Wood and Coal
Triq iż-Żgħafran,
Attard
Tel: 7957 0073

Food: 7/10  
Location: 6/10
Service: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

Gone is my dieta dell’ estate, the summer diet plan which I struggle to follow between the months of May and September, in an attempt to look semi-decent in anything form fitting or slightly revealing outfit.

Needless to say, this strict diet plan is virtually carb-free. The prospect of going months without bread or pasta fills me with utter dread and I go through great pains to keep my diet as carb-light as possible during the summer. Sometime in August, I caught myself about to tuck into a rather large pizza at Wood and Coal and realised just how unsuccessful these half-hearted attempts of mine had been.

Wood and Coal is a Steak and Pizza house in Attard. Its location is not the prettiest, but you aren’t going there to gaze out on to a panoramic view. You are going there to eatT. The interior is done up in a distinct, industrial style with exposed electrical wires, a concrete ceiling and the heavy use of wood. The dining area is a simple, functional, practical space. This simple practicality is reflected in the menu pages that are attached to clipboards. Wood and Coal serves meat, pasta and salads, but I had heard of their amazing pizza and that’s what I was there for.

In we thronged, ordering across the menu so that in the end an amount of pizza and some meat was savoured. We sat at the back of the restaurant, and this afforded a view of the kitchen, perfectly pristine, with a large stone oven at one end. A very weak AC spat out intermittent bursts of cold air that were too feeble, and too far apart, to sense any noticeable coolness in the air. I could just as easily have been eating outside. Other than that, we were reasonably comfortable. The staff were polite and very efficient.

As with any kind of bread, pizza is one of the most versatile of foods. Once you have worked the dough and shaped it nicely, a pizza lends itself to a diverse range of toppings, down to the use of edible gold flakes, white truffle and Beluga caviar.

Such mishandling of luxury delicacies fast degenerates into a shameful abomination. With regards to pizza, I usually follow the philosophy that less is more – a few experimental, unconventional toppings and you can easily overdo it. Nothing comes close to the beauty of the simplest of Neapolitan creations, the pizza margherita, named after Princess Margherita of Savoy in honour of a newly-independent Italy, and the queen of pizza in its own right. It is topped with nothing more than sun-sweetened, ripe tomatoes, sliced mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves. It is at once all the colours of Italy and it is heavenly.

Their pizza base is just what it should be... thin and crispy, fired to a golden brown and puffed to perfection in the oven heat

At Wood and Coal, the menu divides pizza into two sections. There are the traditional, regular pizzas we are all familiar with, and then there are the gourmet pizzas. The latter list comprises singular creations, with some boasting rather unusual pizza toppings.

My Tandoori chicken pizza was one such distinctive creation and I was pleasantly surprised at the result. The pizza was covered with tender chicken pieces, raisins, dollops of yoghurt, mango chutney, sliced red onion and almond slivers. It was spicy and sweet and each bite was packed with fantastic flavour. It was almost like having a variation of an Indian chicken tikka masala curry, scooped onto a wonderfully crisp flat bread. Coriander leaves add freshness to dishes from Mexico to India. Some sprinklings on top of this pizza provided the perfect touch of crisp freshness. There is no wrong way to enjoy a pizza. I dived in and ate with my hands. It was delicious.

Who doesn’t like bread and cheese? This wonderful, classic pairing plays out beautifully in the quattro formaggi pizza, another of the gourmet pizzas offered at Wood and Coal. This one was a combination of gorgonzola, Parmesan, fior di latte and smoked scamorza. The hot cheese was still bubbling as the pizza was served.

The addition of sweet pear slices and walnuts lightened the taste and offset the heavy cheesiness that oftentimes becomes too rich after a few mouthfuls. What bliss!

The piccantina, consisting of spicy pepperoni sausage slices and some juicy mushrooms thrown in at Rob’s request, was divine. The capricciosa, another classic that seems to please practically everyone, was truly appetising and packed with hearty ingredients. Piled with generous lashings of smoky cooked ham, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and plump black olives, it contained none of the sliced hard boiled eggs typically added in most Sicilian (and Maltese) pizzerie.

In Rome, the capricciosa is sometimes crowned with a runny egg. This is just one small example of the countless variety of regional nuances that influence dishes. Pizza toppings will vary slightly according to a region’s tastes, traditions and preferences.

At Wood and Coal, all ingredients were fresh and of top quality, from the pizza dough to the olives adorning the pizzas. Their pizza base is just what it should be... thin and crispy, fired to a golden brown and puffed to perfection in the oven heat. Their tomato sauce is equally as delicious. There aren’t many great pizzerie in Malta but the pizza I ate that night was one to rival all.

As I mentioned earlier, Wood and Coal is also a steak house and two of us went for the meat. Certain cuts of meat should not be eaten rare and ribeye is one of them. Medium-rare provides the right degree of doneness due to the fat and connective tissue content.

Not only was the Scottona beef Ribeye at Wood and Coal grossly undercooked, the chef had also failed to sear the steak on one side. This superior, tender beef, famed for its exceptional and unique flavour had been cooked rather poorly. The smoked cheese burger with bacon was average. The beef patty, cooked to medium, was nice enough.

Someone on our table, with a stomach like a bottomless pit, proceeded to order dessert. I’m glad I hadn’t succumbed to temptation. The artificial-tasting, gummy chocolate fondant with soya ice cream was terrible and quite inedible.

Had I merely tried the pizza, I would have gone on to rave about this place. As it is, I cannot fail to mention the great divide between the excellent pizza and the sorry meat and dessert. It was perplexing to see all dishes exiting the same kitchen. I will definitely return to Wood and Coal for one thing, and one thing alone. I’ve already got my eye on another gourmet pizza – a pizza topped with asparagus, smoked salmon and prawns.