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If you want the authentic experience of deep dish pizza done right in Islamabad then The Cheese Factor is the place to be!
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Located in the most happening sector of Islamabad, right in between the two most famous coffee house lies a small, decent and cozy eatery called “The Cheese Factor”. Being a Pizza fan, I decided to explore this new in town Pizza parlor with my better half. The yellow-themed restaurant, depicting the cheese color, is the latest addition to Islamabad’s food scene, specializing in different sort of Pizzas and yes, only Pizzas.
The ambiance of the restaurant is pretty simple and cozy with a seating capacity of 6 people inside and around a dozen can be accommodated outside.
The staff welcomed us with a friendly smile and subsequently hands you over the single leaf menu. You can clearly see the three categories of the Pizza being offered. First of all the regular thick crust, then the typical Italian thin crust and the Deep Dish. The signature Pizza, however, was the Chicago-style Deep Dish. Filled with the love for Pizza, I immediately ordered a medium Chicken Supreme for the two of us, plus a fizzy drink in order to cut down the cheese I was anticipating. Anxiously waiting for my deep dish to be served I started exploring the menu and decided to order Stuffed Cheesy Chicken Strips.
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After fifteen minutes, the Chicken Cheesy Strips were served and to my delight they were served with Honey Mustard sauce. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the stuffing inside the crispy strips was good enough to tantalize the taste buds with the best possible combination of the Mustard Honey sauce. The filling was a good blend of cheese and minced chicken which had a different aroma when served with the perfectly fried crispy wraps.
Just when the sweet tenderness of the strips were about to end, the DEEP DISH was served. I felt like a king. To my surprise, it was served without the typical oven tray and was lying flat on a wooden baking tray. The thickness of the deep dish, was no wonder an extraordinary site for a foodie like me, since, perhaps this was the only place in Pakistan serving this at this point of time. Moving on, it was a nicely cooked and the crust was good enough three inches thick. On the top, it was a fine baked layer of tomato sauce.
My temptation to explore the filling was increasing by every passing second. As soon as I decided to pull a slice for myself, I realized the stuff is still piping hot. The slice when landed on my plate was no less than a steam engine throwing out warm tempting vapors with the aroma of the supreme flavors. Thus increasing my wait to munch on the cheesy delight. The mass stuffing of cheese was very clearly visible. Finally, I started after a brief delay. The first bite literally leaves you clueless about what exactly you have at hand other than the mouth filling cheese. The stuffing is based on premium Mozzarella cheese along with smoked BBQ chicken, and a few chunks of sausages, mushrooms, green peppers, onions and olives. All these blended with the mozzarella cheese are no less than a heavenly treat for all the cheese lovers out there. The way they were able to maintain the freshness of every ingredient regardless of the high cheese dose is indeed commendable. The overall crust was just perfectly baked, not dark and not very light, exactly the ideal color with the ideal taste.The tomato sauce topping which was
The tomato sauce topping which was over a thin layer of crust and had a slightly sour taste, which with the mozzarella cheese was a unique experience. To sum up the whole slice, it was a wrap of all the taste ingredients in a well-baked layer of pizza crust on the top and on the bottom as well. The medium serving had six slices and were reasonable good enough for three. An add-on were the chilled fizzy drinks that were served during the meal. With chilled I literally mean, CHILLED.
The place was constantly receiving order with people of all age groups eagerly waiting to try the signature dish. The bill was a total of 2100 rupees which appear to be doing justice with the size and the stuffing for both the Cheese Chicken Strips and the Deep Dish Chicago Style. Definitely a highly recommended dish for the Pizza Junkies out there. Good justice done with the whole concept of the CHEESE FACTOR.
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Restaurant Rating
4 out of 5 stars
Address: Ground Floor, Select One Plaza, F-11 Markaz, near Gloria Jeans, Islamabad
Phone: (051) 8355515
Open: 12 pm to 3 am every day
Parking: Available
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Photo courtesy: Baber Mushtaq and The Cheese Factor
Amazing review! Keep it up!