London's pizza game is STRONG, with some of the best pizzas in Europe (outside of Italy, of course) in the capital. For the pick of the crop, here's our guide to the city's best pizzas.
World Famous Gordo's
London Fields - Netil Market, Unit C, 13, 23 Westgate St, London E8 3RL
Coming from an ex Yard Sale GM, this quickly became a favourite at its original Dalston location. But, after some issues with naming rights, they moved to Netil Market, renamed themselves and have become bigger than ever. Here it's all about pizza by the slice, including the NY Slice (mozzarella, tomato, parmesan and a sesame crust) and Pepperoni with Everything (featuring scamaroza cheese, pepperoni and more).
Alley Cats Pizza
Marylebone - 22 Paddington St, London W1U 5QY
Arriving slightly out of nowhere, who could have predicted that an NYC-style pizza place from the same group that currently runs Angus Steakhouse would become a big thing? But this relatively new addition to the list is going down an absolute storm right now, with an ex-Pizza Pilgrims and Princi chef behind the pizzas. There are classic pizzas, but also a few of their own creation like the Vodka with creamy tomato sauce, aged mozzarella and buffalo mozzarella.
Crisp Pizza
Hammersmith - The Chancellors, 25 Crisp Rd, London W6 9RL
Crisp Pizza continues to be one of the hottest restaurants in town, with a popularity that never seems to die down. It comes from chef (and pub owner) Carl McCluskey and their pizzas have been called the best in London by many a pizza lover. There can be notably long queues at the weekends (pizzas are only available Thursday - Sunday) but the organised can now book a table ahead of time. If you manage to get a coveted table, you'll find pizzas like their N'Duja pie (San Marzano, Mozzarella, Buffalo Mozzarella, Parm, Calabrian Nduja) among others.
Yard Sale
Various locations across London
The opening party of their original Clapton location has gone down in history for including a secret gig by Macaulay Culkin's band. Since then, Yard Sale made a particular name for themselves with interesting collaborations with everyone from singers to big restaurants. With the exception of the margherita, the toppings are very East London, none more so than the TSB - that's tender stem broccoli, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil.
Lardo
Hackney - 197-201 Richmond Rd, London E8 3N
Originally not strictly a pizzeria and more of an Italian (by way of Hackney) neighbourhood restaurant, the emphasis is now on Lardo’s pizza section. In addition to the classics served up by former Bistrotheque manager Eliza Flanagan and partner Hugh Thorn, pizzas include regularly changing seasonal specials - such as one with braised leeks, roast garlic, rocket pesto and almonds.
Pizza Pilgrims
Multiple locations in London
Brothers James and Thom Elliot are the folks behind Pizza Pilgrims. Having bought a van in Italy for their London street food stall they decided to go and get it and drive back tasting the best Neapolitan pizza and mozzarella that Italy has to offer and they now have restaurants all over London. Ingredients are now flown in from Italy and they attribute their success to "soft dough, really simple, and not overloaded with ingredients. We don't have a complicated menu, we don't have weird toppings." That said, the pepperoni with hot honey is very popular, and we do like the "prosciuttonnaise" crust dipping sauce and look out for regular specials like a fondue pizza. They are also still running their excellent "pizza in the post" home kits.
Pizzeria Mozza
Fitzrovia - Treehouse London, 14-15 Langham Pl, London W1B 2QS
This is the London restaurant of well-known LA chef Nancy Silverton. A London version of her LA-based pizzeria, the pizzas are famed for their crust - a lightly crunchy crust on a chewy dough. While you can order a traditional Margherita, many of the pizzas are quite unique, like the PLT (pancetta affumicata, guanciale, onion cream, roasted tomato, rucola & aioli) or the Brussels Sprouts (panna, red onion, pancetta, chilli flakes, pecorino romano & parmigiano reggiano).
50 Kalò di Ciro Salvo
St James - 7 Northumberland Ave, Westminster, London WC2N 5BY
One of Naples' top pizza restaurants, Pizzeria 50 Kalò di Ciro Salvo's London spot saw them creating as close to that Neopolitan experience as possible. It's all about the dough - 50 Kalo refers to "good dough" - and the menu features a much larger selection of pizzas than other Neapolitan imports. The Evening Standard's David Ellis called their offering "London’s best pizza." Big talk indeed.
L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele
Marylebone & Soho
London went completely nuts at the arrival of what was dubbed Naples’ (and by that the world’s) best pizza. After some dispute over the use of the name, L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele is now housed in Baker Street and Soho. When they started, they only did two pizzas, a Margherita and a Marinara (which they do very well) but they've now expanded with a lot more options - including a fried pizza.
Big Mamma restaurants
Shoreditch (Gloria), Fitzrovia (Circolo Popolare), Covent Garden (Ave Mario), Kensington (Jacuzzi), Fitzrovia (Carlotta)
While the Big Mamma Group are very well known for their flamboyant restaurants, there is some real skill with the pizzas there. Pizzas from their delivery arm include the Truffle Squad (Mozzarella fior di latte, ricotta, black truffle cream, fresh seasonal truffle, button mushrooms sauteed with thyme, fresh chives) and Notorious B.I.Cheese (Mozzarella fior di latte, gorgonzola, 24 mesi parmigiano reggiano, herb ricotta, black pepper)..
