'Italian' restaurant broke a cardinal rule and added pineapple pizza to the menu but only for $120

For the longest time, Italian purists have looked upon the addition of fruit to pizza, especially pineapples, as nothing short of a heinous crime. However, the demand for pineapple pizzas has always existed; in fact, it has recently become somewhat globally accepted. But that was until a pizzeria in the English city of Norwich decided to wage war against pineapples once again, according to CNN Travel last January. They did so by charging a staggering £100 or roughly $120 for one pie.

The story behind the $120 pizza

It all started with Norwich's Luppa Pizza listing a pineapple pizza on their menu for an insane amount as a joke. "Yeah, for £100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on, you Monster!" the listing read under their new menu. Although that alone was quite surprising, what made it even more shocking was that it was listed along with other, more conventional choices, for $17 or less. Nonetheless, this idea came from co-owner Francis Wolf's blatant hate for pineapples on pizza, who suggested that fruits don't go with pizza at all.

'That tropical menace'

“I love a pina colada, but pineapple on pizza? Never. I’d rather put a bloody strawberry on one than that tropical menace," the co-owner, Quin Jianoran, said. Still, even though they did it out of pure hate, according to the Norwich Evening News, Jianoran wanted to be prepared and had already ordered a tin of pineapple, just in case someone was crazy enough to spend an absurd amount on the dish, which is yet to happen. “If pineapple wins the vote, I’ll make it,” said Jianoran. “But I won’t be happy about it. And I might charge £200 ($268) next time.”

Our love-hate relationship with Hawaiian pizza

Despite all these instances and strong opinions, there are plenty of people who enjoy a good pineapple pizza. According to a survey held by YouGov, nearly 84% of British people said they liked pizza. Out of these people, more than half, or 53% to be precise, stated that they loved pineapple on their pizza. In contrast, about 4 in 10 said that they'd never eat a pineapple pizza if given a choice. This goes to show that you like it or dislike it — there's no middle ground, as the debate keeps raging on. 

Regardless, while no one might have dared to order the $120 pizza, it has sure made the pizzeria the talk of the town. So much so that the owners decided to put a poll in the local newspaper about the fruit, and if the results came in favor of the fruit, they'd include it in their menu permanently. Back then, the fruit was leading with nearly 62% votes in its favor. Nonetheless, the biggest question perhaps is that even if it does get included, who would buy it for $120?

You can follow Lupa Pizza (Norwich) on Instagram (@lupapizza) for more updates on their trysts with pizza.

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