The crowded landscape of King’s Road is a bold location in which to open a new dining venture. And bold it is — in every sense — for Humble Pizza, who, behind a period timber shopfront, has introduced this lively corner of West London to a menu of plant-based Italian classics.
In a space brought to life by emerging London-based design duo Child Studio, pink Formica reigns supreme, coating walls, floors and ceilings in excess — an homage to the singular British post-war vernacular of ‘greasy spoon caffs’, a multitude of which emerged in London during the 1950s.
Here, the mood offers a conspicuously contemporary twang. A bespoke shade of ‘millennial pink’ on Formica counter fronts and table tops is joined by mosaic tiled flooring, velvet upholstered banquettes and neon signage, all in varying tones of blush, while tableware and takeaway food packaging is also licked with coats of the same shade. Light sources by mid-century designers such as Poul Henningsen, Jacques Biny and Luigi Massoni culminate to dramatic effect and create a museum-like atmosphere in which a 5.5 metre display counter along the café’s back wall takes centre stage.
On the wholly vegan menu, soups and salads are a starting point for the main attraction – pizza, available with a cauliflower base and an impressively creative variety of toppings including the ‘Diavola’, featuring San Marzano tomato sauce, vegan mozzarella and spicy tofu chorizo. Not so much ‘when in Rome’, but close enough. §
