A quaint pizza takeaway a stone's throw from one of Wales' most gorgeous beaches is gearing up for a busy summer season. Pobbles Pizza in Southgate, Gower, opened 18 months ago and serves delicious home-made sourdough pizzas using authentic Italian and Spanish ingredients and is located just minutes from completely unspoilt Three Cliffs Bay, hailed by The Times last year as Wales' best beach.
Business-owner Toby Mahmoud, 36, previously ran The Dandelion Cafe in the unit, after taking it on from his mum who ran a hair salon there for some 40 years. He's worked in the hospitality industry since he was 14 and also ran a zero-waste shop in Swansea before the pandemic, but after Covid restrictions and customers' different shopping habits affected his business, he shut up shop and switched back to his main love: food!
"I grew up just up from the pizza shop in Southgate, my mum ran a salon there for 40 years and then I turned it into The Dandelion Cafe, and then Pobbles Pizza, named after Pobbles Beach," he said. "We've been open for about 18 months now and the pizzas have been really popular, especially in the summer." For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
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"We're expanding this week and launching 'Pobbles Kitchen,' with salads, fresh baguettes, falafel and hot meals that customers can takeaway or eat-in on our decking or small inside area. We'll be opening this part of the business on May 25 and it'll be open from 9.30am to 2.30pm Thursday to Sunday. Our pizzas are available to takeaway from 5pm to 9pm Wednesday to Sunday - and we'll be open seven days a week in and around the summer holidays."
Three Cliffs Bay really does have everything a natural beach can offer: golden sands, waves, rockpools, stepping stones, striking clifftop walks, gorgeous views - and even a castle! But without facilities on the beach, visitors have to bring a picnic or leave the beach and go back to Southgate village, Parkmill, or nearby Three Cliffs Bay Holiday Park if they want to grab something to eat.
Southgate itself is a lovely community with a handful of popular, independent businesses including Toby's Pobbles Pizza, the Muddy Mailroom dog-friendly cafe, and the well-known Three Cliffs Coffee Shop.
Toby runs Pobbles Pizza with his partner Amy Osmond, a health coach and trained chef, and the pair pride themselves on using high quality ingredients in their pizzas. "I love food and pizza is always popular [so that's why our business is predominantly a pizza shop]," Toby said. "I've always wanted to do the best I can - so we only use high-quality sourdough, organic marinara sauce and our cured meats are from small, Italian farms.
"Our business has been going really well, we tend to be quieter in the winter, but from Easter onwards it picks up. It's a really nice community and we want our business to add to the community too, with a place people can go for something to eat and a chat at lunchtime and for a pizza to takeaway in the evenings."
On the pizza menu, you'll find the usual marinara, margherita, Hawaiian, and mushroom pizzas, as well as an Italian (pepperoni), Spanish (Spanish chorizo and sweet ramiro red peppers), French (sweet peppers, Kalamata olives, French salami), 'Italian Heat, Meat and Sweet' (Gower honey, chilli flakes, Italian pepperoni), Sicily (red onions, Kalamata olives, anchovies), Chinese (hoisin base, mozzarella, sweet peppers, red onions, optional shredded chicken), and European (pepperoni, pancetta, chorizo).
Also on the pizza menu: Sardinia (artichokes, cherry vine tomatoes, Kalamata olives, fresh basil), Greek (cherry vine tomatoes, red onions, optional organic Feta, organic oregano, Kalamata olives), Parma (Italian Prosciutto di Parma, organic young creamy goats cheese, cherry vine tomatoes), Surf and Turf (prawns, Parma ham, organic pesto), Gower (prawns, garlic oil and samphire), Asia and French (Siracha spicy sweet tangy sauce, red onions, cream organic goats cheese, prawns), Thailand (organic red curry coconut base, mozzarella, red onions, peanuts, fresh coriander, chicken, optional chilli), Aussie (sweet sticky BBQ base, mozzarella, red onions, pancetta, chicken) or Create Your Own.
Pobbles Pizza offers takeaway pizzas from 5pm to 9pm, Wednesdays to Sundays, and they're in the perfect spot for customers to buy a pizza to take down onto the beach for an evening splash or stroll. Gluten-free and vegan options are available.
Pobbles Pizza will be expanding to offer takeaway pizzas seven evenings a week just before the school summer holidays and until children go back to school in September. And from May 25, 2023, the business will be expanding with 'Pobbles Kitchen' open for brunch and lunch from 9.30am to 2.30pm Thursdays to Sundays.
Pobbles Pizza and Pobbles Kitchen can be found at 65 Southgate Road, Southgate, Gower. SA3 2DH
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