Hell in Invercargill (11 February 2009)

Hopefully I'm not going to be labelled a one trick pony by writing another pizza review, and to be honest, I set out deliberately not wanting to have to write another pizza review, but some things just weren't meant to be.

We had arrived in Invercargill at about 2pm, and after booking into our accommodation, decided we wanted to get something to eat. During our South Island holiday, we had decided to avoid any franchise or chain restaurants, and try to eat in small, locally owned restaurants.

Heading out of our backpackers, passing Hell's Pizza a few doors down, we wandered down one of the main roads, looking for somewhere to eat.

Admiring the town's 80's style Christmas decorations, we came across a Chinese restaurant, and had a quick look at the menu... it looked promising, a handfull of vegetarian options, but we decided to keep walking, and see what else was available. It was still pretty early, so we thought we'd have plenty of options.

Crossing the road, we came across a typical Kiwi High Street cafe, full of meat pies, steak and chips and sausages. We decided to pass, and walked towards a Korean restaurant nearby. It was closed. Crap.

We tried another street... Every restaurant or fast food restaurant we passed was either closed or closing... Crap... so we quickly double backed to the Chinese restaurant we first saw... closed... Crap.

By this time, it was about 4 pm, and it seemed like the town was closing for the day, and we were getting hungrier and hungrier...

So it came down to Hell's Pizza...

I was surprised that the restaurant was empty, considering that there was nowhere else to eat. The restaurant was large, compared tot he other Hell's outlets I've been to, and there was even a small number of seats and tables available. We ordered a double size Underworld ($16.90) and a snack size Underworld ($8.90).

The pizzas arrived after about 15 minutes, and they were okay... a little lower in standard compared to the one's I'm used to getting in Wellington, but tasty enough... nowhere near as good as Pepe's Pizza, but pretty much what we expected.

So... ratings...

• How long would I walk to eat there: We had walked about for at least 90 minutes, but it wasn't really worth that sort of investment, time wise... it was a one minute walk from our backpacker's, so that's about right. Rating: 1 minute
  
• Free water: None, as is normal at a takeaway, so it's not fair that I rate this aspect.
• Decor: The largest Hell's Pizza I've been into, with some comfy sofas and a small number of seats available. Rating for Hell's Pizza: 8/10 Rating for Invercargill: 5/10 (The five points for having the great 80's style Christmas decorations up in mid-February!)
  
• Vegetarian options: Okay, nothing special, nothing unique (the same as other Hell's franchises) Rating: 7/10 Rating for Invercargill: 2/10
• Quick service: Pretty good, pretty friendly. No complaints. Rating: 8/10 Rating for Invercargill: 3/10 (Very rude staff at the backpacker's)

Three word summary: Saved the day.

How much?:
Total cost for one gourmet double and one gourmet snack, about $26.

Details:

Hell's Pizza
10 Dee Street
Invercargill
Telephone: 03 215 0666
website: https://hellpizza.co.nz/#i=12

Delivery, takeaway and limited dine in.
Open from 11 am until at least 11 pm, 7 days a week. Thankfully.

Pepe's Pizza Parlour - Lower Hutt, January 6th (or was it the 8th?), 2009

Getting pizza in New Zealand has changed a lot in the last 30 odd years... Pizza Hut used to be the only pizza Restaurant in the country, with their rather large, iconically shaped restaurants and their rather large prices. Now they are a shell of their former selves, reduced to takeaway or delivery outlets only... places like Eagle Boys and Pizza Haven came and went, and Hell Pizza and Hungry Kiwis' Pizza battling it out with them and Domino's for domination of the take away or delivery pizza market.

One Pizza restaurant which has been around ever since I can remember (and that's 25 to 30 years or so) is Pepe's Pizza Parlour in Lower Hutt, opposite Hutt Hospital.

I have no idea whether it's the same owner, but the pizzas remain the same... fantastic!

Our most recent visit was pretty typical of all of our previous visits: It was a little but busier than normal, as it was the first day they were open after the New Year holiday, and obviously people were hanging out for a decent pizza, without having to pay a snob tax at a trendy cafe.

The menu (which is on their website) has a lot of variety, even for Pescitarians like ourselves, plus the option of having pizzas made to order. Some of the pizzas on the menu elicit "I'm not really sure that works" type of reactions, but I guess they do work for some people.

I ordered the gourmet Vegetarian, and my companion ordered a regular Seafood. ($16 and $14.50, respectively, for the regular size.) Service was friendly and efficient... it wasn't an over the top, false friendliness or 'where everyone knows your name' friendly, but honest, we really appreciate your business, thanks, type friendly.

The pizzas arrived, and they were delicious as usual... pretty much like the pizzas you get at a place specialising in gourmet pizzas, but at prices similar to those of Hell (ie: at a slight premium over the stuff from Pizza Hut or Domino's). The bases were nice and thin, with just the right amount of topping: not overflowing with double cheese, with a cheese encrusted crust, nor 10% to 25% less topping than before, nor do they elicit a "I though pizzas were supposed to have stuff on top of them" reaction. A good, honest pizza, at a good honest price.

So... ratings...

1. How long would I walk to eat there: Considering I live about five minutes walk away from Pepe's, I'd have to say "Five minutes", however a few times I've been in Wellington city, and had a craving for pizza, and driven out to Lower Hutt, especially to go to Pepe's. If Pepe's were based in Wellington, I'd happily walk for 20 or 25 minutes just to go there. Ratings: 5 minutes (in reality), 2o minutes (theoretically)
   
2. Free water: This was the only hiccup of he evening, as the waiter forgot to bring us a pitcher of water as requested, however this was no big deal. The water was stored in a fridge, so it was nice and cold. Good clean Hutt tap water (I assume) at it's best. Rating: 8/10
   
3. Decor: Probably hasn't changed since the 1980s, but it's clean and spacious, yet cosy. Generally I'm not a fan of TV screens in restaurants, but at least it is possible to sit where it's not possible to see the screen. Rating: 8/10
4. Vegetarian options: Enough variety to be able to return and try different pizzas (Take note, Hungy Kiwi), plus one could have a pizza custom made. Of course, whether it's suitable for a particular vegetarian would depend on the type of vegetarian they are, but for our purposes, it's fine. Rating: 10/10
5. Quick service: I'm a bit fussy, I guess, but I hate being rushed, and I also hate having to wait forever for my food, when I'm eating out, especially if I'm eating out with company. Waiting staff probably hate people like me. I have no problems with the speed of the service here. Rating: 10/10
   

Three word summary: Fantastic. Eat there.

How much?:
Total cost for two regular size pizzas (one from the regular menu,one from the gourmet menu), just over $30.

Details:

Pepe's Pizza Parlour
731c High Street
Lower Hutt
(accross the road from Hutt Hospital, next to Burger Wisconsin)

Telephone 04 9391810
Website: www.pepespizza.co.nz

Dine in, take away and delivery
Open in the evenings