Homeslice
Covent Garden, Marylebone, City
Ry Jessup started Homeslice with a hand-built mobile wood-fired oven hand that he launched at London Fields Brewery. He did a shed load of festivals and the like before teaming up with Mark and Alan Wogan, sons of the late great Sir Tel, to open their first restaurant. You'll find the traditional pizzas here, but they're also keen on coming up with unique flavour combinations - kimchi, porcini cream and basil anyone? The pizzas are also HUGE - a regular is 20".
Manifesto Pizza
Wandsworth - 148 Northcote Rd, London SW11 6RD
Moving slightly away from the norm, Manifesto Pizza sets out its stall right from its name. That particular "manifesto" is all about using the best possible Italian ingredients (Molino Pasini flour, Pugliese mozzarella, etc). Their pizzas are a little different from the norm too, including the Hot Lips (with tomato sauce, Fior di Latte mozzarella, spicy Calabrian salame, spicy Calabrian nduja, fresh chilli) and The Apollo 13 (with salame and, yes, rocket).
Made of Dough
Peckham, Crystal Palace
Coming up the street food route like so many others, Made of Dough’s first bricks-and-mortar spot was in Peckham, with their Palazzo bar in Crystal Palace following later. They’ve stayed true to their roots, roping in local butchers Flock & Heard for the sausage on their Merguez pizza. They use a lean dough recipe with a 60-hour fermentation process. The mozzarella is driven fresh from Campania twice a week and the parmesan is aged for over 30 months.
Oi Vita
Stoke Newington - 67 Newington Green Rd, Mildmay Ward, London N1 4QU
Stoke Newington does rather well in the Neapolitan pizza front with this and Vicoli being excellent representations. Oi Vita hail from Italy and their chef is the second generation in a pizza-making family from Naples, while their 24-hour fermented dough has an emphasis on lightness. Their signature is the classic Cosacca - tomato sauce, red cherry tomatoes, Parmesan and Pecorino romano cheeses with basil.
O-ver
London Bridge, St James
O-ver's key feature is that the pizza dough is infused with real purified seawater. That may sound like a gimmick, but the pizzas that they're producing are top class. They have traditional pizzas, but the gourmet versions are well worth checking out too. Top of the list to order should be The Piacentina - that's "Neapolitan buffalo mozzarella, yellow cherry tomatoes from Vesuvio, crispy rolled Italian bacon, fried aubergines and black pepper."
Santa Maria
Ealing, Chelsea, Islington, Brentford and Fitzrovia
Named after St Mary's Road in Ealing, the site of their first pizzeria, owners Angelo and Pasquale used their Neapolitan heritage and expertise in running pizzerias all over London to open their own in 2010, bringing in master Pizza chefs Lucio Miano Petta and Emanuele Tagliarina to complete the dream team. The ‘Santa Bufalina’, which is just tomatoes and D.O.C mozzarella, is one to beat.
Vicoli di Napoli Pizzeria
125 Stoke Newington Church St, Stoke Newington, London N16 0UH
This was the original L'Antica in London before some legal shenanigans, but although it's had a name change, it remains an excellent pizzeria. Expect traditional Neapolitan pizzas with the classic Margherita and Marinara at the heart of the menu joined by Via dei Gerolomini - Prosciutto e funghi (Fior di Latte, Grana Padano DOP, basil, cured ham, mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil).
Voodoo Ray's
Dalston, Peckham
It's all about the slice at Voodoo Ray's. Opening in Dalston back in 2012, their huge 22-inch pizzas are served by the slice, NYC style. The style may be American, but the ingredients are all Italian - they use both Buffalo and fior di latte mozzarellas, Caputo flour and San Marzano tomatoes for the topping.
Voodoo Ray's photo by Bite Twice
Zia Lucia
Aldgate, Holloway, Hammersmith, Balham
Founders Claudio and Gianluca named their first Holloway Road pizzeria after Gianluca's aunt. Their pizza dough is 48 hours slow-fermented and baked in a wood-fired oven. But probably their key point of difference are the four types of dough available including the Insta-friendly vegetable charcoal (which they delicately explain has "digestive gas-absorbing capacities"), wholemeal, gluten-free and traditional.
And there's more...
- Detroit Pizza - Deep dishes are back in fashion and now Detroit is in both Spitalfields and Islington
- Vasiniko - This small Neapolitan-style pizzeria in Covent Garden is getting a stellar reputation
- Rudy's - Originally from Manchester, this pizza chain is expanding across London too, with a flagship branch in Soho
- Crust Bros - Their Neopolitan pizza in Waterloo is highly rated, and they feature 30 ingredients so you can properly personalise your pizzas.
- Flat Earth Pizza features plant-based pizzas and are popping up in Hackney
- Purezza - Also on the plant-based front, Purezza started in Brighton before making a splash in Camden
- Happy Face Pizza - popular in King's Cross
- Sacro Cuore in Kensal Green is highly recommended.
- Farina Pizza - the much-loved Notting Hill Pizzeria has returned (in a different location)
- Berbere Pizza are in Clapham and Kentish Town and all their pizzas are made with organic ingredients.
- Sud Italia has excellent pizza, popping up at Spitalfields Market, Chiswick and more.
- Franco Manca is still a good bet for a pizza and has now expanded all over town.
- Pizza Union is a good bet for pizzas served ultra-fast when you're in a hurry,
- Crazy Pizza - if you like lots of truffle, bear this place in mind.
- 400 Rabbits at Crystal Palace and Nunhead gets very good press too.
Subscribe to hear the latest from Hot Dinners
