As Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Dave Barry once put it, “Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. “Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.”

Now a new restaurant in Brighton is bringing together the two cornerstones of the relaxed night in – offering a choice of seven wood-fired handmade pizzas and an ever-growing list of bottled beers. The Pizza 7 concept is the brainchild of Cafe Delice’s Steve Pineau and business partner Malcolm Bluemel.

“The pizza base took us nearly a month to perfect,” says Pineau, who opened Pizza 7 in July. “It’s our own sourdough recipe, together with quality ingredients – we have our own butcher in the New Forest who does all our charcuterie.”

The bases are so thin they only need a couple of minutes in the restaurant’s £8,000 wood-burning oven, which uses smoke-free Italian organic wood to stonebake up to nine 12in pizzas at a time.

The pizzas – which all have a base of organic tomato, oregano and a mix of buffalo mozzarella and cheddar – are numbered rather than named, meaning the line-up can be changed seasonally and according to customer demand. None of them are priced over £10.

All toppings are prepared in advance and added at the last possible moment so they keep their flavour. “I think when you cook something slowly it gives much more flavour,” says Pineau. “It’s important that you can really smell the charcuterie and taste it.”

Current offerings include locally-sourced goat’s cheese with roasted pepper, thyme, rocket and a honey glaze; New Forest coast charcuterie with red chilli, coriander and rocket; and aubergine, courgette and artichoke with shaved parmesan, rocket and truffle oil.

“We wanted a short menu so we can focus on making things as high quality as we can,” says Pineau. “We want to change the menu so people come back.”

Another feature of the restaurant is the ever- growing list of beers, which Pineau hopes to get to 100 by Christmas.

The beers are all hand-selected from Belgian, French, US and UK brewers, with bar manager Ivan Jouno able to add his own personal expertise when advising diners which beers work with which pizza.

There is also a short but carefully selected wine list, offering seven red and seven white wines, plus a handful of sparkling and fine bottles.

New York chic

The focus on beer is obvious from the colourful range of bottles which decorate Pizza 7’s walls, adding to the relaxed atmosphere of the space. And they’ll be hosting a beer dinner on Friday, November 1, with a special guest Belgian beer- master talking about some of Pizza 7’s range from 7.30pm. Tickets cost £25.

The restaurant is offering a two-for-one offer on pizzas in October – vouchers are available from their website (see below) – and there are plans to introduce a loyalty card in the near future.

In terms of its look, Pineau has tried to bring a certain amount of New York chic to the space – with distressed tables and chairs, bare brick walls and a chilled music vibe – all overlooked by the pizza oven at the back of the restaurant.

With Ask and Pizza Express both only a stone’s throw away, he hopes Pizza 7 will offer an independent alternative.

“We offer value for money – it was important for us that the pizzas were all under £10 but good quality,” he says, adding he would like to take the concept into London if Brighton is a success. “The beer goes from £3.50/£4 up to £10 or £12, which is for beer aged for two years in Bourbon casks. We want to keep it high quality without the price tag, offering more than just a Peroni and a margherita.”

  • Pizza 7, Ship Street, Brighton, 01273 327756.
  • Open Monday to Sunday 11am to 11pm. Visit www.pizza7.co.uk