Piazza By The Pier

It’s tough sitting inside working on a beautiful sunny day like today.

Particularly when you know – SPOILER ALERT – that tomorrow the sun’s going on holiday for a whole week.

Lucky for some.

But while others will be wallowing in self pity, you have an opportunity to break from the pack and make a plan for one of the many roasting days and / or evenings that we shall all be basking in over the next three months of summer, by securing a seat or two at Jimmy Garcia’s brand new alfresco, riverside interactive dining experience. It’s called Piazza By The Pier – and Jimmy’s sweetened the deal (more of which later) by agreeing to throw in a couple of free drinks for Nudge Members and a guest.

Now before we get to the experience itself, let’s agree to think of this as one part of several hours of alfresco fun that you and your lucky companion are going to enjoy at some point over the summer. Because the best part about Piazza By The Pier is that’s it’s located on a large, airy expanse of car-less riverside space right next to London Bridge – which means that the daytime or evening pizza party you might book into will happen either before or after you spend hours meandering along the South Bank eating ice cream, hunting for reading material at the outdoor second-hand & antique book market underneath Waterloo Bridge, riding carousels, sunbathing, shopping, popping into The Tate Modern to look at art (but mainly to cool down), watching street entertainers and sampling cheese in Borough Market.

But after (or before) all that, you’ll be making pizza at Piazza By The Pier.

The space is all outdoors, nestled right by the river’s edge. It’s split up into pagodas, covered cabanas, and long tables framed by plant-lined trellises, with a spritz bar & the all-important kitchen sitting astride it all. And sure, you can pop in for a pizza cooked by, ugh, someone else – but the real reason to go here is because every Thursday, Friday & Saturday they’re hosting 3-course, booze-assisted, make-your-own pizza experiences.

So what to expect? Well you’ll start with a welcome cocktail – either a spritz (elderflower, pamplemousse, or Aperol) or a Negroni, with some smoked almonds & plump Nocerella olives to nibble on. After that, the antipasti: your table will be strewn with a selection of marinaded, oven-roasted spring and summer vegetables for you to choose from (plus warm garlic flatbreads, and some oils for dipping).

Then, the main event – the pizza. You’ll be given a ball of 48-hour raised sourdough, with pizza chefs on hand to demonstrate the wrist-baffling trickery required to turn it into a floury platter upon which you will then be invited to lavish any toppings you fancy. After taking your creation up to the chef, who’ll flash-scorch it in Jimmy’s special wood-fired pizza oven, it’ll then be yours to enjoy at your leisure (after which you’ll be served a classic espresso affogato, made with mocha coffee poured over fresh gelato, and a little biscotti).  And that for everyone will be the experience, except for you because Nudge Members are also getting a glass of wine, on the house (to enjoy with the pizza) and a complimentary shot of limoncello.

An experience that, unlike your pizza…

…will be difficult to top.

NOTE: Piazza by the Pier runs from 17th June – 30th September. Pizza parties will run Thurs-Sat between 24th Jun – 30th August. They cost £39pp for three courses plus a welcome cocktail, and you can book them at the website right HERE.

OTHER NOTE: As mentioned,  if you’re a Nudge Member and would like to book a spot for you and a guest you’ll each receive the standard welcome cocktail, antipasti, pizza making experience, affogato & biscotti PLUS a glass of red or white wine with your pizza, and a shot of limoncello to finish everything off. A password’s needed to access this, which you can find at the top of this article. Once you have the code, you can buy tickets HERE. Not A Member? Sign up here for a free trial.

Piazza by the Pier | London City Pier, Hays Lane, SE1 2HB

Like Pizza? Stupid question, sorry. To make up for it, here are the best pizza joints in London…