BungaTINI: A Pizza Making Affair

As you would be right to assume, I eat out quite a lot - which is one of the reasons why I decided to start this blog in the first place. Despite my love for food, I have recently become increasingly unsatisfied with just eating out at restaurant. Instead, I wanted an experience - something fun, but also filling. Luckily after scrolling through Virgin Experience Days, I found this class with BungaTINI, so I’ll be sharing my experience with you and what I honestly thought of the experience. Overall, all I can say is they can take my dough next time!(Warning: There may be some pizza puns in this post) Essie Eats x

OVERALL

Price Tag: ££Occasion: friends, date night, bond with siblings, familyExperience: 8Ambiance: 6Location: London, Covent Garden or Holborn Station (167 Drury Ln, London WC2B 5PG)

What is BungaTINI?

Located in between Holborn and Covent Garden station, BungaTINI, is a bar and pizzeria inspired by a neighbourhood back-street Italian bar & pizzeria, which serves brunch, dinner and wide selection of Italian wines, beers and Proseccos. The restaurant also offer a pizza making class with an experienced pizzaiolo.

COST

At £30 per person, the ticket includes your pizza, a welcome drink of either beer, wine or an Aperol Spritz, and an antipasto platter. I think this was great value for money, mainly because this is how much you would spend in a restaurant in London for a three-course meal, but instead you also learn something valuable and leave with a full belly! In regard to purchasing, you can either book directly on BungaTINI’s website or on Virgin Experience Days.Though the waiters will ask you if you want another drink, remember that the voucher only covers one drink, therefore, any additional drinks you buy will be on top of the voucher price.Regarding the booking, the classes take place on the weekend and weekdays, so it is something you can do after work with a friend. In addition, if you purchase your voucher from Virgin Experience Days, I would advise you to call BungaTINI first to find out which dates and times are available before you buy your voucher. This is mainly for people buying the voucher as a surprise for someone else, you don’t want to buy the voucher then find out the next slot is two months after the date you need. 

The Experience: What to expect

When you arrive, you’re greeted by the door staff who sign you in, then ask you to select your drink. Once everyone is settled down, the class then begins. The pizzaiolo looking after you, will give you a brief overview of how the session will run, then you will be served the antipasto. The antipasto was delicious, it had all the classic cured meats including my favourite, Chorizo – and some rosemary infused bread, which was crispy yet soft.Moving onto the pizza making, (dough I don’t want to give too much away), I was mainly impressed by the fact that you get two batches of dough to practice with at the restaurant, then you also get to take one batch of dough home with you, so you can practice, plus you receive an aftercare and a recipe card to keep so you can recreate your own recipes. Learning how to make the dough, made it a fun, yet good learning experience for attendees, so that you’re leaving with more than just a pizza.Once you compete in your second pizza tossing contest, you then get the chance to add your own ingredients to the dough, which is then cooked in an oven – which you then get to eat.One practical piece of advice: wear light-coloured clothes, your clothes will get covered in flour! If I could do it again, I wouldn’t have worn all black, instead I would’ve worn a light grey or white clothing. So, I would say bring a small cloth so you can dust yourself off after!

AMBIANCE

I genuinely had a great time, the host was incredibly interactive, witty and helpful, plus he kept everyone around the table very engaged. I enjoyed how close everyone sat together, as it gave me an opportunity to meet new people, as well as hang out with my friend too. Being able to eat the pizza you created felt quite rewarding and it tasted incredible too! Not to sound too cheesy, overall, this was a great experience and good value for money, I strongly recommend this place for your first food experience – I promise you can’t go wrong!