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The delicious aromas of wood-fired pizza dough waft through the air on a residential street in Redfield.

The kitchen inside Danny Saville’s Glendare Street home is more like the kitchen you’d find inside an established restaurant, complete with industry-standard fridges, stacked pizza boxes, and a dough mixer.

Danny, the man behind Back Garden Pizzeria, has transformed his kitchen and garden into a Neapolitan-style take-out pizzeria.

The kitchen inside Danny Saville’s Glendare Street home is more like the kitchen you’d find inside an established restaurant – photo: Rachel Sutherland

The restaurant opened during the lockdown in 2020, when Danny was working as a head chef at Prego; his hours were reduced and he found himself with more thyme on his hands.

He then started making sourdough pizzas, using Italian produce, from his backyard during lockdown as “a bit of a hobby and a bit of fun.”

Danny, who has been a pizza chef for 12 years, said: “It was amazing when we started during lockdown, it was just for collecting and we started this WhatsApp group and people would add their friends.

“It was really nice to see people’s faces every week and people would book their pizzas a week in advance.

“I didn’t start out thinking this would become a business, but it just took off. We built a following and started getting regular customers.

“I always wanted to have my own business, especially my own pizzeria. I’ve always had that ambition.”

Back Garden Pizzeria opened during lockdown in 2020

Following an increase in clientele, the company’s Instagram page was launched and Back Garden Pizzeria began making its own deliveries throughout the city.

Reflecting on those times, Danny said, “That was a lot of logistics, taking the pre-orders, working out the routes and delivery time slots.

“At the time we were making about 60 pizzas a night and delivering them all by ourselves, which was pretty chaotic.”

When hospitality began to open up again after lockdown, Danny was asked to return to Prego to work full time as a head chef.

Despite loving his job and his colleagues there, he decided to “take the plunge” with his own pizza business because he “wasn’t ready to quit.”

Danny started making pizzas in his back garden during lockdown as “a hobby and a bit of fun”.

With the business expanding and work and home literally on top of each other, Danny said he’s looking forward to moving his business out of his home.

“With the balance between home and work, sometimes it can be a bit difficult to share the same space.

“We’ve been looking for a place for a while, but at the moment it’s a bit tricky in Bristol, it’s very competitive and there’s not much on the market,” Danny explained.

When asked if he has any advice for anyone thinking of starting their own business, Danny said, “I would definitely recommend people get their water tested as a side hustle and build before going full time.

“Second, don’t be a cowboy, make sure you know what you’re doing. When it comes to food, hygiene and safety are really important. Do your research.

“Finally, make sure you have done everything that needs to be done from a legal perspective. For example, registering as a food business, obtaining a food hygiene qualification and obtaining liability insurance.

“If it’s something you’re passionate about, you have nothing to lose.”

The Bristol pizzeria went beyond Danny’s back garden and appeared at the Glastonbury and Shambhala festivals in 2022, selling more than 11,000 of its handmade arancinis to festival revelers.

Danny and his team are expected to return to Shambhala this year.

Back Garden Pizzeria can be ordered through Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Foodstuff. For more information, visit www.instagram.com/backgardenpizzeria

All photos: Rachel Sutherland

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