PIZZA place"? said our friend, Clare, ever so slightly sniffily.While pizzas do create an air of not-very-good fast food convenience, or wild children's parties, the place we discovered in Chester is in a pizza league of its own.
Politic is hidden away on Watergate Street Row, behind a dark door with someone out on the pavement to bid welcome.
And, from a busy early evening outside, we stepped into something of Edwardiana, almost. The downstairs bar area is low-lit, extensive and furnished with leather chairs and sofas. One could almost hear the chinking of port decanters and smell the Havana cigars of a gentlemen's club of yesteryear.
We went up the wide and richly carpeted stairs to an extensive dining room which, a little after six on a Saturday, was already busy. There's no doubt this is a popular place and booking well ahead is highly recommended for the weekends.
It exudes a relaxed chic, yet service is prompt, efficient and friendly, attentive but not intensive.
There's an extensive and carefully chosen wine list available, as well as cocktails, a range of all-too-familiar and unheard-of spirits and specialist beers. Cheaper wines are available by glass or bottle with prices for whites ranging from £11.95 a bottle to £65, and reds starting in the same range, but rising in price to £150 a bottle for Penfolds Grange. A goodly list of champagne is there, too, starting at £37 up to £190 for a 1990 Krug.
We managed to choose the cheapest Pinot Grigio (£11.95) on the menu: it was a warm summer's evening and we were not disappointed.
"Light, fruity and far from acidic," said Clare. "Nutty aftertaste," said Mark. I was left to pour and scribble at the same time.
The menu is a little untraditional. It's divided into tapas and mezze, pizzas and extras. The management then state that it's not really tapas or mezze at all, but inspired by both.
No bad thing, that. The problem was selecting what to have, as it's all so different. Salt cod with roast peppers and saffron, perhaps. Or tiger prawns with pomegranate and gin. Roast quail with pine nuts and grapes, possibly.
