Libertad 1078 (between Av. Santa Fe & Marcelo T de Alvear), Recoleta

Piola is an international chain of pizzerias, originally hailing from Treviso, Italy, but now with many restaurants in the USA, Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. However, it seems as they spread far and wide, they didn’t lose much of the supposed stereotypical Italian arrogance on arriving in Buenos Aires. Here’s a little example from the Piola website:

“Piola opened in Argentina in April 1993, arriving directly from Treviso, Italy. It revolutionized the Buenos Aires gastronomy to such a point that the local press and industry speak of a before and after PIOLA in Buenos Aires.”

Hmmmm… Suffice to say, I’ve never heard anyone here speak of such a sea change in Buenos Aires cuisine. Yes, it’s all well and good that they are so sure about the groundbreaking quality of their food… but more pertinently, does the Pizza stand up to stringent Buenos Aires Argentina Guide testing? Stay tuned to find out, Pizza fans…

Before we get down to (pizza) business, this is a quick note to say that this post was the one I referred to in my last post; I wrote a fantastically funny review of Piola last week only to see all my work lost just before I posted it up :( So, I apologise if this post is not so interesting because I used up all my motivation for writing about Piola the last time round. Well, that’s my excuse anyway…   

Stylishly Decorated Interior, Stylishly Slow Wait Staff

The surroundings and atmosphere are certainly not disappointing at Piola – it’s hip, trendy, cool, and all that jazz… although actually the music is electronic beats with the occasional dance remix of pop songs, apparently spun by a resident DJ, although I never saw one. Based in up-market Recoleta, pop-art adorns the walls, the long thin entrance bar is very stylish, there is a lovely little courtyard out the back (see picture below) - perfect for summer evening meals with friends, and of course, you also get the feeling that many of the thin young waiters and waitresses were hired as eye candy…

Well, the wait staff had to be hired for something, because they certainly don’t do much waiting. The diners are the ones that have to wait at Piola. For example, we were shown to our table by the ‘greeter’, and it was a full half hour before anyone took an order from us. It wasn’t that there were no wait staff around, it was more that they were either disappearing to who knows where or chatting among themselves in a corner the whole time. When we finally got hold of one, he took our drinks order and ran away before we could order food.

The drinks arrived almost 20 minutes later, from a different waiter who also ran away as quickly as possible, and all in all it was almost an hour before we could even order some food. This theme continued right the way through the night to the bill. Even by Buenos Aires standards, service is very slow and impersonal at Piola. And no, I’m not just saying that because I’m jealous that all the waiters were better looking than me!

Anyway, I don’t want to moan too much, I just wanted to say PIOLA, SORT IT OUT!, before moving swiftly on to discussing the main event…

The Pizza

Here she is:

I has the small Quattro Formaggi, my usual choice in Italian pizza joints, and it was certainly comparable with some of the better versions I have had of this pizza in my many years as a pizza fanatic. The pizza at Piola, as you would expect, is more traditionally Italian than the Argentine versions you get in most pizzerias in Buenos Aires (not that the Argentine versions are bad, for example I still prefer the pizza at Guerrin and Banchero to Piola). Whereas those Argentine pizza versions are big on mozzarella and fluffy dough, Piola does a more understated Italian style (’less is more’ for the toppings) that also goes down very nicely indeed.

It is pizza a la piedra, in that it is baked directly on the stone (piedra) floor of the oven (which just about can be seen in the next picture below, behind the chef) and a thin crust version of this style, although it is soft rather than crispy, which for me suits the Quattro Formaggi ‘melt in the mouth’ experience. The four cheeses in this case were mozzarella, brie, parmesan and roquefort, the latter blue, as usual, being the star performer of the lot. Maybe it was all that waiting, but I wolfed the pizza down very quickly, and the small size was just about right for one hungry person.

Piola: Nice Food, But a Little Pricey

Yes, the pizza was very nice, but it is a little on the caro side. My small pizza for one cost 21 pesos, which is more expensive than many grande pizzas at, say Guerrin (again!), that would feed two to three people. The rest of the small pizzas ranged from 14 to 26 pesos, which is expensive by Buenos Aires standards, though probably not for foreign visitors.

My fiancee had pasta, which was a nice but simple affair called Spaghetti Alla Crudaiola (fresh pasta, tomato, buffalo mozzarella, olive oil, basil and parmesan shavings), and although she enjoyed it, 22 pesos for a small pasta dish that we could have quite easily knocked up at home was a bit steep. Although, as I say, as a visitor to BA you probably will not think this is expensive. The drinks, desserts and coffee are also quite steep, although we didn’t get round to trying the latter two because we didn’t fancy our chances with the wait staff any longer. Nevertheless, I note that a fellow BA blogger says that the tiramasu at Piola is ‘to die for’ (see the 1st comment of that post, by Robert), so that’s your dessert recommendation sorted for you ;)

Anyway, for a place where the pizza is really quite good, I have moaned enough about the waiting and the prices, so I will finish on a positive note… with a picture. Don’t you think that every pizza chef the world over should be striking this pose when they have their picture taken? This photo just makes me want to smile…

Piola Pizzeria: The Verdict

• Service: (2/5) Mind numbingly slow. But they do give you a complimentary glass of a variation of sgropino - in this case a mixture of vodka and lemon gelato (thanks Dan!), so that saves them from the lowest rating possible.
• Food: (4/5) Very good quality pizza in the traditional Italian thin crust style.
• Atmosphere: (4/5) A buzzing, young, trendy atmosphere which makes up a little for the slow service, because it helps you to forget you’re waiting for something!
• Value: (2/5) Expensive pizza and pasta by Buenos Aires standards… I guess you are paying for the Recoleta location and ‘cool’ surroundings.

Buenos Aires Argentina Guide Special Tip

Short and sweet – don’t go to Pizzeria Piola if you are in a hurry to get somewhere afterwards! Probably best make an evening of it…