Things that make you go Ooh-fa (in a good way)

Italianrestaurant

29 Jun

Written By Antony

DOMINION ROAD DIARIES - OOH-FA

In the lead up to Ooh-Fa opening in August last year, the excitement was palpable among the many fans of its sister restaurant, Kārangahape Rd’s petite Pici, who were keen to see more of its ilk in a different part of town.

Where Pici nails the tightly focused handmade pasta brief, Ooh-Fa does the very same in perfecting pizza. Formerly home to Pizzeria Rosso Pomodoro, the centrepiece Italian pizza oven in situ was the big drawcard and is the heart of the tiny open-plan kitchen. From it, head chef and co-owner Fraser Childs turns out pizzas from dough-to-woah in less than three minutes. The place is always pumping, with pizza keeping the rhythm, and snacks of salad, pickles, charcuterie backing like champs. The wine list is looked after by James, who recently returned from Melbourne, and it leans heavily to New Zealand, Italy, and low-intervention. “Because they’re innovative and taste great”, says James in a statement that nicely captures Ooh-Fa in its entirety.

Fraser’s dough is more or less the foundation the whole thing is built on. After a 72-hour ferment, the dough is stretched to order. When it comes to toppings, Fraser’s ethos when it comes to toppings is fairly classical Italian. “You need to be respectful”, he says, “And don’t hide your dough”. When your dough is your long-fermented baby, you want to be selective about toppings, choosing quality over quality and flavours that will let the dough speak through. One thing we love is there’s often a subtle lick of sweet to balance the savoury in Fraser’s toppings – an ‘nduja joined by honey, or on the current menu honey complementing black pepper, mozzarella, parmesan and sweet-salty lardo.

That same little play on sweet-savoury often peeks through in dessert – right now a buffalo milk panna cotta plays adult wearing olive oil and a bit of sea salt. It’s these many little differences that sees Ooh-Fa live up to the hype.

Here’s a couple of matches Fraser recommends…

15 minutes ‘test pots’ - Refreshing, chilled Pinot noir, matched with tomato, garlic and stracciatella pizza

A thousand gods ‘giara’ - Amphora fermented Sauvignon - complex, savoury and textural, matched with woodfired carrots, whipped ricotta and pistachios