The Oven, Saw Close, Bath

Decent pizzas are hardly a lesser-spotted speciality in Bath; whichever part of the city centre you choose to stroll through, a proliferation of pizza perfection is never far from your orbit. As a result, it could be said that there’s no need to review a pizza hotspot – they’re hardly tucked away, and everybody knows what to expect from the experience anyway.

But if I happen to be very fond of a pizza-centric modern trattoria right at the heart of my favourite merrymaking comfort zone (that’ll be Saw Close, then), and I happen to have been inspired to write a review, then there’s no reason I can’t happen to big up The Oven here.

For those don’t know where and what The Oven is, it’s a lively little corner of little Italy nestled on the lively little thoroughfare twixt Sainsbury’s Local (sorta on the corner of Kingsmead Square) and Theatre Royal Bath. Indoors, the vibe dances along to a cosy contemporary bistro beat, with a big open kitchen at the heart of the action wafting all manner of tempting olfactory tastebud teasers around on the oven-fired indoor breeze. But when there are people to watch and warm summer breezes to enjoy outdoors, a covered bench seat on the wide pavement to the front of the restaurant has your name all over it.

Since when was a starter before a pizza ‘A Thing’? Since you visited The Oven, and spotted bruschetta topped with Sicilian sausage, grilled aubergine and black olive tapenade on the menu, and/or bruschetta topped with smoked salmon and fresh avocado. So we went there… and we went for a little (big, as it turned out) dish of proper meatballs in proper tomato sauce too, and je ne regrette rien (or whatever the Italian equivalent for ‘no regrets’ might be).

On the subject of starters… you could, if you so wish, go -out Small Plate at The Oven, what with there being Caprese salad, and gazpacho, and fully-laden cheese and charcuterie boards amongst the starter line-up too. But why would you do that when (a) a Small Plate selection that I reckon to be up there with the best Small Plate selection to be found in Bath is served up right next door, and (b)… well, when in Rome, etc. So…

We shared a sophisticated savoury/salty/sweet gorgonzola/roasted pear/toasted walnut/honey marriage made in heaven (my choice), and a perky, pretty spirit-lifter involving homemade pesto, crispy pancetta, super-juicy tomatoes, a sprinkling of pine nuts and a huge blob of Burrata just made for piercing and spreading across the whole lot.

The base, on each? The Oven’s signature variant which eschews the tomato sauce in favour of Fior di Latte mozzarella instead, leaving the toppings to speak for themselves without tomatoes muscling in on the act (although you can, of course, opt for the classic tomato base if you’re really boring). And if it’s all about the base: properly oven-fired, properly crisp in the middle, properly puffed up and nicely charred all around the edges – tick, tick, tick.

Yup, they were seriously good pizzas: tasty and tasteful, imaginative but reassuringly authentic, and very good value for money – and by the way, the beers, the wine list and the service are all exceptionally good too.

So there we have it: I’ve bigged up The Oven, because it’s well worth bigging up. I may not have had to review a Bath pizza hotspot, but sometimes, not having to do something is the best reason to do it.