Nether Edge Pizza Co: Perfect woodfired pizzas to celebrate the summery weather - review

Far too many times have I been stuck in perennial gridlock traffic, gazing saltily at the sunny folks eating al fresco on all the patios along that busiest of roads. In the late afternoon, any good weather falls lavishly on the west-facing side and will make any trip out feel like a special evening. Truly, this has mocked me for months, as I drive endlessly to stupid Tesco or wherever.

No more. I'm getting a reservation on every patio on Abbeydale Road this summer, and I suggest you all do the same.

I couldn't have picked a better spot to start this pledge than Nether Edge Pizza Company. Nothing quite like ringing in the warmer months than a woodfired pizza when it's still sunny at 7pm.

This neat restaurant has coolness in every crevice. The sharp, confident chefs spinning out dough for the authentic stone oven are cool, the basil plants growing on every windowsill out of 64oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes are cool, the 'ask what beers we have today' note on the menus is cool - it's just cool.

No sooner had we sat down than our man whisked over with a bottle of water for the table and a glass of fat, ripe olives to pick at while we read the menu. Which is a treat by the way - I counted at least 30 options, of seemingly every combination, charmingly named things like Pitsmoor Pesto, Grenoside Goat, Broomhill Brie and Hot Heeley. It took a solid 20 minutes to pick, it all sounded good.

We settled for an Arbourthorne Artichoke and a Homage to Fromage (quattro formaggi), with a garlic bread.

"Hmm..." said my girlfriend. "Do you think that'll be too much bread?"

Yeah, if this was Dominos. What was whisked out to us 15 minutes later was that proper stuff, the kind of pizza you ate abroad once and think of forever after. Three fully loaded, beautifully thin specimens with those precious sunspots of charcoal around the crust that only comes from a stint in a fiery stone oven.

This is far from some heavy doorstop of dough. Nether Edge are baking perfectly balanced, satisfying creations that are good to the last slice. It has that Drip, ladies and gentlemen - you know the one, that slightly floppy hang to it and that cheesy stretch of mozzarella when you lift it from the plate that makes it the ‘comfort eat’ you crave. The only flaw, the only gap in my heart not filled, was that I was desperate for one of those dizzly bottles of olive oil you can get to mete some extra decadence out of my crusts. Maybe those are inside, I regretfully neglected to look.

We skipped dessert and coffees on this occasion. With two drinks, it came to just £40. I've already got plans to make use of their evidently bustling takeaway service to have my next piece of Nether Edge Pizza Company at home (I'm planning on making my own chicken wings and ordering a Porterbook Pepperoni to go with it, watch a film, make a night of it).

Please take an evening this summer and put Nether Edge Pizza Co high on your priority list.