Where To Find The Best Pizza In London
@Rias_London
Best For A Monday Treat:
Made of Dough
Now at two locations – a prime spot on trendy Bellenden Road in Peckham and an outpost at Bar Palazzo in Crystal Palace – this neighbourhood pizzeria is a gem of south-east London. Its chorizo pizza topped with piquillo peppers, house tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella and fresh basil is a solid choice, though the cheeseburger pizza is the one if you’re looking for something a little off the wall. There are frequent new additions to the specials board. Get down there on a Monday night for 50% off pizzas.
182 Bellenden Road, Peckham, SE15 4BW & 3-7 Church Road, Crystal Palace, SE19 2TF
Visit MadeOfDough.co.uk
Best For A Deep Dish:
Ria’s
Opened at the end of last year, Ria’s is another cool Notting Hill addition. It has quickly made a name for itself with its square, deep-dish, Detroit-style pizzas. The toppings are mega, too. We love the roasted king prawn option, featuring slow-cooked marinara sauce, parmesan crust, salsa macha marinated king prawns, parmesan cream drizzle, salsa macha and fresh parsley. And those crispy edges are something else. Whether you’re eating by the slice or taking on a whole pie, you can pair your pizza with an array of natural wines and cocktails.
29 All Saints Road, Notting Hill, W11 1HE
Visit Rias.World
Best Newbie:
Alley Cats
Walk into this buzzy new spot in Marylebone and you’ll be hit by the wonderful smell of the pizza oven in its open kitchen. In homage to New York’s iconic pizza scene, it gives off a convivial vibe with its compact dining space, glazed subway tiling, gingham tablecloths, exposed brick walls and pizza stands – made for stacking and sharing. Diners can expect 14-inch pies with a crispy base, loaded with traditional topping combinations and some well-chosen enhancements like the slow-cooked vodka-infused tomato sauce. A great relaxed spot to bring your mates to.
22 Paddington Street, Marylebone, W1U 5QY
Visit AlleyCatsPizza.co.uk
Best For Well-Deserved Hype:
Crisp Pizza W6
The Chancellors pub on perfectly named Crisp Road might seem like an unlikely top pizza spot, but you will have seen this on your feed at some point. In the midst of lockdown, this sell-out eatery started off as a grab and go. Now, you can sit in for a long meal – though we still like the idea of grabbing a slice and taking it down by the river on a sunny day. Crisp by name, the pies here are crisp by nature – founder Carl McCuskey experimented with different levels of flour and water to find exactly the right crust.
25 Crisp Road, Hammersmith, W6 9RL
Follow @CrispPizzaW6
Best For Choosing Your Own Toppings:
Crust Bros
Crust Bros favours the Neapolitan pizza style, using a 48-hour proved 00 flour dough to create its trademark ‘leopard’ crust. And those pillowy crusts really are something to write home about. The ‘Straight Outta Hell’ pizza – mozzarella, chicken, chillies, pepperoni and ’nduja – is great if you prefer your slice to give you a good kick. But if you like going off piste, you can personalise your pie to create the pizza of your dreams. We’re eyeing up the burrata for ours.
Locations at The Prince in Fulham, BoxPark Shoreditch & BoxPark Croydon
Follow @CrustBros
@CrispPizzaw6
Best For Vegans:
Purezza
Purezza started off in Brighton but now has spots in Manchester and Camden. The menu has a great selection of plant-based pizzas, all cooked with Purezza’s own ‘mozella’ vegan cheese. It also caters to those trying to avoid gluten, with lots of GF and coeliac-friendly bases, so no one feels left out. Sweet tooth-inclusive as well, Purezza’s dessert menu has some great ‘save room for’ options – looking at you, tiramisu.
5-47 Parkway, Camden, NW1 7PN
Visit Purezza.co.uk
Best For Neapolitan Slices:
Pizza Pilgrims
If you’re looking for something quick and satisfying, you’ll be hard pushed to find anywhere better than Pizza Pilgrims. Serving up a heavy hit of Napoli-inspired street food and cocktails, its pizzas are soft and chewy, with thick bases and tasty toppings – ’nduja, salsiccia and smoked chilli jam mascarpone.
