Celebrating my 26th Birthday & Crisp W6 Pizza Review

I am loving my late 20s

If you are anything like me, I am an accidental over-committer. In any capacity (work or play), I always find it easy to stay busy. It’s like I fear mental calmness at the lack of any stimulation. I wouldn’t know what it’s like to be someone described as ‘chilled’, but I envy you if you have the ability to be lax at the flick of a switch. I am just too unironically chaotic.

I am the type of person that finds relaxing really hard, and on weekends or days off I fear sitting still. Weekends particularly cloud a low-key pressure to ‘make the most’ of the free time, but consistently prove to make Monday’s even harder to wake up for. Finding a balance between rest and reset or socialising and exerting can be really tough.

Every year when my birthday rolls around, I tell myself that I am going to celebrate it ‘quietly’, where I don’t leave my house, make zilch plans, go nowhere near my makeup bag and wallow solely in my flannel pyjamas. This would involve having no responsibility of others by hosting, saving money on doing anything lavish, and likely odds, beating a crippling hangover. Year on year I say I’ll do this, but it never actually pans out that way. Why? Because it’s at the cost of being lonely, which I dread. It’s also so far removed from who I am inherently that it just doesn’t make any sense to make plans like this. Who am I kidding? I am such a sociable soul, and being an Aries my diva side also low-key milks a birthday (especially if it falls on a day midweek) - then it really becomes more than just a day celebration. Whatever closer weekend the day weights towards you become inclined to mark it with everyone you know and love, at least I do. The thought of marking it by not marking it has an appeal that dies away rather swiftly when it can’t be shared with others. I think I like the collective experience a birthday brings. It’s as much a get together for me as it is for everyone else.

That is exactly how I marked it this year, where this last weekend I spent my Friday/Saturday seeing my nearest and dearest. I am so grateful to have belly laughed, ate some great food and enjoyed being busy (at the expense of my voice which has decided to stay at age 25).

Crisp Pizza W6 at The Chancellors Pub

If you live in London, you would be within the minority to have not heard about Crisp Pizza W6. Nestled in the bustling Chancellors Pub on Crisp Road, the pub was put on the map for its sensational pizzas that are being whipped up in total nonchalant fashion. From the outside, The Chancellors looks no different to any other local, yet, their pub fare is like nothing I’ve ever had before.

Going viral for being coveted as the city’s hottest pizza, Crisp got its name through social media influence and old age word-of mouth rave reviews. Hype saw swathes of queues that crane the Crisp Road, pricking the ears of influential food reviewers such as Dave Portnoy who visited and gave the place a a 8.1/10 score, a solid yet completely fair rating.

Having moved to the same postcode now makes me a local. Dang-er-ous. I am lucky to have visited three times now, so I feel inclined to give a completely honest review, and that it is worth the hype. I always prefer Neapolitan style thin base pizzas over deep dish (though on their menu they do offer a ‘grandma pie’ which is closer to Chicago pizza). Crisp pizza however is incomparable to anything else - the crust is so crunchy and light and pillowy, perfect to mop up any residual passata and their house-made chunky garlic dip. The sauce they use on the base is a perfect tomato-to-cheese and topping ratio (a pizza is no pizza in my eyes if it skimps on the red layer). I knew I had to take my friends there for my birthday.

The ordering system is a bit complicated, and they don’t make it easy getting your hands on a Crisp pie. Pizza can be acquired in two different ways: via walk in, or by reservation. No table reservations can be made so it’s complete luck of the draw snagging a table. On this occasion I reserved 11 bases via their WhatsApp number they instruct you to text, and prayed to the pizza gods that there would be table space for 6 girls on a Friday evening. Yes you heard correct that we ordered 11 pizzas between 6 of us…. (we ate gooood). It was only fair we try most of their bases to give a fair review?!

Our order included:

• Cheese Pie

• Classic Pepperoni

• Picante (margherita with a tequila pesto drizz)

• Vecna (hot honey, burrata cheese and pepperoni), I know…right???

• Nduja

It’s so hard to pinpoint a favourite as they all compliment each other so well. The Picante is so fresh after a slice of the Vecna, which is overpoweringly sweet from the honey (but in a weirdly enjoyable way). The tequila pesto of the Picante cuts through the sweet, and is the perfect savoury chaser. Gun to my head, Crisp W6’s Pepperoni is my showstopper. You could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it wouldn’t bore you. Savoury, salty, fresh, warming - I am salivating just writing this. Just, go try it ok. For an average pie at £14, it is well worth the money for the taste and for London.

If you want to try Crisp W6, I’d recommend booking ahead. Or if you feel spontaneous, you can try for walk-in most days (I would make sure to get there around 20 mins before the time-slot to avoid disappointment). The contact number for reserving bases can be done through their Instagram here.

Celebrating my 26th Birthday

26 feels like I have turned a new leaf into adulthood. There is something that really excites me over the prospect of now being solidly in my late 20s. I truly feel like these are the years I will learn more about myself and hone in on mastering areas I know I enjoy and thrive in.

From the age of 20-25, I didn’t enjoy getting to grips with understanding I was suddenly a full-blown adult. At 22 I had just moved to London, in my first full-time job working 9-6 after 4 years of uni, accepting I couldn’t just go to the pub on a random Tuesday lunchtime or walk to my friends house for a gossip sesh. Commuting became unglamorous really quite quickly, and figuring out how to socialise/workout/save money/eat well all within a tight budget and 24hr clock seemed almost unachievable. There was so much pressure to enjoy what was sold in as ‘the best years of your life!!!’, but I truly think the best is yet to come. That said, I try and enjoy the every day - I’m not waiting in the wings for the ‘peak’ of happiness per-se, as you would only think you’d reach that in a period of unhappiness. It is a love language to yourself to do something that makes you happy each day (be it big or small).

26 is a funny stage of life. All of my friends are on entirely different wavelengths. Some are engaged, some are travelling or have moved abroad, some are single and go out five days a week, some are working up the career ladder, others are dog owners; no one is the same. It can be a blessing and a curse for our generation (with social media to be specific), as you are constantly looking to comparison culture. I sometimes question if I am doing enough of x to be more fun, or hardworking, when actually everyone is likely worrying too or in their own head to care what you are doing. Mentally thinking about what you don’t have rather than what you already hold is so skewing for both motivation and progression. But, when you only see the positive side on social media it’s easy to believe everyone has it all but you. You can’t blame a girl for feeling jealous now and again. That’s also a healthy emotion in my opinion.

Firstly everyone knows social media is false, and secondly, I am trying to live by the mantra “what is right for me will find me”. If something feels forced or too difficult to manage, it’s not meant to be in that moment. I know in the near future working abroad for me is on the cards, but I know if decided to do it now it wouldn’t serve me. I love my job, I love our flat, I feel happy right now. I also like the thought of not knowing who I would have met, what I would have done, or where I might be in a year’s time. I may be a control freak but I can’t predict the future, and that’s a blessing.

So, here’s to 26 - I am ready to see what the next year has in store.