Pocket Pizza has opened its third outpost at Avalon Beach, as sales figures suggest a sustained appetite for mid-priced, weekday meals on the Northern Beaches.

The small pizza chain, founded by friends Ben Pichon and Dylan Eisenhut in 2015, has established a reputation for quality hand-stretched pizzas ($22-30), accessible opening hours (until 10pm Monday to Friday) and a ’70s Brooklyn aesthetic.

Their newest location is hidden down a little laneway: a small 20-seat restaurant featuring dark wood panel and red leather booths, vintage posters and lit candles flickering across white paper doilies.

Come September, Eisenhut hopes to bring the party outdoors into the laneway, with an aperitivo hour under the stars. For now, diners can take a seat at the bar and take advantage of $10 spritzes and negronis from 4pm, Friday to Sunday.

There’s also a selection of Australian wines (mostly of the natural variety – think brands like Yokel from Swan Valley, WA), amaros and American whisky behind the retro bar.

Despite the rising cost of living, Eisenhut says that Pocket Pizza has seen sales grow by up to 20 per cent at their Manly and Brookvale locations. Monday nights are particularly busy, attracting up to 400 orders each week.

“I’m close with a lot of other people in the industry and we talk a lot about what has been happening in the economy,” Eisenhut says.

“But we’re big believers in over delivering for the price point. We put a lot of time and effort into our dough, we make it all ourselves by hand, and we stretch the pizzas to order.

“We invest heavily in quality small goods, like fior di latte from Vannella [in Marrickville].”

There’s a long list of antipasto options on the menu, including beef carpaccio ($20), cacio e pepe arancini ($15) and calamari fritti ($21). Pizzas run the gamut from simple margheritas ($24) and four cheese ($27), through to more adventurous options such as the Netflix and Chill (tomato, fior di latte, ’nduja, ricotta, salami and honey, $29) and the Lamborghini (tomato, fior di latte, lamb sausage, eggplant and goats cheese, $28).

Each pizza is delivered by a member of staff to ensure it’s treated with care, and Eisenhut promises to take orders no matter how close to closing time.

“We aren’t the cheapest pizza place around but we want people to feel like they’re getting their money’s worth, with dimly lit candles, good tunes and a full feed,” he says.

pocketpizza.com.au