We tried pizza from the newest pizzeria in Basingstoke

Pizzeria Gali, owned by 45-year-old Miguel Barros, opened on Stag Oak Lane in Chineham Business Park on October 23.

We visited the pizzeria at lunchtime on Thursday, November 16, and tried a few things from the menu, and saw exactly what set Pizzeria Gali apart.

We were greeted warmly by Miguel's staff and restaurant manager Steph upon arriving, who showed us to our table and gave us a bottle of water as we had a look around the restaurant and began pondering our way through the menu.

The team (Image: Lola Crossman)

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The restaurant has a lovely open plan, with tables well spaced, and a comfortable range of seats, armchairs and bar stools depending on what and where you fancy sitting. Pizzeria Gali, based in Stag Oak Lane, Chineham Business Park, is tucked away from sight and has a great view looking out across a green space adjacent to the building.

There was a lovely ambience in the restaurant, with soothing piano music playing in the background, and candles lit on tables. Pizzeria Gali has free parking outside, including a number of EV charging points and has a wide plan perfect for all, including disability access and a disabled toilet.

Also included in the open plan is the kitchen, where you can watch the Pizzaiolo cooking up a number of dishes, including the pizzas, fresh, and watch as they simmer in the pizza oven on display.

The menu has a great selection to choose from, boasting 12 pizzas, steak meals, sandwiches, side dishes, and a kids menu, as well as a vast selection of soft and hot drinks. It also has a gluten-free base available, and a vegan cheese. 

Going forward, Pizzeria Gali says it also hopes to incorporate Italian desserts into the menu as well.

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Pizzeria Gali also serves a number of alcoholic drinks, including beers, a selection of white, red or sparkling wines, and cocktails made with alcoholic spirits infused with CBD, a non-psychoactive beverage.

The cocktails currently on offer include a passionfruit and espresso martini, and a Dom Pedro - an adult smoothie made from vanilla ice cream with whiskey, Amarula & double cream.

Once we got stuck into the menu, we soon had a few ideas of what we wanted to get. A pizza was a must, of course, but we wanted to make sure we were trying as much from the menu as we possibly could. 

We shared a special as our starter; a Bruschetta Estiva, with burrata, sundried tomatoes and marinated peppers.

It was lovely - the cheese on the bruschetta was delightful, and mixed with the pepper, tomato and rocket on the plate, it all came together wonderfully. 

Bruschetta (Image: Lola Crossman)

While bruschetta was something we probably wouldn't order normally, we will definitely it give this one another go.

After this, we decided to order our mains, and after a bit of convincing from manager Steph, decided to get six chicken wings to share alongside the pizza. Steph said to us: "You won't regret it - they are so good."

My word, how right she was.

I decided on a Porco, a tomato base pizza with ham, Italian sausage, pepperoni and nduja, whereas Lola opted for a Napoli, which had toppings of smoked mozzarella, vesuvian yellow tomatoes and black pepper.

Alongside our food, we both got a Coke and chatted away freely in the restaurant, before our pizza and wings swiftly arrived, with our little pizza cutters. 

Lola and her pizza (Image: Lola Crossman)

The pizza was heavenly, cooked to perfection and a wonderful concoction of flavours and spices from the Italian meat, coming together to make it a very tasty and enjoyable meal. It was cooked well and was fresh, hot, and most of all, tasty. 

The base had not been overcooked, with all the meats in the pizza still tender and juicy. Lola on the other hand, tucked into her Napoli, and seemed to echo the thoughts that I was having. "This is really good" were the exact words. 

Well if that wasn't good enough, I was not prepared for what I was about to experience upon picking up and biting into the chicken wings. They are, without a shadow of a doubt, THE best chicken wings I have ever had in my life. 

The wings are well sized, well priced, the meat was tender and juicy, and the marinade that goes on top, whatever it is, is absolute gold dust.

They were so tasty and before we knew it, we had demolished four of them without a second thought. They had a little bit of spice in them but it wasn't excessive, rather adding a bit of heat and flavour. 

Mark Paine (Image: Lola Crossman)

We soon finished up our meals, asking for a takeaway box for the last few slices of pizza we couldn't quite squeeze in, which staff were happy to do, before saying our thanks and making our way back to the office. I'll be honest, the experience nearly put me in a food coma it was so good. 

We were both very impressed with Pizzeria Gali. The staff were friendly and attentive, the food was banging, the place looked great and those chicken wings were next level. But hey, why take our word for it? Go give Pizzeria Gali a try!