Hop over to Four Hundred Rabbits on Battersea Rise

If you’ve not hopped over to Four Hundred Rabbits on Battersea Rise yet then you’re probably in the minority. Since their opening (only a few days ago) they’ve been consistently busy. Their first weekend saw queues down the road for their half price pizza offer and, though the soft-launch deal is now finished, the stream of people coming to eat there hasn’t let up.

We went down to see what the fuss was all about and we totally get it. With a restaurant place like Four Hundred Rabbits, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would go to a Pizza Express ever again. The pizza is way better, it’s more affordable, the drinks menu is far nicer and they’re every bit as family friendly as their chain counterpart. And don’t even get us started on the staff! We were treated so well throughout the entire time there; a warm welcome, a comprehensive explanation of the menu, subtle check-ups throughout the meal to make sure we had everything we needed and a very easy manner of service that made the whole experience just that bit more special. It feels rare that every member of the team is as invested in delivering the same level of customer service, but that was the case at Four Hundred Rabbits. Not a weak link to be seen- so big props to the staff. They are clearly a big part of what makes the place such a success.

The other big part is, of course, the food. We started with some juicy Nocellara olives and a cute little pot of pickled cucumbers washed down with equally cute cocktails- an old fashioned and a negroni were small but mighty and very well done. After the aperitifs were done, we moved onto the main events: the pizzas. There were loads of reasons why we liked the pizza here. First, the menu states very clearly “we’re not Italian and neither are our pizzas“. Instead of the classic Neapolitan style dough they use 100% sourdough for their bases and, though not authentically Italian, they were blummin’ delicious. Nicely crispy, a little tangy and light too. Strong enough to be loaded up with your choice of toppings. And they’ve got some lovely choices- the second reason why we loved the pizzas here- not too many options to be overwhelmed, not too few to be underwhelmed. Margarita, a summery feta one, a rhubarb and goats cheese one, a spicy chorizo number, a meaty beef one and loads of vegan friendly options too. There’s the two specials which are always on rotation (one is meaty and one vegan)… and you can also go ahead and fiddle around with your own additions from the extra section. Another reason that made us fall in love with the pizzas was that you can ask for any of the pizzas to be half sized for half the price. Perfect for kiddies, great for people with a smaller appetite and way better for food waste too. Why don’t more places do that? Genius.

We got the chorizo one; hefty chunks of chewy chorizo, some zingy pickled red chillis, basil, tomato and mozzarella, and a personalised ‘red’- really salty anchovies and sweet courgettes on a half size pizza was a perfect combo, if we do say so ourselves. That brings us to the last reason why we loved the pizza- they tasted so darn good. The ingredients are all top quality stuff and the proof of it is in the final product. Of course, this had to be finished on a sweet note and the house-made gelato was the way to go. We asked our server for recommendations. The peanut and caramel was full of chunks of nuts for a bit of crunch and the milk flavour paired extremely well with the warm, gooey brownie.

If you hadn’t realised yet, Four Hundred Rabbits really bowled us over. We think it will do the same for you too, and we beg you to hurry down. The service, the food, the atmosphere- we can’t fault a thing.