Pizi, crispy Roman pizzas from the Zapi team

After Zapi, restaurateurs Nicolas Saltiel and César Gourdou are once again mixing up the letters of the word pizza, opening a new restaurant, Pizi, this time on the Etienne Marcel side of town. The place was designed to pay homage to the pizzerias of small Italian villages, traditional family-run grocery stores that bring together all the richness of transalpine products and know-how.

If you're familiar with the Pizi address, it's simply because this new Italian eatery has opened in place of another Italian restaurant, Damigiana. However, Pizi has undergone a complete makeover. With its orange and white chequered banquettes, its lampshades in the same fabric, its wood panelling, its hand-painted tiles and its magnificent copper-coloured pizza oven enthroned in the middle of the open kitchen, the address is particularly welcoming.

At Pizi, pizza is king. But not the Neapolitan pizza you're used to finding all over Paris. Here, the pizza is Roman or it isn't, and that's not to our displeasure. Thin, crispy, with dough made on site by chef Martin Gomès-Léal - worked by hand, it rests for 18 to 24 hours - Pizzi's pizza comes in just a few recipes, on a very short menu devised by Sardinian chef Fabio Marcia.

The pizza calabrese (18€) is made with tomato sauce, fior di latte, 'nduja, stracciatella, cherry tomatoes, olives and basil, while the quattro fromaggi e zucca (21€) is original, with a butternut squash base and fior di latte, scamorza, gorgonzola, goat's cheese, hazelnuts and fried sage. We say yes!

But before you get to the pizza, you'll be happy to opt for a transalpine starter, like the juicy polpette alla marinara (15€) with its thick tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese, or the vitello tonnato (19€), which is much less salty than usual - a good point. Italian cured meats and cheeses are also on offer.

It's also hard not to want to toast with the great classics of Italian mixology: we're talking, of course, about zapi spritz (rosemary-infused elderflower liqueur, bitter orange, white wine, verjuice, soda; €12) and limoncello collins (gin, limoncello, bergamot, soda; €14), not too sweet and made with bitters and house liqueurs.

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Before you leave, a quick trip to the grocery corner is a must. On the well-stocked shelves, you'll find jars, bottles and a wide variety of Italian products to take home!