Real Roman pizzas, burnt crusts and skirts of forty-year olds at Sugo

At Sugo in Aert van Nesstraat, you’re sitting in a café, but you’re eating pizza. Slices of pizza, to be precise. Pizza that is tastier than any pizza you can buy in Rome.

Because Rome, the height of civilization, is the inspiration behind this café; there’s definitely no hiding that. The words ‘Real Roman pizza’ are written everywhere. The fact that such a café is the Italian equivalent of a Dutch snack bar is by the by. Sugo is the first of a kind in the Netherlands. So, by extension, it’s cool.

 

Burnt pizza crusts

The door is open. Not out of hospitality, but to let some air in. There’s a burning smell … or rather, there’s a smell of burnt pizza crusts. Extremely tasty slices of pizza are on display as you order at the counter, and an assistant then brings your food to your table. That employee cuts the large pizzas into slices with scissors – so much for Italian tradition.

The café is small, so it’s jam-packed around dinnertime. After seven it starts to quieten down. There are high stools, benches and chairs. That gives a playful effect, but also means that yours truly – sitting on a low bench – gets an eyeful under the skirt of a forty-year old sitting on a high stool in front of him. Buono appetito.

Better than McDonald's

Once that image has finally been removed from my retina, my eye catches a pair of turtle doves sat a few tables back. A heavily made up girl is sitting across from an extremely awkward boy. They ask each other general questions. A first date? In any case, the setting is ideal. The atmosphere at Sugo is casual, they serve you quickly and you’re on your way out the door just as fast. The portions are that small.

To some extent, Sugo has something of a fast-food chain about it. Note, for example, the McDonald’s-like bins where you have to throw away your own rubbish – read: burnt crusts. Only, the food is at Sugo better. Much better. It could definitely teach McDonald’s and a few Romans a thing or two.

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