The pizza in a pub model is already well versed in Oxford – just look at the success of The White Rabbit or the Dodo Pubs – The Rickety Press, Rusty Bicycle, Up in Arms, Slow & Steady and Part & Parcel all doing a roaring trade, because we love a quick pizza alongside a pint or a glass of wine.
But the pizzas have to be top notch for people to make the detour, especially at The Star on Rectory Road which is well hidden from the hustle and bustle of Cowley Road.
However, news that The Star had not only opened its beer garden for the summer but has also introduced their in-house Moonie’s Pizzas there, was incentive enough, and we followed the scent like catnip.
the Bad Moon Rising pizza was so good we had to restrain ourselves from ordering a second
Having spent far too much time at The Star as a student, it was lovely to be back, its bright, welcoming interior decorated with global beer mats, locals catching up, sun beaming through the windows, everyone enjoying the weekend, the garden slowly filling up.
They haven’t done food at The Star for a while, hence the enormous amounts of bar snacks on offer, but four months ago the Moonie’s pizza kitchen was built at the back, the owners instinctively understanding that to draw the crowds their pizza offering needed to be really something.
the owners instinctively understood that to draw the crowds their pizza offering needed to be really something
The Moonie’s pizza station faces the garden, so you order at the bar and they give you an alarm to keep on the table until your pizzas are ready, processing out to the hatch when it buzzes, where they are handed out.
One look and we were sold. Not only beautiful to behold, the Moonie’s Pizzas are obviously hand made and crafted using only the best ingredients. So the bases are made on site, the sauce concocted with San Marzano tomatoes and the mozzarella Fior Di Latte. More than that there’s a novelty about the menu, ensuring that our taste buds were watering all the way back to our table, as if we’d found the holy grail.
Moonie’s Pizzas are obviously hand made and crafted using only the best ingredients
And we had. There are four classics on the menu, three Chef Toby (we love him already) specials, a pint of dough balls, a garlic cheese pizza and extras like dips, olives and vegan and GF options, so it’s a simple offering, but what Moonie’s lacks in options, it more than makes up for in quality and ingenuity.
The pint of doughballs was an instant yes, because why wouldn’t you, and yes they do come in a pint glass with a handle, doused in a garlic and parsley butter and grated parmesan, each doughball given the love and attention it deserves.
The pint of doughballs were doused in a garlic & parsley butter and grated parmesan
But however delicious they were, nothing could detract from the pizzas themselves. The Pig In The Pines (£16) – mozzarella, fennel and black pepper sausage, friarielli, (broccoli rabe) and fresh green chillies, (tomato sauce an extra £1), which was pungent, earthy, juicy, the sausage artisan and spicy, the bitter greens balancing the sweetness of the sauce.
The pestogram (a mightily wallet-friendly £13) came with tomato sauce, mozzarella, a spicy vodka romesco swirl, presto star, parmesan and fresh basil (pepperoni is an extra £1), the vibrant, rich, piquant, herb sauce obviously homemade, a favourite choice amongst this abundance of riches.
Each slice of every pizza was suitably droopy, the toppings almost sliding off, we were in heaven!
Seasoned shrooms were the main feature of the Fun Guy alongside parsley, garlic olive oil, black pepper, pecorino Romano DOP, mozzarella and tomato sauce. (£13.50), which sung, and the Moonie’s smoked pepperoni (£14) was as glorious as expected.
But the prize has to go to the Bad Moon Rising (£16) which was so good we had to restrain ourselves from ordering a second – tomato sauce, mozzarella, Calabrian nduja, burrata and hot honey, the meat melting, spicy and salty, the honey’s sweet notes accentuating the creamy burrata. Literally a taste sensation.
the remaining crusts were devoured by dunking them in a heart-stoppingly good garlic mayo
Each slice of every pizza was suitably droopy, the toppings almost sliding off, we were in heaven, the remaining crusts devoured by dunking them in a heart-stoppingly good garlic mayo.
We were impressed. We couldn’t quite believe our luck that right here in this lovely pub, some of Oxford’s best pizzas were being casually served without any fuss or bother, with such expertise and reverence.
So yes, you’ve heard it from us. If you love a pizza and a pint in the summer and want to have your minds blown, we can’t think of anywhere we’d rather be than chowing down on a Moonie’s at The Star.
The Star is at 21 Rectory Rd, Oxford OX4 1BU.
