Purezza

Purezza is a vegan pizzeria operating in Brighton, London and Manchester. It is Europe's first all-vegan pizzeria,[1] opening its first branch in Brighton, UK, in November 2015.

History

Purezza, meaning 'Purity' in Italian, was founded by Tim Barclay and Stefania Evangelisti, who were inspired by the lack of vegan Italian options.[2] Their second restaurant was announced in November 2017,[3] and opened in Camden in March 2018.[4] Purezza tripled the sized of its Camden branch in February 2020.[5][6] A Manchester branch opened in June 2021.[7][8]

In August 2019, Purezza was mistakenly caught up in a drugs bust at Gatwick Airport, when ingredients for its food were seized by police.[9][10][11]

The company received an initial £35,000 investment to open its vegan cheese factory in July 2018 at an investment pitching event in London, with a view to raising additional capital through Crowdcube.[12] Purezza has stated that the cheese will be free from major allergens and palm oil.[13] The company is no longer producing vegan cheese outside of their own restaurants.

In 2023, Purezza acquired a majority stake in La Fauxmagerie.[14]

In 2025, Purezza concluded its association with the La Fauxmagerie brand. Purezza retained the online retail platform lafauxmagerie.com, rebranding it as Saporia, a vegan marketplace showcasing over 1,000 plant-based products.[15]

Food

Purezza specialises in vegan pizza, but also provides a range of vegan alternatives to other Italian dishes such as lasagne, macaroni cheese, and tiramisu.[16][17] They are also known for a range of raw food dishes, including raw cheeses and a raw pizza.[18] In addition to its plant-based menu, Purezza also has an extensive gluten free menu,[19] for which it has won a Silver Award from the Free From Eating Out Awards.[20] During Christmas 2023, the restaurant in Brighton was reported to have been serving a vegan Christmas dinner menu with Christmas calzones and turkey dinners.[21]

Awards

Purezza took part in the National Pizza Awards 2018,[22] National Pizza of the Year 2018 in the UK with the Parmigiana Party pizza.[23][24][25]

They also won UK's Best Vegan Restaurant 2018 according to Vegfest UK.[26]

Purezza's head chef, Filippo Rosato, won Best Pizza from Abroad 2018 in the #pizzAward 2018 competition held in Naples.[27]

The team also won an award at the World Pizza Championship for the Pizza Classica category. The winning pizza was titled "The Promised Land" and used cavolo nero, tempeh, pioppini mushrooms, and a borlotti bean sauce. The dough was infused with BrewDog Punk IPA.[28][29]

External links

• Saporia – Artisan Vegan Marketplace