It is simple to overlook Pizzeria Toto at Ulloor, in Thiruvananthapuram, whereas driving if not for the signal of an illuminated cartoon pizza slice topped with pepperoni standing subsequent to it. Fairy lights dangle down the eatery’s face, main as much as a country porch, with wall lamps casting shadows on a textured white wall. A couple of picket chairs and tables are arrange outdoor for eating.
Inside the pizzeria, on the prospects’ facet is a glass shelf, stocked with drinks, a sliced cheesecake and occasional creme brulee ramekins. On the different facet of the shelf , a busy crew with hair nets and floury fingers, led by Mymoona KS, is stretching the dough. Cheese, meat and veggies relaxation on the stretched pillowy dough earlier than it’s baked in a brick oven for exactly two minutes at 800 levels Fahrenheit. Soon, the room is crammed with the perfume of freshly baked pizza, sliced and served sizzling.
Pizzeria Toto in Ulloor, Thiruvananthapuram
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen
“I used to bake artisanal bread while I was living in Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu a few years ago. My son Yann’s friend and his mother were from Spain and it was she who got me into baking bread. Soon I started reading books about it too,” says Mymoona, who returned to Thiruvananthapuram in 2021. “But when I made sourdough bread with a starter at home, my family asked me why was the bread sour?” jokes Mymoona, who quickly observed an area in the metropolis for pizzas specializing in the crust.
Mymoona KS at Pizzeria Toto
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen
In May 2022, Mymoona began a cloud kitchen on the high ground of her residence at Chavadimukku. In January 2023, she started Pizzeria Toto, named after her son, affectionately known as Toto.
The eatery showcases a flexible menu with an equal emphasis on vegetarian and non-vegetarian pizzas, made for the Indian palate at an inexpensive funds.
One of their signature dishes, Buffalo rooster pizza, is completely sauced with an in-house ranch sauce made with a mix of mayonnaise, yoghurt and chosen herbs. The identify Buffalo is inspired from a sauce initially from the Buffalo metropolis in New York. It is topped with chunks of cooked rooster marinated in sizzling sauce and butter, together with pink onions. The pizza is just not overly tacky and is evenly sprinkled with a mixture of oregano seasoning. Small dollops of sriracha (a kind of sizzling sauce) give the pizza warmth and tang, harmonising with the creamy cheese. The skinny crust is evenly stretched and rolled, ensuing in a tender texture.
Buffalo rooster pizza from Pizzeria Toto
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen
The nine-inch pizzas are baked in a brick oven made by Chandigarh-based oven maker Marco Cappioti, who has additionally created the brick oven at Pizzeria da Susy in Gurugram, thought-about to be one of the finest pizzerias in the nation. “Since I wanted to make a pizza highlighting the bread, we did not compromise on the oven. So we reached out to him and Marco sent it assembled. We had to use a crane to install it in the kitchen,” says Mymoona.
The Mediterranean love pizza is a vegetarian pizza topped with feta cheese, tomatoes and pink onions. It has a wealthy flavour from the tomato sauce and chunks of contemporary tomato. The pizza is just not overpowering for the palate. The likes of feta, tomatoes and onion complement the olive “salt bombs”, generously unfold on the pizza.
A slice of Mediterranean love pizza from Pizzeria Toto
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen
The different pizza varieties embrace pepperoni, BBQ beef, Kungpao rooster, marinara and so forth beginning from ₹285.
Sweet endings
Pizzeria Toto’s dessert menu has a burnt basque cheesecake and occasional caramel creme brulee. These two extraordinarily revered European desserts go away little or no room for error. The burnt basque cheesecake is mild, ethereal and clean. This crustless cheesecake model is ideal for dessert lovers and individuals who like their sweets rather less candy.
Burnt basque cheesecake from Pizzeria Toto
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen
The espresso caramel creme brulee is one other not-so-sweet dessert. The sugary, laborious espresso caramel shell on the high shatters at the contact of a spoon, revealing a silky, golden custard inside. The dessert is a complicated model of a steaming glass of espresso with delicate bitter notes.
Creme Brulee from Pizzeria Toto
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen
They serve an array of cold and warm drinks comparable to sizzling chocolate, mojito and milkshakes.
Mymoona hopes to develop the house of her pizzeria and the dessert menu, including dishes like brioche doughnuts with fillings and tiramisu. “I also want to offer pre-ordered brioche and sourdough bread,” she says. “And I want to employ more homemakers.”
Cost for 2 ₹800. Open from 2.30pm to 10pm, besides on Mondays.
