Sergio and Maria

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Anyone for a pizza?
Anyone for a pizza?

In case you are unsure, Sergio and Maria are very Italian names. Sergio shares his first name with famous Film director Sergio Leone, and Maria? West Side Story left us with Bernstein’s “The most beautiful sound I ever heard, Maria!”

Add Sergio and Maria and mix with sourdough and you have the ingredients for Sergio’s Pizza Factory where Sergio claims he is serving the best Sourdough Pizza’s ever by using their Mother Yeast called “Maria”.

The incredible dessert pizza.
The incredible dessert pizza.

To understand this new restaurant you have to understand sourdough. Sourdough is one of the oldest breads and dates from 3,700 BC. It is made by the fermentation of dough using naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeast and has better inherent keeping qualities than other breads due to the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli. It is also healthy for you being low in carbohydrate and gluten.

The new restaurant is the brainchild of Sergio Armenio and partner George Romanyk. The new brand is focusing on a truly authentic Italian experience akin to dining at a contemporary Italian restaurant in Rome or Milan. Sergio’s Pizza Factory is in The Avenue shopping center on Second Road on the ground floor and where previously there was a pizza restaurant, but there the similarity ends. Walls in plate glass gives a very airy atmosphere and the omnipresent Sergio and happy staff keep the place humming.

“We are passionate as Italians can be. Passionate about food and wine, life and love, art and music, fashion and design… and more,” said Sergio, “beginning with authentic Italian recipes, traditional in nature but with a modern twist, recipes passed down from my mother and her mother… and her mother before that.”

“We are all about family and friends and believe that dining is more than just eating; it’s a moment to share ‘La dolce vita’ or the good life with your loved ones,” Sergio said adding, “It is all about flavor and goodness, love and belonging, authentic and natural, exciting our tastes all with the healthiest and freshest produce available.”

Caesar salad (best eaten on the Ides of March).
Caesar salad (best eaten on the Ides of March).

Like most Italians, Sergio is proud of his heritage and his pizzas a la Romana. This style of pizza features a very thin and crispy base, and uses “Maria” in the base and a whole host of different toppings. Don’t expect to see Hawaiian ham and pineapple. Sergio is so Italian that even his tomatoes are imported from Italy. And his proud boast is that he can get a pizza to your table in three minutes from ordering. Mamma Mia!

To add to the Italian flavor, Sergio has a Ducati MH900 evoluzione on show. A retro sports motorcycle made by Ducati in 2001 and 2002, in a limited production run of 2,000 units. The other 1,999 are probably in Italy. And of course there is a Vespa as well, with the other 9,000 million of those in Italy and all going strong.

An Italian Antipasto.
An Italian Antipasto.

Pizza prices range from B. 199 to B. 379 including items such as Sergio’s Mare Monte with garlic prawns, soppressata salami, marinated mushroom, ham and San Marzano tomato and mozzarella cheese.

The ‘factory’ makes more than pizzas with wood-fired gnocchi with four cheese a stand-out at B. 299, plus many choices of pasta.

The Ducati – 1 in 2000. Not for sale.
The Ducati – 1 in 2000. Not for sale.

This is not your everyday pizza parlor. Thick and greasy is not Sergio’s style of pizzas. This is an Italian restaurant to take the whole family to. Make a night of it. Quite honestly we had some of the best pizzas we have ever had. And the dessert pizza was just sensational. If you like Nutella, you will love the Nutella Pizza dessert.

Sergio supervising the wood firing.
Sergio supervising the wood firing.

Sergio’s Pizza Factory, The Avenue Mall, Pattaya, 399/9 Room D101 Moo 10, Central Pattaya, Ph: 038 723 929, open seven days 11.30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Parking in the Avenue car park with the first five hours free with stamp from Sergio’s.