Pizza Di Rocco | Al Ain

We all love a good pizza, but we love it a little more when the restaurant puts its heart and soul into making it perfect. Pizza Di Rocco is the latter kind. Totally worth the 1 hour drive to Al Ain, this utterly Italian pizzeria focuses on pizza as their specialization which is evident in the variety of toppings they offer. What’s more, they give you the opportunity to keep your indulgence in check with a choice between white and whole wheat flour. But it’s not just pizzas they excel in. Their salads are too pretty to give them a miss, their starters are quite the showstoppers, and what would dining at an Italian restaurant be without Tiramisu? A new, soon to be launched menu features pasta options as well!

The crux of Pizza Di Rocco is their fresh ingredients, homemade breads and sauces, and the fact that all their dishes are created from scratch. Moreover, they have no freezers in their restaurant and everything is baked. We tried a little of everything, and while we loved it all, read on to find out what were our favorites from the menu.

Cozy indoor dining with a much more picture-perfect outdoor seating area makes the whole of Pizza Di Rocco. Obviously, June isn’t the time to experiment with the outdoors, so we settled ourselves on a 6-seater long table inside. The indoor seating options are limited, but Pizza Di Rocco relies heavily on delivery, so it’s no trouble. As we are seated, our server asks us what we would like to drink, and suggests some bestselling food options from the menu. We place our order for drinks, starters, salad and pizza, when she quickly mentions about a new soon-to-be-launched menu that features pasta as well, and suggests we go for one of those too.

While we wait for our drinks and starters to arrive, we are greeted with a complimentary bread basket that features thin and crispy foccacia with pesto, garlic oil and parmesan cheese dips. All homemade – the bread and the sauces – these are just great to munch on, and are cleared off in a matter of minutes. Just as we are contemplating whether we should ask for one more portion of foccacia, luckily our starters arrive. The Burrata Pugliese is quite obviously my first and undisputed choice in starters, and the actual dish does justice to my love for it. Very creamy and rich, like you expect burrata cheese to be, this one is served along with a fresh rocca salad, homemade pesto, balsamic and a toasted buttered baguette. I almost want to cry at having to share the burrata with 3 other people, but I calm my senses and plan a secret solo trip in my head just to have the burrata all by myself. The next starter is a classic, but quite different, portion of Homemade Chicken Strips that are served with a sweet chili dip. Very succulent, they speak volumes of the tenderness of the chicken in every bite. The juicy chicken chunks are marinated with Italian herbs and I especially love the breaded shallow fried coating on the outside. For the salad course, we opt for their bestselling Insalata Di Rocco. This signature salad is a healthy mixture of crispy Italian greens, tangy cherry tomatoes, olives, spring onions, mushrooms, walnuts and pine nuts, but the star of the dish are the ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ baked goat cheese nuggets. All these elements blend perfectly with the sweet homemade balsamic dressing.

We move on to mains with our two pizzas and one pasta dish. From the Speciali Di Rocco section, our Pollo Pesto pizza comes on a whole wheat base. Featuring a base of pesto sauce, that’s to die for, this one’s topped with marinated roasted chicken cubes, sundried tomatoes and broccoli. A very green and healthy pizza, this one’s cleared off in a jiffy. We take a break between pizzas to give the pasta a quick nudge, and are almost taken back by surprise with how good the sauce is! Not listed in the menu, but definitely something highly recommended by the server, we opt for the penne and chicken to be cooked in a truffle mushroom sauce instead of the classic alfredo, and we unanimously agree this is the best pasta we’ve had in our lives. We in fact don’t mind planning another road trip just for the one dish. The chicken and pasta are both cooked perfect, but really it’s the sauce that stands out. If I were you, I would order my preferred pasta in this sauce without any meats, and eat it all by myself. After fighting over who gets to lick the last of the pasta sauce, we arrive at the next pizza. The slightly spicy Diavola is from the Classico section of pizzas and comes with a basic, albeit delicious topping of Italian salami and oregano on a tomato and mozzarella base. For this one, we choose the white flour crust, just to get an idea of the difference between the two types of flours, and we definitely prefer the whole wheat one.

Next it is time for something sweet and the we already know what we want. As we place the order for their signature tiramisu, the server insists we try out Lilly’s Banoffee Pie as well. The pie is a mix of flavors – from biscuit and dulce de leche caramel to banana and whipped cream. All layered up in a cake slice, this one’s great for banana and caramel lovers. The chef’s special dessert – Tiramisu is quite certainly an indulgence. Generously dusted with cocoa powder, it brings together layers of fresh creamy mascarpone cheese and soft lady fingers into a heavenly creation. We contemplate if we should order a second one, but decide otherwise.

Pizza Di Rocco boasts of some great locations across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and will soon be opening up shop at Business Bay. I guess they are going to be my go to pizza joint once the Dubai branch is open. If you’re in the capital or planning to visit the garden city of UAE, give Pizza Di Rocco a try and you won’t regret.

Pizza Di Rocco

Location: Opposite Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Hamdan Bin Mohammad Street, Al Towayya, Al Ain
Contact: 80076226

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