THE D’Angermobile screeched to a halt outside what I reckon is our latest “find” — Pear Tree Pizzeria in Hamilton Hill.

We’d been en route elsewhere, but the restaurant’s gorgeous partridge in a pear tree mural grabbed our attention.

Owner Ron Aldcanty hails from Ireland but has travelled the world, including a stint working in the US. A drive through Oregon inspired him to open a pizza joint back in Hammy Hill.

Instead of cafe strips, the real heart of dining out in foodie mad Portland is in the suburbs, Mr Aldcanty says:

“Individual places that don’t have to rely on passing trade or tourism.”

Back in WA, with his Aussie wife and young child, the search was on for somewhere with lower end rent.

“I had worked around Fremantle and a lot of places had to use very cheap ingredients because of high rents…I wanted to use quality ingredients,” he says.

The Pear Tree’s bacon is free range and nitrate free, and coconut oil is used in the fat fryer.

“No nasty oil is number one,” Mr Aldcanty says.

“We use organic where possible, and our flour is German spelt and organic rye.”

Pear Tree’s head chef Kenny Austin was at Manna for years and his deft touch was detected in my chickpea and zucchini patty ($14).

Delicious doesn’t being to describe the flavour of this moist, and huge, offering.

And a great tzatziki sauce (greek yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and dill) was the pièce de résistance.

D’Angerous Dave opted for the margherita pizza ($20), minus the buffalo cheese.

The crust was plump and crisp—with that really authentic Italian pizza dough chewiness—and the topping was rich and tomatoey, with lashings of sharply flavoursome, tiny tomatoes.

The people at the next table were hoeing into a meaty pizza with such gay abandon that they let their sports car alarm blare for ages, on two separate occasions.

They then had the audacity to complain about the bloke across the road mowing his verge.

The dessert menu was light on, but the chocolate brownie ($5) more than made up for the lack of choice with its rich and moist deliciousness.

Service was friendly and pleasant, if a tad slow, but that could be because the Pear Tree has only been open since January 1.

by JENNY D’ANGER

Pear Tree
1 Kerry Street, Hamilton Hill
open 7 days breakfast and
lunch, takeaway pizza to 8pm
0452 634 264