Review: The Fat Pizza, a pizza takeaway near Meadowbank

Where can you get the biggest pizzas in Edinburgh? I think the answer is The Fat Pizza’s 24″ mammoth.

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Girdy wanted to / NEEDED to / try Edinburgh’s the new The Fat Pizza who delivered a 24″ inch chicken curry pizza!

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Since it’s the holidays, I thought I’d order one myself. 

There are a few problems with my approach. Firstly, I live alone, and this is a giant pizza, as I hope the pictures in this review reveal (banana for scale). Secondly, I don’t live anywhere near The Fat Pizza.

However, I’ve eaten giant pizzas by myself before and wasn’t daunted. There are Just Eat signs outside The Fat Pizza, which appeared there after the “collection only” signs were taken down. I failed to find them there so I tried the company’s own website and was able to order directly.

The Fat Pizza ordering experience

It’s a functional but not slick website. That’s just perfect. I was able to order my spaceship-sized pizza on the second go. On the first go, I baulked at the price – at a glance, my chicken curry pizza was around £18, but it jumped to £30 at checkout. The hike, of course, was due to the considerable size.

The system predicted I’d get my giant in 30 to 45 minutes, which is good, but that didn’t happen.

I love delivery systems that offer live tracking so I can see the drivers as they approach, and I can get ready to be helpful to them and open the door. There’s no such tracking link on the confirmation page, but it is in the Fat Pizza confirmation email. It doesn’t work. I got some code fragments when I clicked,

After waiting about an hour and a half, I phoned. That was easy. There’s a single helpline to phone, and The Fat Pizza website is clear that that’s the one to use. I got through immediately, despite this now being well after 9pm, and gave my order number. The operator knew my pizza was on a nearby street.

A few minutes later, the driver, equipped with a giant stay-warm-pizza-bag, arrived, and we just about got the box through my doorway,

The Fat Pizza taste experience

It was a tasty pizza, but it wasn’t warm. Perhaps the driver had to do two orders, hence my delay and the cooling of the pizza. I know thin crusts don’t hold their heat very well, but I was hoping my monster would.

I had, of course, asked for this pizza to be delivered from several neighbourhoods away. I was fully expecting to be out of range. 

So, yes, not warm pizza, but I don’t think I can fully blame The Fat Pizza for that. 

I’m not sure I’d order again just to test the theory.

Did I finish? Not in one go! Each individual slice is too large for my microwave unless I curled it. The oven was better, and I had enough leftover pizza to test various reheating methods.

In terms of taste? My The Fat Pizza was safe. It’s clearly not repurposed ASDA, which is good, nor will they compete with the gourmet pizza specialists in Leith.

Things to do near Meadowbank

Firstly, I don’t think you can visit The Fat Pizza as an eat-in destination. It’s takeaway only, but if you live nearby and especially if you’re in one of the Piershill or Abercron flats then you can pick up your own spicy beast and keep it warm.

If you’re in the area, though, there’s Meadowbank Sports Centre, which is not far from St. Margaret’s Loch and Holyrood Park. I suppose you could eat your Fat Pizza in the park on summer days.

Across the road and down a street is the little-known odd Edinburgh landmark of the Craigentinny Marbles. Rising out from the otherwise normal houses is a mausoleum from the 1800s that shows the destruction of Pharaoh Ramesses II’s army. There you go: giant pizza and obscure Edinburgh!

Overall

I’m glad I did this experiment. The Fat Pizza hasn’t been open that long in Edinburgh (I think), and I like to imagine  I’m one of the first to try the XXXL pizza.

I’d recommend it for a party or perhaps a “friends around for TV event”. The giant thin crust is a statement piece! 

That said, I don’t think it’s worth getting some poor driver (I tipped) to bring the beast all the way across Edinburgh. Well, not unless you’re a daft blogger.