Review: Rule of Tum's Leaven Pizza restaurant in Hereford

I was invited to the Broad Street pizzeria for the launch night of Inversity, a new tech education company based in the county, and the restaurant made for a great venue.

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There was a fantastic ambience from the get-go. The place was spacious and minimalist without feeling empty.

I particularly appreciated the art-deco-esque lights, which gave the restaurant a distinct, classy atmosphere and set it apart from more generic pizza places.

We were first treated to antipasto plates consisting of prosciutto, coppa, salami, olives and olive oil bread. The meats were all high-quality, but for me the olives and olive oil bread really stood out. The bread itself was gorgeous and the olives, which I usually can’t stand, were irresistible.

First up, a plate of antipasto (Image: Joshua Dyer)

Once the antipasto had been cleared, we were offered a variety of sourdough pizzas. I tried the fennel sausage, the spinaci and the hot honey.

The fennel sausage pizza was different to anything I’d had before, the inclusion of kale, garlic butter and chilli oil made for a complex and sophisticated taste. This sophistication gave the dish a mature, prestige quality that you wouldn’t find at most big-name pizza outlets.

The spinachi, as the name implies, was topped with spinach accompanied by ricotta, shallots, chilli, oregano and garlic. I enjoyed it just as much as the fennel sausage and I really appreciated the inclusion of more authentic, refined toppings instead of unsubtle, meat-heavy, Americanised pizza varieties which are all too common nowadays.

The hot honey was my favourite, however. What could have been a nice, but generic, pepperoni pizza was elevated through the use of chilli honey. Whilst it may seem unconventional, this slight change makes the hot honey pizza a must-try.

Next up, hot honey pizza (Image: Chris Stylianou)

For sides, I shared a plate of arancini and a bowl of roast potatoes.

I had never tried or even heard of arancini, which are balls of deep-fried risotto, ricotta and parmesan. Whilst they were certainly enjoyable, for me the roast potatoes won the battle of the side dishes. I got the impression that they were supposed to be an up-market alternative to chips or French fries, and in that respect, they were really effective.

The accompanying aioli dipping sauce, instead of tomato ketchup or barbecue, was a great touch.

Some arancini on the side (Image: Joshua Dyer)

As it was an event, my share of the food was £15, but their standard prices are remarkable considering the quality, with pizza prices starting at £6.50.

Leaven Pizza is nothing like the run-of-the-mill pizza restaurants that saturate high streets and shopping centres across the country. It manages to be sophisticated without being snobby, cool without being cliché.

If you have a date to impress, or a family gathering to organise, and you want to deliver quality without doing too much damage to the bank account, I recommend Leaven Pizza.