Clapham Pizza Restaurants
If you’re looking for great Italian food in South London then you can do no better than to go to a Clapham pizza restaurant. Mouth-watering antipasti, bread, lasagne, spaghetti and pizza are just some of dishes to enjoy in the Italian restaurants on Clapham High Street. Before waxing lyrical about these restaurants, let’s take a brief look at the history of that most famous of Italian dishes the pizza…but not for too long, what we really want to talk about is the food!
Pizza
We all think of Pizza as being from Italy and quite rightly so because the Italians perfected the great dish we all know and love. However, its origins are Greek where large, round flat bread was baked using oils, herbs and spices – no tomatoes though, they hadn’t been discovered. It wasn’t until the 18th Century that Italians picked up on flat bread baking and sold the inexpensive food they termed ‘pizza’ in local markets to poor people.
Until then, the idea of putting toppings onto the bread was unheard of until Queen Margherita (there’s a recognisable name) saw Neapolitans eating the bread and decided to try it for herself. She summoned her head Chef to bake a selection of pizzas on which he put tomatoes, mozarella cheese and basil (red, white and green – the Italian flag colours). Once word spread that this was the Queen’s favourite dish, it became popular with the people and has remained so ever since right across the world.
Pizza didn’t begin to become popular in England until after the Second World War when soldiers who had been fighting in Italy tasted the dish for the first time. In America, Italian immigrants had been selling pizza for many years but demand from returning troops took the dish from the Italian neighbourhoods out into the wider population.
Clapham Common – Relaxation & Restaurants
If you’re lucky enough to live in London or you’re a tourist to the nation’s capital city then a good place to visit is Clapham Common. As one of the largest open spaces in London, the Common is home to plenty of outdoor events in the summer and surrounded by some of the best restaurants in Clapham. You’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to selection of eateries around the Common itself and on along the vibrant High Street.
Clapham Common
Londoners will tell you how important large open spaces are to city-dwelling especially when you have to spend so much of your time in the congested streets or fighting your way through the commuting rush hour. Clapham Common is a 220 acre parkland situated between Clapham, Battersea and Balham where cyclists, kite-flyers, joggers, picnickers and children get the chance to grab some fresh air and enjoy much needed downtime.
Clapham Common has three ponds, two of which are used for angling and one for model boat enthusiasts. The Common also has a modern paddling pond for cooling down in on a hot summer’s afternoon and outdoor courts for the sporting types. At the centre of the Common is London’s largest bandstand which has regular live music from June through to September – pull up a deckchair and unwind to some jazz, blues or big band.
During the summer there are also a number of festivals on the Common including Ben & Jerry’s Sundae Festival where free ice cream, fairground rides, a city farm and live music combine to provide a great event for big kids and little kids alike. If you happen to be around the Common on the night of November 5th, you’ll be in time for bonfire night with a huge fireworks display, processions and funfairs.
After spending time soaking up the sun, getting a bit of exercise or watching things go bang, you’ll be in need of some sustenance and you’re just a short stroll away from the great choice of Clapham restaurants.