As we enter Fireaway Pizza in Inverurie around lunchtime, a customer calls out to us: “this is the best pizza in Inverurie”.
High praise indeed, we become even more intrigued to try the offering.
Founded in London in 2016, Fireaway Pizza now has branches across the UK.
The Inverurie unit is snug, situated on the Aberdeenshire town’s North Street.
The first thing Andy and I spot inside is the huge 400-degree fire oven at the back of the pizzeria, with a rotating surface that ensures each pizza gets up close and personal with the flames.
Each of the pizzas are made fresh in front of us, and they even offer a quirky dessert pizza too.
Other options on the menu include chicken wings, cannoli and milkshakes.
We had come hungry, and – stomach grumblings – watch the pizza go from a fresh ball of dough to a completed, cooked pizza, topped with melted mozzarella and plenty of pepperoni.
Our thoughts on the ‘best pizza in Inverurie’
Of course, the first item we try on our visit has to be pizza.
The 12″ king pepperoni pizza is priced at £12.99, and has all the nostalgia you associate with the evocative Italian bite.
The crusts are perfectly crispy, the pizza base thin with that nice, chewy texture.
There’s a layer of the tangy tomato base, but it isn’t too heavyhanded- none of that tomato overkill which can make a base soggy and floppy.
And the melted mozzarella provides that tempting cheese pull.
I enjoyed this, and I’d have it again.
But it didn’t blow me away enough for me to call it the best pizza in Inverurie.
Joanna: 3.5/5
Andy: 3.5/5
Next up were some chicken wings.
We went for chilli honey chicken wings (£7.49 for six), but they also offer other flavours such as the garlic parmesan, heat extreme, blue cheese and sriracha.
Having recently tried Wingstop – described as “wing experts” – I had high expectations from these wings too.
And these did blow us away.
A mouth-watering mix of sweet and spicy, these moreish mouthfuls had us grinning from the first bite.
The skin was crispy, the meat juicy, and these were packed with so much flavour we didn’t feel the need to try one of Fireaway’s 79p dips.
Joanna: 5/5
Andy: 4/5
Is dessert pizza a yay or nay?
We ditched the savoury food at this point and tried out some of the sweet items available at Fireaway Pizza.
I am a big fan of cannoli, and was delighted to see these Sicilian pastries available in the Inverurie eatery.
The tube-shaped shells come in three flavours here: hazelnut chocolate, lemon and pistachio.
We tried the pistachio cannoli (£5.49) first.
These were amazing. The nutty ricotta filling is simultaneously smooth and dense, making each bite both creamy and satisfying.
The pastry shells are crunchy but not overly hard, crumbling to create that contrasting mouthfeel.
Joanna: 5/5
Andy: 4.5/5
Next up, we tried the hazelnut chocolate cannoli (£5.49).
Again, I can’t fault the pastry shell which was perfect.
But the chocolate topping was quite rich, making it difficult personally to eat a whole one.
Andy was a big fan of these though, and enjoyed the crumbled chunks of hazelnut at either end of the shells.
Joanna: 3.5/5
Andy: 4/5
The Inverurie pizzeria also offers a rather quirky dessert pizza.
We tried the Nutella and Lotus Biscoff pizza (£7.49).
You can get this with toppings like chopped nuts, Custard Creams, Oreos or marshmallows too.
Again, this has a satisfying chewy base. This is briefly cooked in the pizza oven too, before the toppings are layered on top.
There is a generous Nutella drizzle, and a smattering of Lotus Biscoff crumb on top.
This is a fun sweet treat to have, but the cannoli definitely came out on top.
Joanna: 3.5/5
Andy: 3.5/5
Our final thoughts on Fireaway Pizza Inverurie:
The staff were friendly and accommodating at Fireaway Pizza, the service prompt as well.
While the pepperoni pizza didn’t blow us away, we were big fans of the chicken wings and the cannoli as well.
You can read our other Taste Tests online here, or every fortnight in our food and drink magazine.
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