A colleague who recently dined at California Pizza Kitchen confided in me that she found it to be ‘the best pizza in Dubai’. As evidence she submitted the fact that her boyfriend (who claims Italian roots, albeit second generation) thought it was ‘the most authentic pizza outside of Italy’. I was doubtful (it is called California Pizza Kitchen, after all). Furthermore, CPK is an American chain that launched in 1985 on the heels of a California pizza revolution forged by the likes of American celebrity chefs Alice Waters and then Wolfgang Puck.Basically, California-style pizza is unique, just as New York and Sicilian pizza are. It’s thin, it’s usually single portion and it’s known for its unusual toppings. In other words, California pizzas really are nothing like Italian pizzas. Still, after gentle urging from a few different and self-proclaimed pizza aficionados, I decided that I’d give the place a lunchtime visit.Like many restaurants in The Dubai Mall, there was something sterile about the decor. Practically every venue in The Dubai Mall feels like it is part of some extended food court, even when it is tucked in some back alley of the shopping centre, as CPK was. Partly, this is because so many of these restaurants are not enclosed (a main door and some frosted windows would do wonders for the aesthetic of the mall’s many eating establishments).

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