes, curly parsley, mussels, garlic cream, parsley beat, and EVO oil with chili, the Marinara Duck with milk cream, fresh oregano, garlic, reduced tomato, olive powder, capers, duck ham, and EVO oil, the Yellow Marinara, with Yellow Vesuvius Datterino garlic, Taggiasca olives, homemade anchovies in oil, fresh oregano, capers, and EVO oil, and the Marinaretta based on San Marzano DOP tomato pizzaiola, taralli, olive powder, capers, fresh oregano, garlic chips, and EVO oil.
A menu full of creativity that does not forget tradition. Always at the service of technique and experimentation. Technique, tradition, and experimentation that touch already in the first minutes of dinner, between one fried and another. The Supplì, with disarming simplicity, is excellent for condiments, rice cooking, and crispness of the breading. The rice, Acquerello, is wrapped in a sauce rich in San Marzano DOP tomato, with the perfect balance between sweetness and acidity. The tasting of the Lasagnetta is unmissable, a classic Lasagna with ragù, breaded and fried, and the famous and always winning Burro e Limone supplì with alpine butter and lemon zest.
The taste of Martino nell'Orto, a Roman, low and crispy pizza, dressed with pumpkin cream, enlivened by the bitter notes of sautéed chicory, the sweeter ones of yellow Vesuvius cherry tomatoes, and the crunchier and more colorful ones of red turnip chips, remains in the heart.
More indulgent and substantial, always to be tried at the Ostiense pizzeria, is the Lardo e Patate with Fior di latte from the Monti, potatoes, Iberian lard, sweet and sour onion, pecorino cream, vanilla pepper, and EVO oil, or the Gricia in Agro, which adds drops of sweet and sour onion to the typical Roman seasoning. And again, perhaps at the beginning of dinner, to share at the table, the Bresaola e Rucola according to us with Parmigiano cream, beef carpaccio, rocket and lemon gel, Parmigiano chips, wild rocket, and EVO oil.
In both venues, the great classics are always present, such as Margherita, Cosacca, Capricciosa, or Provola and Pepi, and the iconic pizzas of Pizza & Bolle such as A Mazara, with raw red prawn of Mazara, stracciatella of Andria, and candied lemon zest, and the 3 Pomodori + 1.
Let's not forget the bubbles, told in a menu that includes more than 100 labels from all over the world.
Contacts
SANT’ISIDORO – PIZZA & BOLLE
via Oslavia 41, 00195 – Rome
mon-fri + sub: 12.30-3.00pm / 7.00pm-12.00am
sat: 7.00pm-12.00am
T. +39.0689822607
SAN MARTINO – PIZZA & BOLLE
Lungotevere di Pietra Papa 201, 00146 – Rome
mon-fri + sub: 12.30-3.00pm / 7.00pm-12.00am
sat: 7.00pm-12.00am
T. +39.065584801
SAN BIAGIO – PIZZA & BOLLE
via Oslavia 39 E, 00195 – Rome
lun-ven: 12.00-10.00pm
sab-dom: 4.00-10.00pm
Sant'Isidoro Pizza & Bolle - Ripa Grande
Lungotevere Ripa, 3, 00153 Roma RM
Telefono: 06 4299 0418
Open Friday from 6:00pm to 12:30am. Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 to 3:30pm and from 6:00pm to 12:30.
