Punk pizza! Street style restaurant brings a slice of something new to York

Inspired by Rome, punk and social media, a new-style pizza place is coming to York.

The Block is due to open towards the end of August – with a twist on the traditional Italian dish.

Instead of dishing out pizza triangles, The Block will serve them up in squares. You can grab one for a lunch on the go, or enjoy several on a night out with friends.

The restaurant is the brainchild of former professional golfer Scott Brannan. He originally planned to launch a street food stall, but is now bringing that street ethos to the former Travelling Man shop on Goodramgate.

He is busily transforming it into a modern pizzeria, with wooden bar and tiled walls. And the restaurant puts the punk into pizza too.

Tasty clash

The most striking thing about the new restaurant is the wall-sized photograph showing punk legends The Clash on their memorable visit to York in 1985.

On May 8 that year, they arrived unannounced and started busking on Low Petergate close to the Minster.

“I knew it happened because my dad told me stories,” Scott told YorkMix. “It was the first thing I wanted in the shop.”

In this way The Block combines his two passions – food and music. He hopes to have playlists chosen by city music lovers as the soundtrack to the kitchen.

Scott was inspired to open the restaurant after enjoying a two-week trip to Rome. He aims to use simple, high quality ingredients create his ‘blocks’ of pizza.

Vegan, vegetarian and meaty options will all be available, with the squares costing between £3-£5, depending on the topping.

But he plans to add a uniquely modern twist – by delivering a brand-new pizza creation each month based on the votes by customers on social media.

Plastic free restaurant

In the two years since Scott left the Professional Golfing Association, he worked in a variety of restaurants and bars in the city centre. Now the cooking-obsessed 29-year-old is excited to work for himself and open his own place.

An electric pizza oven is placed on one side of the shop so that customers can watch eagerly as their food is prepared before their eyes.

And Scott wants the business to be as green as possible. The Block will be completely plastic free, with its pizza blocks being served on a biodegradable cardboard tray. In addition, all drinks will be glass or cans so that they can be recycled.

Those drinks will include Italian fruit juices and the Sanpellegrino range of sparkling drinks.

The arrival of The Block is another sign that the old street is on the up. Two pop-up businesses – an art gallery and the Blueberry gift shop – are making way for permanent additions to the street.

And once it opens, The Block looks set to bring a ‘rock’n’Rome’ vibe to York.