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When I was first taken to Fire & Stone (Maiden Lane, Covent Garden) last year I was rendered quite speechless by the extremely high recessed-concrete ceiling. Returning earlier this week I was struck with a similar feeling of minimalist numinosity. If Fire & Stone were an art gallery or museum the ceiling would be nothing extraordinary, but for a budget pizza establishment it is really quite unexpected. As seems de rigeur in the 21st century the place is spartanly decorated – with the notable exception of some rather alarming orange uplighting. The environs are a fusion of refectory style communalism and more intimate tete-a-tete dining. While I assume the leatherette banquettes in the six-berth booths do their best to absorb reflected noise, the ceiling (while impressive) isn’t exactly conducive to good acoustics.

The menu offers a cacophony of international flavours – all dolloped on a pizza base. Pizzas are named after international cities and flavoured accordingly. The Peking is essentially shredded duck, hoisin sauce and cucumber strips on a cheese and tomato pizza. Some are certainly more calorific than others. The ‘New York’ comes with miniature roast potatoes, mozzarella, bacon all on Margarita base…

The premise is simple but just a tad off-putting to consider. The execution is however, surprisingly polished. Viewed in the context of the exceptionally cheap lunch menu, £4.95 for pizza, pasta or salad, you really are getting great value for money. The calorific New York is a perfect hunger-killer for a budget tied student and offers considerable convenience being located a mere stones throw from LSE and Kings. Add an extra £1 for a bottomless soft-drink and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a hearty, tasty and cheap lunch.

Unfortunately it’s not all so rosy. The pasta is quite deplorable, the spaghetti bolognese being one to to avoid at all costs. I should imagine a microwaveable ragu sauce and some pre-cooked spaghetti would taste better. Perhaps those are just the steps the cook takes to serve up this £7.95 monstrosity. Equally, the chicken caesar salad should be avoided at all cost for similar reasons.

But alas, the real disappointment is found in the service and not the food. On a quiet weekday lunchtime I told the waiter my party would only have 45 minutes for lunch. We were assured expediency and the thankfully our pizzas arrived in a timely manner. It’s unsurprising however, that when all four members of the waiting staff are engaged in lively intrusive banter at the bar that the drinks should take much longer to materialise. Catching the eye of a passing member of staff was nigh-on-impossible and eventually I resorted to leaving my table, walking up to the bar, asking that our plates be taken away and asking for the desert menus. By the time the menus arrived our 45 minutes were up and we needed the bill.

It might be excusable if this were an isolated occurrence but the last few times I’ve been to Fire & Stone the story has been much the same. In the past I actually thought the staff to be attentive and very friendly but for whatever reason, these last few times I’ve visited have been more than disappointing.

For the uninitiated the concept of Fire & Stone is just a bit nauseating. The idea of roast potatoes on a pizza is hard to imagine but in practice they seem to have matched the flavours well and the food is tasty and satisfying. While Fire & Stone won’t be appropriate for every occasion, it does have its niche which at £4.95 is hard to beat.

Place: 2/5 – ceiling and surroundings are impressive but bad service and acoustics let it down

Food: 3/5 – the indulgent pizzas are treats but do avoid the pasta and salads

Value: 5+/5 – it really doesn’t come cheaper than this

Overall: 3/5*

31 Maiden Lane, London WC2E 7JS – 0844 371 2550 – fireandstone.com