Portone

You won’t find it easily. And even once you’ve negotiated the Coles carpark to access the Carlisle shopping arcade (the front gate is locked at night), Portone’s retro fit-out and laminated menus belie the great pizze within. The domed pizza oven runs at 390 degrees, fuelled by the massive wall of firewood stacked outside, and it’s turning out one of the finest margheritas on the south side. Your mozzarella is molten, the tomatoes still sweet, and the base has the perfect balance of puff and char. Add on crisp spec (thick, cured bacon) or how about some house-made onion jam, or poached figs? Pair it up with a side of sweet peas and baby spinach tousled with lemon oil. It’s all served up on bareback tables in a penned off courtyard outside. It's a simple space, but heaters keep the chill off and palms, murals and that huge wall of firewood manage to separate this space from the rest of the arcade. Worth the hunt? We reckon. A great slice and a $7 glass of vino in a back alley is what great pizza eating is all about.