Locations across the city
Visit PizzaPilgrims.co.uk
Best For A Quick Slice:
Bad Boy Pizza Society
When you’re in town and need something fast, make a beeline for one of Bad Boy Pizza Society’s outposts – we like the one in Seven Dials market for a bite to eat post-shopping. At 2022’s National Pizza Awards, the team took home the grand prize of ‘National Pizza of the Year’ for their ‘Pepperoni Alla Vodka Sicilian Pie’ topped with mozzarella, spicy vodka sauce, pepperoni and basil. You’ll also find weekly specials and tasty sides like garlic dough bites and mozzarella sticks.
Locations at the National Theatre, Seven Dials Market & Vinegar Yard
Visit BadBoyPizzaSoc.com
Best For A Cheap Eat:
Happy Face Pizza
Happy Face is styled as a retro-chic Neapolitan pizzeria. One of the most pocket-friendly eateries in King’s Cross, it’s a great spot for dinner before catching a gig at one of the area’s many venues or a film at the Everyman cinema next door. Known for its light dough – made using a 72-hour ferment to create a lighter, fluffier crust – Happy Face keeps its menu simple. Options include tomato, mushrooms, mozzarella, taleggio and artichoke; mozzarella, rocket, prosciutto crudo and parmesan; and vegan pepperoni.
14 Handyside Street, King’s Cross, N1C 4DN & 23 Eccleston Place, Victoria, SW1W 9NF
Visit HappyFace.Pizza
Best For A Takeaway:
Yard Sale Pizza
Yard Sale started off in founder Johnnie’s backyard before it opened a site in Clapton. Now there are nine outposts around London, so if you’re lucky enough to live within the delivery radius, you can enjoy pizzas that are topped with slow-cooked tomato sauce and mozzarella, then thrown into wood-fired ovens to crisp up. Choose from inventive flavours like the ‘TSB’ with tenderstem broccoli, manchego cheese, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil; or the ‘Full House’ which includes pepperoni, fennel sausage, spicy ground beef, mushrooms, peppers and black olives. There’s also a great dip selection, including our favourite garlic and herb pot.
Locations in Balham, Clapton, Crofton Park, Crystal Palace, East Dulwich, Finsbury Park, Hackney Road, Hither Green, Leytonstone, Tottenham & Walthamstow
Visit YardSalePizza.com
Justin De Souza
Best For Next-Level Dough:
Zia Lucia
Leading the charge in London’s pizza renaissance, Zia Lucia has become renowned for its 48-hour slow-fermented doughs: choose between traditional, wholemeal, gluten free and black vegetable charcoal. Its third location at BoxPark Wembley features the ‘Burrata Bar’, a space that showcases creamy burrata sourced from Puglia. You can top burrata with ingredients like smoked salmon and avocado, spicy spianata salami, or roasted peppers.
Locations in Aldgate East, Balham, Canary Wharf, Hammersmith, Islington, Wandsworth, Stoke Newington, Wembley & West Hampstead
Visit ZiaLucia.com
Best For Long Lunches:
Sodo Pizza
If your idea of a great Saturday involves a long lunch with the girls, book a table at one of Sodo Pizza’s locations. The set-up is simple: drinks flow all day and the team take their pizza making seriously. The dough is fermented for 48 hours then baked at super-hot temperatures so it’s light, airy and slightly tangy. We like the ‘Dirty Boy’ topped with tomato, mozzarella, mushrooms, onions and pancetta. Order cheesy garlic bread and burrata for the table.
Locations in Bethnal Green, Clapton, Deptford, Hammersmith, Hoxton & Walthamstow
Visit SodoPizza.co.uk
Best For Fun Toppings:
Homeslice
This small chain of pizza restaurants started as a pop-up in Neal’s Yard and now has permanent venues around town. It’s noisy, informal and wouldn’t look out of place on a street corner in Brooklyn. If you’re going for a full pizza, go 50/50: one half with fresh, garlicky courgette and artichoke; on the other, the rich, flavourful Neal’s Yard Dairy four cheese, jalapeno salsa and rye crumb. Look out for fun collabs and specials – like the current fish and chip pizza.
Locations in the City, Covent Garden & Marylebone
Visit HomeslicePizza.co.uk
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