Dining

Doughnation Review: I tried the Bottomless Pizza at Covent Garden’s viral spot… but one slice stole the show

Doughnation Covent Garden

Covent Garden is about as bustling as you can get in Central London… but tucked away inside the chic 3 Henrietta Street building is a hidden gem I’ve been hearing a lot about lately: pizza joint Doughnation, where £35 gets you bottomless, made-to-order pizza and free-flowing pitchers of cocktails. Naturally, I had to pay a visit. 

I went in expecting to have a gameplan to enjoy the most slices possible (hey, I’m only human). But one bite of one pizza on this menu in particular, and suddenly… I didn’t need bottomless anything. I’d already found what I was looking for.

Doughnation Covent Garden
Doughnation’s free-flowing pitchers and bottomless pizza meant I had to pay a visit / Credit: Steven Joyce

Doughnation’s location is ideal. It’s smack bang in the centre of the West End, yet thanks to its special deal and location inside the Henrietta Street building, it somehow feels like a well-kept secret – or as secretive as you can get, in the centre of Covent Garden. 

The vibe is fun, casual, and unpretentious. Forget pizza topping snobbery – with  free flowing jugs of cocktails on offer and a stream of quirky topping combos and dunk-worthy dips, it’s the ideal spot for group catch-ups and laidback weekends. I went in ready for a well overdue catch up with my besties, and it proved the perfect casual setting. In fact, if every hang out could be accompanied by Doughnation’s delicacies, that would be dreamy – and they wouldn’t become that overdue, either. 

The bottomless deal is available Thursday, Friday and Sunday, between 4pm and 8pm (£35pp for one hour of ordering), making it ideal for an after work hangout or a lazy Sunday lunch, and is a more upscale take on all-you-can-eat than your usual buffet-style affair. Rather than self-serve slices, you order full artisan pizzas from the main menu, fresh from the oven, and you can keep ordering one after the other, per person, until you can’t handle anymore – within sixty minutes. Spoiler: we couldn’t handle any more much earlier than expected.

Despite our bravado, each of us managed just one (delicious) pizza before admitting defeat. Our refillable cocktail jugs – fruity, boozy, and refreshing – definitely helped soften the blow. I went for the Hugo Spritz – made with gin, elderflower, cordial and prosecco – and it was the ideal summer serve.

Potato pizza at Doughnation Covent Garden
The Potato pizza here changed everything I thought I knew about bottomless pizza / Credit: Steven Joyce

As for the pizzas? Doughnations serves up crispy, hand stretched bases with bold, creative toppings that go beyond the usual suspects. My pick in particular changed everything I thought I knew about bottomless pizza: I chose the humble-sounding Potato pizza. 

This option was topped with thinly sliced spuds, Fontina cheese, and thyme salt – a real savoury superstar. It was hot, golden, crisp around the edges and melt-in-the-mouth in the middle – comfort food, but with enough gourmet touches to taste high-end, too. I’m still thinking about the cheesy, herby, garlicky goodness now – and it’s a topping I’ve not come across before or since. I’d come for bottomless indulgence, but this one slice felt, oddly, all I needed. It was potato perfection. 

The bottomless deal is totally worth it if you’re feeling ravenous enough for more than one pizza – or cocktail – though be warned from my personal experience, your eyes may be bigger than your belly. Personally, I’d come back for that potato pizza alone (and probably skip the bottomless part next time, opting instead for the restaurant’s regular a la carte menu, which is available all the time). Doughnation is ideal for visitors to the capital, pizza fiends, or anyone looking for a reliably great bite in Covent Garden.

The big lesson I learned at Doughation? Sometimes, one perfect slice really is better than unlimited ones. But luckily, here, you don’t have to choose. 

Visit: Doughnation Pizza, 3 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8PS

Reservations: Doughnation Pizza

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