After a long day of meetings capped with a long drive to Hannover, we sought a quick and easy dinner near our hotel and landed on Panu Pizza. I’ve been impressed with just how consistently good the pizza is in Europe, outside of Italy, so I’m always happy to land on a spot for cozy, comfort food. Panu, was a little different…

The restaurant is very cute, quite clean, but well decorated with seemingly a barrage of treasures sourced from an antique market. There’s a strange monkey mural on the wall, but the men wokring there were incredibly well dressed for a casual spot, that this seemed to offset the banana-gun toting primate somehow. Sadly, there is no wine or beer served here, which would have been amazing to pair with a pizza after an exceptionally long day.

While you’re waiting for your pizza or Panu, a calzone-like creation, they serve what you’d expect to be bread, a basket lined with paper, but with what turns out to be slightly pickled fennel! Strange indeed! I had a bit on my pizza and wasn’t impressed, but the husband loved it as a snack. Opposites attracting as always and all that.

I opted for the mortadella and pistachio, a favorite. While the crust was very nice, the toppings were a bit disappointing. The addition of ricotta did nothing for me but add moisture. The ham wasn’t great, and the pistachios were soggy from said moisture and failed to add the salty crunch that I love.

Not pictured, the Husband had a chicken and greens Panu. A strange choice for him, but he loved it again! So win, win all around for him. I’m not sure we’d be back to dine in, but this could make an interesting takeaway option if you’re in central Hannover.