I have a friend who doesn’t think much of pizza. “What’s the fuss? There’s not much difference between a good pizza and a bad one,” he says. I’m not convinced he’s actually had a good pizza so I’ll be directing him straight to Bella Brutta (beautiful ugly).

Here the blistered dough is thin, charred, smoky and lighter than your traditional Neapolitan pizzas, and it’s beautifully seasoned so barely needs topping. The tomato sauce is rich in umami joy, and never more so than when freighting large rounds of chef Luke Powell’s pepperoni and a sprinkling of fennel seeds for good measure. The garlic, parsley, lemon juice and fermented chilli ensemble for a pizza bianca, meanwhile, is simply stunning studded with diced Cloudy Bay surf clams. All the pies are given but a brief flash in the giant red pizza oven that came direct from Emilia-Romagna.

I’ve been daydreaming about both these pizzas since I had them and their excellence is hardly surprising – Bella Brutta comes courtesy of a crew with serious cred. Powell, who is backed by the posse behind Porteño and other Sydney gems (Elvis Abrahanowicz, Sarah Doyle and Joe Valore), gave the city the smart-casual LP’s Quality Meats. Now, armed with his own smallgoods, he’s slinging flavoursome discs with front-of-house whiz and partner Tania Houghton.

It’s not as flash as the group’s other venues, but the trademark attention to detail is everywhere. You can sit at the marble bar or tables and banquettes that run the length of the long, slender whitewashed space. But it’s not just about the pizza. The wine list is a ripping representation of what to drink right now, the cocktails are cracking and the antipasti A-grade. Turkish peppers are roasted and served on romesco. Basil and shaved green tomatoes top stracciatella, while celery, sunflower seeds, celtuce and pecorino make for one of the best salads in town, and the freshly made bombolone (cream-filled doughnuts) could well be Sydney’s finest too.

The ethos of simplicity and letting ingredients star is nowhere more evident than here at Bella Brutta and just like its siblings it’s sure to set itself apart from the pack.