Despite the hot Brisbane summer, my craving for a fresh pizza never really changes, despite the heat. Which is why we were really pleased to hear that Fratelli Famous was coming to Eagle Street Pier. Having read somewhere that it would be located under Sake, it took us a while to find it, as it actually located on the other end, underneath Bavarian Bier Cafe.
Wanting to attend on the grand opening day (since I conveniently work just across the road), we were quite dismayed when it the opening got delayed due to water damage (I had even forgone my packed lunch that day to go here!). Nevertheless, we were given a pizza voucher and told we could attend again later to grab that pizza. Upon later consideration, we found this alternative to be even better, because we didn't need to line up with the crowd in the heat. So we went on the Monday right after to try it out.
Heading in, I noted the immediate similarities to Subway, which was rather unexpected.
Whilst some of the more common combinations were preset for ease of ordering, I'm pretty sure most people would be keen on creating their own pizza.
What I did notice though was that unlike Subway, which has curved plastic panels, Fratellis have quite a tall flat piece of glass separating you from the staff. Whilst I understand it's probably there to stop customers from leaning into the ingredients, we had real difficulty communicating with staff when the pizza oven is roaring and other customers are also trying to shout their orders through the gap in the glass.
Like Subway, we proceeded down the production chain, first taking our pick in size, and type of pizza base. My companion and I both selected sourdough, but had one large and one regular to share. There were four types of sauces, we settled on red and sugo (later regretting not trying white sauce). What really separates Fratellis from Subway though in my opinion (other than being a pizza joint rather than a sandwich joint), is the fact they don't limit you on the number of toppings you can choose. Indeed I opted for all the cheese except for feta and vegan, and the staff were very generous in their portion sizes.
A variety of seasoning was available, I opted for garlic salt and oregano.
A large assortment of meats were up for our choosing next, and I had all the meats except for spicy salami and chorizo. An interesting note though, the Italian sausage came as chunks of ground up meat, whilst the meatballs were more like sliced sausage than actual balls.
Of the other toppings, I settled on tomatoes, onions and garlic (because at that point, my pizza was already piled like a small mountain).
It then went into their pizza oven, whilst I didn't time it to see whether it was really 90 seconds like they claim to be, it was a rather fast turnaround (for a pizza), which we appreciated.
As mentioned, between the two of us, we got one large pizza, which came cut into six slices, and one regular pizza, which came as four slices.
My companion, being more conservative with his tastes, ordered a bacon and salami pizza with mushrooms, onion and garlic. Whilst I would have thought that mushroom would complement white sauce better, it gives me incentive to try that combination next time. Other than this I really liked the pizza base which was just the right thickness, and deliciously toasted in just the right places.
Coming out of the oven, my little mountain had subsided quite a bit, but the toppings were still substantial (so much that I had to use the fork to support the end of the pizza so that the toppings wouldnt fall off as I ate). Despite being a little on the salty side, it was definitely quite the flavour hit. I particularly loved the ground up Italian sausage, but found the mild salami not really mild enough. Rather than chopped bacon, perhaps thinly sliced streaky bacon would have also made it all the more enjoyable. Whilst not really comparable to Julius or Sugo Mi, for $15, I think its still great value for money and really conveniently located.
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 7/10
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