Pizzeria Ava

Pizzeria Ava sits on Jl. Raya Semer in Kerobokan, a proper neighbourhood Italian with a wood oven going at the back. It's an easy place to like — busy without being frantic, and the manager came over for a chat and was genuinely lovely: warm, generous with his time, and clearly proud of what he's sending out. That sort of welcome goes a long way.

The Margherita looks the part. There's a big, well-risen Napoli puff on the rim with proper leopard spotting from the fire, and they aren't shy with it — a generous amount of cheese, melted evenly with lovely colour through it, and plenty of sauce underneath.

A few things would take it further. There's no basil on the Margherita at all, and a few fresh leaves would lift it. There's also a heavy dusting of coarse semolina, right across the rim and shedding onto the board and your fingers, which you taste before you taste the pizza — that one always detracts for me. The base carries a slightly doughy line through the middle, too, so the slice softens and folds when you pick it up; a little longer on the floor and it would hold. And while the sauce is nicely sweet, which is how we like it, it stays sweet rather than opening out into anything deeper.

None of that stops it being a good pizza at a fair price, made in a real oven by people who are pleased to see you. Worth the run out to Semer.