Peter's pizza (Aburi, Ghana)

It was really the last stop on our journey around Ghana - Aburi, a small town already on the way to Accra, and the lunch at Peter's pizza, about which we've read in our travel guide. We quickly found the place just a few meters down the entrance of the botanical garden, and were welcome by Peter and Jessica. We were told they did not plan to make pizzas that day and were just planning to do some cleaning, but assured us they'd do two for us all the same :-) . Thus we "ordered" two medium pizzas. Jessica went to buy some vegetables to the town and I questioned Peter a little.

The smallest pizzeria I've ever been to

He spent a few years on the boat, working as a cook, including a few months in Italy. But contrary to what I thought, he did not learn pizzas there - already his father was a cook and through the years of experience, he came also to pizza-making. And decided to start a pizzeria.

Jessica had an interesting background too - originally from Barbados, she came to Ghana long time ago, and went to a university in Accra. She was also telling me about the ideas they had - to turn the whole place into a nice pizzeria with two floors and plenty of seats. However, since the Ebola outbreak they had a decrease in customers, especially from US, even though there's no Ebola in Ghana (or even neighbouring countries).

An increase in the seating capacity would be welcome, though - the inside of the place is actually very small, with barely enough space for two people! Jessica said that if they have more customers, they put a table and chairs out in front and seat the people there. For me and Tinka, there was however enough space.

I can imagine it's not easy for Peter to make pizzas in Aburi - there's not that many tourists and probably not many people who could afford going for a pizza (after all, one medium costed 30 cedis, about 8 euros). What is more, there's other challenges, like e.g. getting cheese. Peter used Gouda and Cheddar, but cheese is simply not produced in that area (not sure it's produced in Ghana at all). Thus, they said, the cheese is sent over frozen from some friends in Belgium. Furthermore, to store it in a freezer, you need a constant access electricity, which is also very rare in Ghana. That's why I did not object to the price, although the two other times I had a pizza in Ghana it was considerably cheaper.

While I was talking to Jessica and Peter, and watching him prepare the dough and topping it with vegetable and cheese, Tinka was in a conversation with another guy, probably a friend of Peter. His way (and quantity) of talking was annoying me a bit, though, especially after he repeated too many times that "this is the best pizza in Ghana. Original. Made just for you. Etc..", sounding a bit like a cheap commercial. But anyway, we were getting hungry and I looked forward to see what will land on the table.

Peter finally bent down and removed a fresh pizza from the electric oven. It's ready! We took an obligatory picture, and went on to enjoy, as they claimed, "the best pizza in Africa".

The usual picture before :-)

My first impression was a nostalgic one - on a first look this looked very similar to my home made pizzas from several years ago! Then, on the first touch, the crust would deserve some more crispiness. But the first bite was the best - one can feel this was made fresh, with real vegetables and nicely mixed spices for the sauce. Although I would think twice before calling this the best pizza in Africa (e.g., I liked pizza at Sanbra better), it was tasty and enjoyable, and actually quite a big pie, making us full for the lunch.

A home-made pizza is home-made pizza!

All in all, I think it was well worth a visit, although more because of the "adventure" to see a local Ghanian pizza-maker, then because of "real quality restaurant experience". But if you like pizzas and pass through Aburi, I recommend to stop by ;-)

PS:
Dough - 6
Ingredients - 7
Sauce - 7
Atmosphere - 7
Service - 8