Assiduous readers of Nigel Noshes will know that the name of “Franco Manca”, the ubiquitous British pizza chain, means “Franco is missing”, and that the quality of their pizzas generally reflects his absence. I am delighted to reveal in my first (and probably only) Cape Verde Pizza review that while Lord Lucan and Shergar remain unspotted, I may have a bead on Franco’s whereabouts…

There are a lot of Italian restaurants in Santa Maria, and many of them seem to be run by Italians (see my review of the amazing Marea). Il Faro, a little off the main drag, seems to be among them, if only judged by the inordinate amount of Italian wine available compared to local offerings. That didn’t matter as we as a very passable Grillo at a not too unreasonable price.

Having tired of the piscine delights of many of Santa Maria’s restaurants, we wanted a night off, so were keen to have a pizza to break things up a bit. But we were not holding out too much hope, if truth be told, as if you can’t get a decent pizza in London (the current Neapolitan craze producing a series of overpriced and limp imitations of la vera pizza), what were you going to get on the equator on an island that imports 90% of its food?

We eased ourselves in gently with “Roast beef with rocket and cheese”. Descriptive if lacking in poetry. Well, book, covers, etc, as this was sublime.

Primo

Not only was it beautifully presented, the beef was perfectly cooked, and absolutely melt in the mouth. There are a number of main course meat dishes which appear (if I got the translation right) to be prepared sous vide, and I suspect this was. With a twist of lemon, it was perfect.

Labour seems to be split between the main kitchen, run somewhat stereotypically by Mama, and the pizza kitchen where the male members of the family congregated. Mama had completely owned round 1, so it was interesting to see what the other side could rustle up.

Secundo

Two, perfectly cooked, pizzas, light and fluffy, but just crisp enough on the base. The very antithesis of most London creations (Franco Manca take note). But it was still very recognisably a Neapolitan-style pizza, not the super crispy Pinsa Romana (which I am inordinately fond of also).

If I had one criticism is that the tomato to cheese ratio was off, skewed unfortunately in the dairy direction, and that the tomatoes were possibly not San Marzano, which gives a pizza its unique taste. But these were very minor concerns.

Dolce

Service was excellent: This is pretty unusual in Santa Maria, as it can be very variable, both in terms of tempo and civility. But they got it just right.

We booked (by dropping in on the same day), and it was probably worth doing as the outside eating area was full by the time we left.

Meal for two with wine, water, two pizzas, a starter and tip was about £50. Much better value than our ill fated trip the night before to George’s.

Conclusion

Rating: 5/5

Il Faro: https://m.facebook.com/ilBuongustaioSaronno/?__n=K