Lisa: Fokionos Negri's pizzaiolo makes one of the most beautiful pizzas in Athens
From the first time I ate at Proveleggios, I had distinguished the pizza with its thin, soft dough that you had to fold to be able to lift it with your hand, and with its nice, slightly crispy crust. Since then, whenever I ate at the restaurant again, it was rare that I didn't order it.
Simple and unassuming, with tables spread out on the pedestrian street of Fokionos, Lisa is adorned with three designer domed ovens that burn. In front of them, in the open preparation room, Stavros and his team roll out the dough they make with natural sourdough, and then load it with delicious ingredients – from spicy nduja (a creamy Italian sausage made from pork and peperoncino) to gorgonzola and guanciale. This pizzaiolo also works as a DJ, since the shop plays his favorite songs at a reasonable volume.
The menu is not extensive: ten pizzas, two salads (burrata and "Japanese Ceasar's") and garlic bread are all on offer. That's a good sign. If you want to drink something, you'll choose between beers (they also have craft from Greek microbreweries), a few wines, a Spritz and a Negroni.
I tried the burrata with cherry tomatoes, a sauce of roasted cherry tomatoes and rosemary, which deviates a bit from the classic, and then it was time for the main topic. And at Lisa, the pizza that Stavros bakes is very good. Neo-Neapolitan, juicy as it should be, with a slightly less bready crust than the traditional ones. I didn't try the pizza with Marmite. The dark, sticky paste made from yeast extract and whose slogan is "Love it or hate it" (because you're supposed to either hate it or love it) leaves me a little indifferent, to tell the truth. The marinara, on the other hand, with the garlicky, tomato sauce, has tons of freshness and quickly became my favorite. Lucifer with nduja, provolone, mozzarella and oregano was also very tasty, although not as spicy as I expected, while in Forest the ingredients (mushrooms, truffle cream, mozzarella, parmesan and truffle oil) were tasty and balanced but weighed down the dough a little too much with their moisture.
I do want to go back soon, though, to see how the hell mapo tofu (a spicy Chinese tofu dish) goes with pizza and to order another fantastic marinara.