Pizza from No Rules: not cheap, but absurdly delicious
Over the past year, we have regularly been testing delivery meals to help restaurants and bars get through these impossible times and to make our lives at home a little more bearable. Today: the pizza from restaurant No Rules in Amsterdam, by three-Michelin-starred chef Jacob Jan Boerma.
Michelin-starred pizza
Pizza is by far the most frequently delivered meal in the Netherlands. And yet it is difficult to maintain the quality of a pizza when it has to endure a journey through the city in all kinds of weather. That is why No Rules, originally conceived as a non-pizzeria pizza restaurant, completely changed course. One of the founders and Michelin-starred chef Jacob Jan Boerma told us back in April: ‘It is impossible to deliver a pizza without it becoming cold and soggy. That is not a calling card for our restaurant.’
That is why they started delivering actual menus or sending their chefs to your kitchen, to guarantee that the food arrives at the table warm and delicious. But almost a year later, to my great surprise, we received a message saying that No Rules also delivers pizza! Of course, we had to try it.
QR code
‘Pizzaaaaa! You can briefly reheat the base in the oven or microwave; that makes it taste best,’ says Jan Gresnigt from No Rules with a cheerful laugh as he hands me the colorful pizza boxes and a bag containing some small boxes and piping bags. On the outside is a QR code linking to a short video showing how to arrange the ingredients from the bag on the correct pizza. Easy enough for a child, in short.
‘Nduja
We start with the ‘nduja (spicy spreadable sausage), with a spicy Espelette pepper (Basque pepper) cream with lime, Parmesan, buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and a mysterious No Rules sauce. The base is clearly Neapolitan: with a high ‘cornicione’ featuring puffy air bubbles here and there and a lovely soft dough with a golden-brown tint. Unlike Roman pizza, which is thinner and crispier.
An Italian friend, whom I invited as a critical jury member, cuts the pizza into quarters with scissors and deftly folds the pizza into his mouth. ‘Bellissimo,’ he shouts enthusiastically. ‘The best pizza I have ever tasted.’ He brings his fingers together to his mouth and makes an approving lip-smacking sound. ‘Fortunately, the ‘nduja is not too spicy, and both the crust and the topping have a wonderfully gentle flavor.’
Tuna tataki
The second pizza, with beautiful tuna tataki, coriander-flavored spinach and a fresh daikon salad, has a subtler flavor, but is also soft and juicy. My friend had to get used to the Asian flavors for a moment, as though I were stabbing him in his Italian heart with a dagger. He had just told me that he had brutally ended a friendship because someone ordered a pizza with pineapple. But after two bites, he admitted that this pizza was also exceptionally good.
No Rules shows that they know how to bake a pizza, but they take the liberty of experimenting with flavors. They are happy to disregard the conservative Italian rules, but in doing so they elevate this Italian snack to a higher level. The layered Red Velvet cake with which we end the pizza dinner is also a hit.
Good value for money
Over the past few months, we have tried a great many delivery menus, and the conclusion is that meals where you have to perform the final steps at home nevertheless taste the best. And that applies especially to pizza. By briefly heating the base at home and adding some fresh, flavorful ingredients, you get a top-notch pizza that many an Italian pizzaiolo could learn from.
Perhaps not the cheapest pizza: The One with Tuna costs 23.50 euros and the ‘nduja costs 15.50 euros, but you genuinely get your money’s worth. You can also order other dishes, such as crispy chicken, burrata or ravioli, but you absolutely have to try this pizza at least once. Available to order from Deliveroo and Uber EATS, among others.
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