Review: The Wright Place, York - pizza restaurant & bakery

If that is starting to sound too much like one of those annoying M&S ads, apologies, but newly opened The Wright Place in Walmgate is no ordinary pizza restaurant.

For starters, by day it is a bakery and coffee shop where you can enjoy some hand-made pastries and coffee from local independent roasters Harmony.

Come evening, the candles come out, and so does a different menu - one dominated by same rather fancy pizza choices and a fine selection of wine.

If there is an air of deju vu about this, it is warranted.

Lui Wright at his new place in Walmgate, York

The Wright Stuff is the latest incarnation of popular posh pizza haunt Cave Du Cochon which was celebrated for its sourdough pizza with creative toppings and great wine list.

The Cave was owned by Josh and Victoria Overington (who also ran the near-neighbouring Le Cochon Aveugle) until last year when the couple moved on to pastures new.

As previously reported in The Press, Le Cochon is now a Korean restaurant and the Cave is now The Wright Place, run by another husband and wife duo, Lui and Steph Wright. Both worked for the Overingtons, Lui as sous chef and Steph was restaurant manager.

Lui is now back in the kitchen of his own place, baking bread, making pastries and artisan sourdough pizzas for customers.

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A tempting offer is their 'pizza and a glass of house wine for £15' deal which runs every day they are open from 5pm to 7pm.

I popped in with my sister last Friday night at the invitation of Lui and Steph to try the deal.

Cards on the table - I was a fan of pizza and the Cave, so expectations were high.

We turned up at 6pm and there were just a couple of other tables occupied. Service was swift, friendly with just the right level of attentiveness.

There were ten house wines to choose from with the offer - covering all bases from fizz and white to rose and red. A French Sauvignon Blanc with notes of gooseberry, elderflower and passionfruit was my choice - while sis plumped for a French Pinot Noir boasting flavours of strawberry, cherry and vanilla. Both were very good.

We went our separate ways on food choices too, only reversing the red/white options.

That is because The Wright Place offers pizzas made with a white base (that's right, no tomatoes) which is made from seasoned ricotta with garlic. This gives each white pizza a soft and spongy foundation, providing a base for a choice of toppings varying from cheese, mushroom and garlic; courgette, red pepper, cherry tomato and red onion, to anchovy, caper, olive and rocket.

Pizza with Nduja, honey and red onion and garlic dip

My sister chose the latter, while I picked the Nduja, honey and picked red onion from the tomato-base selection, which also included options such as cheese, tomato and basil; pepperoni, chorizo and Mortadella ham, and burrata, chilli and olive oil.

The Cave had a selection of pizza dips on its menu and we were pleased to see Lui and Steph still offered them - don't miss them out as they are totally moreish and just what you need to do justice to the delicious sourdough pizza crusts.

From pizza sauce, pizza sauce and chilli, and roasted garlic aioli (all £1.50) we chose the later, and didn't regret it for a moment.

And so to the pizzas. Well, they are pretty unique. You can really taste all the flavour in the sourdough base - it's like having a really good piece of bread (Lui uses the same starter in the bread he bakes every day for sale at the cafe). Of the two pizzas, I preferred mine (but I love tomato and am not a big fan or ricotta). The toppings all played off each other brilliantly; the spicy Nduja sausage against the sweet honey and the sharpness of the picked onion were a winning trio.

Outside of the deal, pizzas range in price from £10-£16.

The second pizza was polished off with pleasure too - we loved the salty combo of the anchovies with the caper and olives.

And we took our time to finish the meal at a leisurely pace, dipping the substantial sourdough crusts into the garlic dip. Heaven!

The pizza was so filling that we had no room for dessert. But if you did, there is a choice (all made by Lui) of Basque cheesecake with Sichuan pepper ice-cream; Madagascan vanilla creme brulee with spiced poached pear, and chocolate and amaretto tiffin with cherry sorbet (from £5-£6).

The menu has other choices too: there is a selection of small plates such as oysters and ham hock terrine as well as cheese and charcuterie boards.

The venue is also hosting a range of wine-tasting events, priced at £50pp, with a £10pp deposit, which includes five glasses of wine as well as food comprising of charcuterie, cheese, sourdough bread, olives and condiments. Upcoming dates are - March 19: Best of British; April 9: French wines: May 2: Introduction to Austrian wines; June 11: exploring Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

For more information, visit: thewrightplaceyork.co.uk