Mangia Mangia

22 Cotham Road, Cotham, Bristol, BS6 6LF. No phone

Reviewing Mangia Mangia on the second day of opening wasn't the original plan.

This space was going to be filled by a review of The Hill, a newly refurbished bar and pizza restaurant directly opposite the road.

In fact, I had even queued at the bar of The Hill, clutching my debit card in readiness to order my pizza and pint. But then the woman in front of me asked the bartender for her money back because the food had taken so long to arrive.

I looked around the room and there was a sea of people waiting for their food. In the open kitchen in the corner, a red-faced and flustered chef was running around and one of the girls behind the bar was helping to shovel pizzas into the oven.

And then the chap behind the bar told me that there was at least an hour wait for food – at 2pm on a Thursday lunchtime – so I made my excuses and left. Well, I didn't want to be eating my lunch when most people were arriving for dinner.

I will return to The Hill in the next couple of weeks, so I hope they have got their act together by then.

As I left, I spotted Mangia Mangia twinkling in the midday sun opposite. It was almost beckoning me over to try its pizzas.

Mangia Mangia occupies a fabulously sunny corner spot on the junction of Cotham Hill and Hampton Park.

It used to be an antiques shop and then it became La Boheme, a Continental cafe that closed last summer.

After several delays, it has reopened under the same owners but with a different name and concept.

Jackie Namani has now turned it into a simple Italian-style cafe specialising in home-cooked pizzas and a small kitchen with a pizza oven now occupies the far end of the room where the counter was before.

Mangia Mangia is a very modest little place serving a range of coffees (the cappuccino is very good), soft drinks (including old-school Orangina) and smoothies (for £2.50).

There are trays of chocolate brownies and croissants for nibbling on in the morning, but the real draw here is the pizzas, all of which are laid out on metal trays and sold by the slice.

With Domino's around the corner and The Hill opposite, Mangia Mangia has some stiff competition and the pizzas have to be competitively priced.

Sold only by the slice, they are certainly well-priced at £1.95, although I had to buy two slices to feel properly fed at lunchtime.

There were five different types of pizza and there are plans to add folded calzone pizzas to the menu from this week.

I ordered the pepperoni picante and the spicy chicken slices, and both were enjoyable.

The pepperoni picante comprised a topping of six slices of spicy salami, cheese and a few rocket leaves. The spicy chicken was just that – chunky morsels of chook in a sticky, spicy, almost curry like marinade.

The bases on both were crisp- bottomed and not too thick or duvet-like, as is often the case with pizzas bought in High Street establishments. They weren't at all greasy, either.

Each slice is served on a sheet of parchment paper on a small wooden chopping board, which is a nice touch and a pleasant change from plates.

As I chomped on my pizza, a steady stream of locals, regulars and students filed in to buy slices to eat in or takeaway.

The room itself is simply furnished with pine stools and chairs, mint-coloured paintwork and a wooden floor.

A cluster of tables on the pavement outside is perfect for people-watching and sipping cappuccinos in the sun and I suspect these will be highly prized this summer.

These tables also give you a perfect view of The Hill opposite so, who knows, if you sit there long enough, you may even spot me checking out the pizzas on offer there.

With competition like Mangia Mangia across the road, they had better be worth the wait.

Wheelchair access: Yes

Prices: Pizza slices £1.95; calzone £3.50; cappuccino £2; smoothies £2.50

Food: 7

Atmosphere: 7

Service: 8

Value: 8

Overall: 7