I tried a beloved Preston takeaway pizza joint but was left feeling very underwhelmed

Heading across Preston in good spirits despite the cold late November weather, I found Toni’s on Plungington Road and was immediately taken by the place’s lovely décor, fetching design, and warm atmosphere. With the time being 4.50pm on a Thursday, it was still 10 minutes before they officially opened, but there were already three customers waiting - a very good sign. 5/5 for the vibe.

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Unfortunately, that’s as good as it got. The dough was too floppy - lacking in rigidity to the point of being structurally non-existent so that all my topping fell off the pizza and I was left with a pile of tomato mush. It also didn’t have much of a flavour profile, no yeasty punch or charred crust. It was very average indeed - 2/5.

On to the sauce and the cheese, which weren’t much better. The cheese, when it wasn’t falling off my slice completely, was relatively flavourless and not very stringy at all, while the sauce, also keen to break free from my doughy base, didn’t really register in each mouthful either. 1/5 for me personally, I was very underwhelmed.

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On a most positive note, the pepperoni was much better - thick discs, nice flavour, nothing too salty or spicy, and plenty of it on the pizza. That was the good part of the toppings, but there was an issue - the additional jalapenos were not only too numerous but they were also cut too thick, meaning each bite featured a huge chunk of pretty undercooked jalapeno pepper. Not for me. 3/5.

Finally we come to the value and, having paid £8.30 for this 12” pizza, I was impressed by the amount of food I got for my cash, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed by the lack of quality from a place with such a strong local reputation. I wanted a proper hearty British takeaway pizza, but this was just a bit naff. 3.5/5 for value, but I won’t be rushing back.

SCORES:

Dough: 2/5

Sauce & cheese: 1/5

Toppings: 3/5

Vibe: 5/5

Value: 3.5/5

TOTAL: 14.5/25