I tried a new North End restaurant Napoli Pizza and Pasta's 'Portsmouth Special' - topped with banana, pineapple and madras curry
North End’s new pizza restaurant Napoli Pizza and Pasta has an unusual dish on its menu - The Portsmouth Special.
The restaurant opened four months ago on London Road and is staffed by owner Osman Majid and his head pizza chef Badal Mohammed.
The pair reckon they run the only pizza restaurant in Portsmouth to cook with a traditional wood-burning oven. Badal said: ‘There is a better taste and it smells good. Wood is best. Wood is classic.’
The pizza I came to taste was far from traditional.
For those who baulk at the idea of pineapple on pizza, the addition of banana and madras curry powder may be several steps too far. The exotic offering is in stark contrast to its more conservative base of mozzarella and Neapolitan style tomato sauce. Despite my reservations, head chef Badal claimed that the flavours fit together naturally.
‘The Portsmouth Special’ does not immediately bring the Hampshire’s island city to mind. According to Badal, the connection is that he likes the pizza and he likes Portsmouth.
Badal has been making the unusual concoction for almost 20 years and has been working with restaurant manager Osman Majid in the catering industry since 2002. The pair originally hail from Iraq but the origins of the ‘Portsmouth Special’ came about during their time working in Sweden, where the unorthodox combinations of topping was apparently popular.
Osman has lived in Portsmouth since 2017 and said he has received positive reviews from customers since opening his first restaurant.
Osman said: ‘Sweden is cold, expensive and when you live in the capital, it's big. I like Portsmouth because it's a small city and it's cheaper.’ He added that everyone who has tried the Special so far in Portsmouth has enjoyed it.
Banana dominated the flavours on offer and while chewing it with cheese was quite a strange sensation, the ingredients complimented each other surprisingly well. The overall effect was more sweet than savoury but the order was served with a tart ‘pizza salad’ made with white cabbage, white vinegar and black pepper. The restaurant also serves calzones, kebabs and a selection of platters and sides. Owner Osman’s personal favourite dish is the Fruitti Di Mare, a seafood pizza with prawns, calamari and mussels.