Garfield Pizzeria

The menu and Lygon Street location might scream Naples or Rome, but there’s a touch of Tokyo at Carlton pizzeria Garfield, the first restaurant inside the reimagined King & Godfree site. Culinary director Karen Martini (Johnny’s Green Room, Bar Carolina) and executive chef Mark Glenn (Cumulus Inc., Dinner by Heston) oversee the offering, while head chef Sangsub Ha takes charge of the rotating Marana wood-fired oven, imported from Italy.

Ha applies the “Tokyo stretch” method to Garfield’s 72-hour fermented dough, involving gentle pinching and stretching to create a unique, textural crust. The pies are then baked for just over two minutes to achieve a charred, chewy base.

There are just eight pizzas on offer (four red, four white), including a cacio e pepe-inspired number stacked with crunchy, vinegary potato crisps, born from Martini’s affinity for both potato pizza and salt and vinegar chips. Things get more peculiar with an umami-forward pizza where marinara is swapped for a dried bonito-infused bechamel, and traditional toppings are eschewed in favour of raw tuna, finger lime and shiso added after cooking.

A rotating monthly dessert might include Pidapipo soft-serve yoghurt, or a limoncello tiramisu, while a small selection of bottled wine is available to purchase from the fridge (drink in for $15 corkage, or order house red and white by the glass or carafe). Summery, aperitif-style cocktails round out the drinks list.

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