A slice of Amalfi Coast on Bengaluru’s Cunningham Road

Bengaluru’s pizzeria Serious Slice makes you pause before biting into a slice. Tucked in Cunningham Road, the space wraps its diners within surf-blue walls, layered with Napoli-inspired art, and offers a trattoria vibe. It doesn't scream for attention, but gradually transports you to the Italian Amalfi Coast. 

The pizzas—fermented for 72 hours—arrive airy, tangy, and a little earthy from the wood-fired oven. The in-house pastas are not just bold and buttery, but also ambitious. 

Serious Slice aims for soul food—although not everything hits home. 

We start with the Calamari and Shrimp Fritto—crisp and evoking the memories of beachy afternoons, without the overdose of seasoning, in a good way. It's a dish that makes you wonder if you have the appetite for another portion. It will make you want to take that long-pending trip to the Amalfi Coast and sip on a chilled Aperol spritz. 

Next came the Burrata Salad. It’s like summer on a plate—a cold, fresh, and generous serving of burrata, packed with pine nuts, black and green olives, and cherry tomatoes. The salad makes for an ideal workday solo lunch—light yet fulfilling. 

Serious Slice’s menu also features a Napoletano secret—Panuozzo—an Italian sandwich, essentially a pizza bread. Built on a promise, the Roast Chicken Panuzzo’s fell short; the San Marzano tomatoes, although juicy, lacked depth, and their consistency, too runny; and the bread-to-protein ratio felt off-balance. 

The pizza, too, although beautifully crusted, lacked enough toppings. 

Post the superstar starters, the pasta was a saving grace on the menu. Featuring bold sauces and unexpected flavour combinations, choosing one dish from the extensive pasta menu seemed to be the toughest choice to make that evening. 

While it has the usuals—spaghetti aglio-e-olio, fusilli all’arrabbiata, and Penne alla Crema di Parmigiano, Serious Slice encourages its guests to be a little experimental and bold with their order. From the hot honey and gorgonzola gnocchi and shrimp yuzu butter bucatini, to the chorizo carbonara and lemon ricotta chicken ravioli—one cannot stop at one pasta order. 

My pick was the Charcoal Spaghetti with garlic butter lobster—rich black charcoal-infused spaghetti tossed in garlic butter sauce, and topped with tender lobster and fresh herbs. Fresh off the coast may be a stretch—but this is the closest one can get to the Amalfi on this side of the world. 

Although far from dry, when the bread and carbs weigh you down, order a sip of summer from the beverage menu. The Amaldi Twist—a refreshing beverage made from juicy pineapple and vibrant orange, meant exclusively for the hot summer days; or try the Tuscan Summer—a mix of apricots, grapes, peaches, and watermelon. 

Desserts, unfortunately, failed to lift the mood. The tiramisu, though generously doused in liquor, was too dense and failed to match the freshness of the breads. 

The open-fire kitchen adds theatre, and the Serious Slice experience is as much about the mood as it is about the meal. It is designed not just to serve a taste of, but transport the diner to a trattoria in Napoli, and the sunny coastline of Italy. 

And in that, Serious Slice succeeds.