In recent years we’ve seen the arrival of New York and Canadian Pizza in Berlin, but French pizza?
“Pas comme les autres”, suggests the menu. There’s nothing particularly French about these pizzas, other than they were dreamt up by an American in the French capital, where they have become wildly popular. Gabriel and Michaella, a creative American-Italian duo who left Paris behind them, undertook, with the complicity of a French-Berliner associate, to bring the famous Pink Flamingo pizzas to their new German Heimat.
And imaginative they are. Every pizza is styled after a particular culinary tradition and evocatively named after a celeb or historical figure: the Spanish-inspired “Basquiat”, a palatable combination of gorgonzola, figs and cured ham, the super-exotic Ho Chi Minh, topped with chicken and shrimp baked with curry, coconut milk, lemongrass, fresh coriander and chopped peanuts or the American-Hawaian L’Obama (grilled bacon with pineapple chutney), a daily special that rose to such popularity that they decided to keep it on their regular menu.
The pies quickly win you over with their light, crusty dough generously topped with high-quality ingredients. As exotic as some toppings might seem on the menu, Pink Flamingo pull off a convincing balancing act: They don’t overload the pizza with flavour but
aren’t stingy with ingredients either. And to make things better, virtually everything in these pizzas is organic (unlike the Paris originals). For a smaller meal, go for a mini pizza or “la langue” for €3.80. They also make great fresh homemade salads.
What’s also charming about Pink Flamingo are the passion and warmth of the multi-national, multi-lingual gang running it. Stop by the friendly shop covered in original Paris Metro tiles and enjoy a bit of a French-inspired bohemia over one of Berlin’s most imaginative pizzas.