More Flavor: City Gem Furnace

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Tucked down a side street off Hoxton Square is the perfect remedy to the seasonal poultry overload. Shoreditch's best-kept secret, Furnace has been in the area since 1999, serving up superior-quality pizza and pasta to in-the-know locals from behind its unassuming exterior. The carpaccio e funghi enlivens the classic raw-beef starter with wild mushrooms, and is extravagantly portioned at £5.85; the ham, ricotta and spinach calzone (£8.95), meanwhile, is a crisp half-moon with a steaming, succulent centre — so cockle-warming and cold-defying, all those memories of dry, white turkey meat will be instantly forgotten.

– Joe Rudkin