The Four Legs team head to Newington Green, opening Bar Etna with Philly pizza chef Joe Beddia

If you had thought that London had reached peak hype pizza with the opening of Crisp Pizza in Mayfair, then you couldn't be more wrong. The arrival of Bar Etna on Newington Green this spring is going to set fire to the scene, given who's involved.

The pizzeria will be an innovative team-up between the Four Legs founder Ed McIlroy and Philadelphia chef and restaurateur Joe Beddia. Obviously, you'll know the former for their North London hype spots, The Plimsoll and Tollington's. As for Beddia, he's a Philadelphia-based pizza chef whose first opening in Philly, Pizzeria Beddia, was declared to serve the 'Best Pizza in America' by Bon Appétit magazine. This year, it attracted the attention of Michelin who gave it a Bib Gourmand. By all accounts, he is to pizza what Jiro Ono was to sushi. "The idea was simple: make good pizza, do it the same way every day, and see what happens."

The way it'll work in London is that the pizzas will be Joe's style, and Ed will bring his 'candid ingredient-led approach' to the affair. That means a series of pizzas with toppings changing according to what's in season. There will also be dishes like aubergine parmigiana, meatballs, sides and soft serves.

"Opening in London is a dream come true," says Joe, adding (and this is fighting talk), "I can’t wait to introduce London to what real pizza tastes like."

As for the drinks, think a selection of house spritzes, negronis on tap and, of course, a selection of low-intervention wines.

The space it's taken over used to be Italian restaurant Nino's, and they've brought in designer Mike Stampler who's promising an interior inspired by mid-century Milanese design. It puts Bar Etna within spitting distance of Yield, Jolene and Cadet, making Newington Green even more of an impossibly hip food hub than it already was.