Society Pizzeria di Catania

This Sicilian pizzeria is tiny. However, this is a serious and meticulous pizza operation. Johnathan Faro, Society’s co-owner and chief pizzaiolo, makes two perfect wood fired pizzas, one to eat in and one to take away – it’s made to be at its best half-an-hour after baking. The Catanesi pizza is cooked for longer towards the front of the oven to give it more body and crunch.

The toppings are Faro family recipes with a few Neapolitan classics. For something traditional, try the scacciata, a pizza that’s been folded over and stuffed. The most famous family recipe is braised cauliflower with pecorino cheese, spring onion and black olives.

What the pizzeria lacks in space it makes up for in character – littered around the room you’ll find placards with lessons in Sicilian hand gestures, some of which are hilariously graphic. Faro also makes the carbone base; black pizza dough made with activated charcoal. It tastes the same but it looks crazy, and is good for you, according to Farro. His gluten-free version, made with Italian rice flour, is surprisingly spongey and bread-like.

On a Monday or Tuesday evenings it does a tasting menu: for $20 you can eat as much as you want.