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.

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.