Ace Pizza, 6003

By sights and sounds, you could compare Ace Pizza to a hip late-night pizza joint somewhere in NY. 'PIZZA CLUB' in green neon lights casts a rascal Goosebumps glow and sets you in the mood for fun and revelry. Or gorging and boozing, whichever way you want to put it.

"Black Doctor": Cynar, mint, lemon, Chinotto

The kitchen serves wood-fired rustic goodness of the Italian persuasion, plus some cheeky things like, Fried Mac n' Cheese bites, $7 and Tiramisu Donuts, $5. Blistered thin crust pizzas, with clever toppings, are pretty damn fine. Not as chewy or melt-away good as my favourite ones at Dough, but they still hit the spot. My pick is the Amalfi, $22; juicy prawns on a sensational tomato base, spruced with lemon, garlic, basil and jumbo salty capers.

What you must know is that Ace is so much more than just pizza. So much more. Get some Meatballs soused in pepperoni sauce, $12, and Chop Chop Beef, $14 on your bill.  Make sure you order something from the wood grill, too. Flat Iron Quail, $17 with charred orange, polenta chips and herbed aioli is succulent. And to cut through all that meat, try the wood fired beets n salted ricotta, $16.

The most fun you can have at this Beaufort St. establishment is with the Ace soft serve, $7. Its DIY dessert! A swirl of vanilla ice cream comes with nuggets of honeycomb, biscuit and squeezey bottles of chocolate and salty-sweet caramel sauce. The fastest way to lose your manners (and waistline) at the dinner table!

Back: Tiramisu Donut, $7. Front: Ace Soft Serve, $7: yummy, nostalgic, fun

Ace calls out for drinking almost as much as it does eating. The dark decoration, likeable staff and Americano-Italaliano cocktails with canny names, make you wanna stay awhile. And this place has that potential to become a late night eating and drinking institution.  I hope their existence will wake up this section of no-mans-land on Beaufort St.. Its fun, its delicious and its downright rad. Open 'til late 7 days a week means late night eating that doesn't involve a greasy kebab, is now at our disposal. Ace!

Eats: 4/5 (Bold, meaty, designed with cheek and flair. Eat like a kid!)
Vibes: 4/5 (Fun, hipster, troublemaker)
Service: 4.5/5 (Charismatic, sharp and food is served hot n' fast)
Bang for your buck: 3/4 (Desserts: $5-$7, Pizzas: $17 for simple -$22 for seafood)

Dough Pizza, 6000

In a nightlife hotspot, and with a funky (if slightly young and trendy) décor, its gratifying to see the main focus here is the authentic Napoli pizzas. This means airy crust with a charred exterior and a chewy centre with pointedly sparse toppings. 

As the name articulates, the key to a perfect pizza is the dough. And the Italians operating the wood-fired oven here in Northbridge have nailed it! True to Naples in flavour and form, the bases are thin but not waif-like, pliable and slightly chewy. Pizzas are cooked in a wood fired oven at high temperatures for short time, giving the pizza the wonderful, rustic bubbled edges. The toppings are delightful too. You'll only find authentic combinations such as the salty and brazen; 'Puttanesca': capers, olives, and some serious anchovies, scattered over a wonderful tomato base. This pizza is a triumph of moderation.

'Capricciosa', $22

To beat the Sunday evening blues one night recently, my clan and I ordered one Capricciosa, $22; marinated artichoke, smoked ham, Spanish olives and mushrooms on a Margherita base; a Prawns pizza, $24.50; Marinara, prawns, zucchini and rocket; and a Diavola, $22; Ventricina (smoky pork salami), olives, roast capsicum and chilli. A Margherita base by the way, means tomato sauce with buffalo mozzarella. 

'Prawns', $24.50

With its spicy and salty combination, the Diavola was the first to go. Unfortunately they forgot the rocket element on the Prawns. The chunky curled prawns were however, cooked to perfection...so I let that minor gripe go. 

'Diavola', $22

After getting my 'mangia' on like I'd never 'mangia'-d before, I quickly decided this was the best pizza I'd eaten in Perth. Dough is about quality ingredients and long-established recipes. Pinning down the essentials. The flavours are punchy without the reliance on hunks of frivolous toppings like pork belly or cajun spiced chicken. Quite a different pizza experience from the Little Caesars variety. 

BYO and proximity to Perth bar life mean groups of young people abound here. If you're bothered by the noise, order take-away or if you're fortunate enough to live in the surrounding suburbs, they deliver too!

Food: 4/5 (Near perfect dough, well sourced toppings, stays true to tradition)

Ambience: 3/5 (Buzzing if thats what you're up for, but don't plan an intimate dinner)

Service: 3/5 (Simple and Italian, much like the food)

Value: 3/5 

Neighborhood Pizza, 6016

Fresh off the boat! This new kid on the block has gathered a bit of buzz since opening, so naturally; I had to check it out. I went on a Sunday night and the industrial space was humming with curious punters. There were a few families with young kids but mostly hipsters bearing burgundy beanies and bottles of booze. Neighborhood Pizza breathes at the back of IGA car park inside a warehouse, which is cool in concept but if you like conversation with your food - not so practical. Warehouse = noisy. Hard surface, voices, echoing...it's just basic physics, baby. Add BYO to the mix and yep, more noisy.

# 3 Mushroom, ham, olive tepenade $19

OK so onto the pizza. The bases are thin, which I like but the toppings are equally skinny.  #4: pumpkin, artichoke, capsicum, rocket and olive pizza on bianca base ($22) had *shavings* of toppings rather than hearty *lumps*. I like lumps. I found the choice of toppings very enticing- probably even the best selection of toppings I've seen going (how yummy does 'sweet potato with rosemary and maple syrup' or 'chill, capers and white anchovies' sound??) I just wanted them in vaster quantities! The dough tasted good and the lightness meant I was able to chow down without the post-carb bloat, but overall the pizzas lacked any real punch. If you like your pizzas cheesy and chunky then you might not be so crazy about this place. If you like 'em refined and lean then hey, this could be your new friendly Neighbour. If I put it another way - Neighborhood Pizza is the opposite of Little Caesars. It's all down to personal taste really.

#4 Pumpkin, peppers, olives, artichoke, rocket pizza on bianca base $22

Apologies for the rather dismal photos. Dim-lit warehouses aren't conducive to food photography.

Pizza: 2.5/5 (nice light dough but lacked flavour, not more-ish enough)
Service: 2.5/5 (Stressed, bit slow, could have used some more smiles)
Value: 2.5/5
Ambience: 2/5 (Lacked warmth, noisy, dark)