La Plancha

La Plancha is better known for beanbags, bright umbrellas and sunsets than for pizza, but the kitchen at this Seminyak beachfront institution turns out a genuinely enjoyable one. We squeezed in a quick pizza at lunch.

It arrived nicely cooked and remarkably uniform — an almost perfectly even layer of sauce and cheese, with a single basil leaf sitting in the middle. That lone leaf sums up my main gripe: without basil through the pizza, you never get that fresh lift a Margherita needs. The cheese is the grated kind, so it melts into a thin, slightly oily layer that sits on top without bringing much flavour of its own — a little more of it, with a bit more character, would go a long way.

The crust leans a touch doughy but is actually quite nice, with a pleasant chew, and the sauce does its job without being anything special.

We'd had one here back in May as well, right on the sand with the waves creeping up. Same story then: a big pizza, around 35cm, nicely charred and well cooked with no semolina underneath, but a thin sauce and a little skimpy on the cheese. About 105k plus tax.

All up, it's very edible and very enjoyable — a solid pizza if you're already settled in on the sand, just not one that will pull you across town.