Meat eaters, veggies and vegans catered for by bar’s new stone baked pizza offering.

If it’s pizza that floats your boat pre-cinema, or before hitting your favourite watering holes, check out Ipswich’s latest pizzeria – in the kitchens of K Bar and Grill on St Nicholas Street.

A mouthwatering menu of proper ‘pies’ cooked over stone and with bases made with only salt, water, Italian flour and yeast, has just been launched by the bar as it seeks to stand out above the crowd in what owner Richard Everitt says has become a very burger-led town.

“Six or seven years ago we started doing burgers,” Richard says, “and we were one of the only restaurants in the town to specialise in burgers using all-local meats. Over time as all the new chain restaurants have come in, nearly everyone’s got six or seven burgers on their menu, so we thought we’d look at what we do. We still want to make great burgers, but there’s no really great independent pizza restaurants in Ipswich so we thought ‘we’re going to change this’.”

Pizzas are now available at K Bar throughout the week at lunch and in the evenings, cooked at a sweltering 450C to crisp the dough and melt and meld the toppings into one another. But while the cooking process is quick (it’s mere minutes) the process leading up to firing the pizzas is another matter, with dough proved and rested for 36 hours to allow slow fermentation. This results in a crust that’s fluffy and crisp, and more easily digestible.

“We use San Marzano tomatoes with a pinch of salt for the sauce,” continues Richard, “and add mozzarella and other Italian cheeses. All our vegetables are locally supplied, the meats are either from Italy or we’re using local lamb and beef from Rose House Butchery around the corner. We’re trying to either keep it really local and use the best ingredients we can get.”

Feedback from customers so far has been very encouraging, with the 18ins sharing pizzas going down a real treat with weekend revellers.

“The 18ins pizza will feed two. What we’re finding is as we get busy lots of people are ordering them to share, so we cut them up for them. It’s a great option for people who don’t want to sit and eat in the restaurant, and we’ll be serving them up until 11pm on Friday and Saturday nights in the summer.”

A gluten-free dough is currently in development, and vegans will find two great meat and dairy-free alternatives to choose from including the Ian (tomato sauce, purple sprouting broccoli, cavolo nero and onions) and the Mary (tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and vegan cheese). If it’s a meat feast you’re after, get your chops around the Bruno which is smothered in chorizo, spicy Calabrian nduja sausage, roquito peppers, fior di latte mozzarella and hot sauce.

Check out the bar on Wednesdays when there’s a ‘hump day’ deal of £12 for a 13ins pizza with a beer or glass of house wine.