We all love a good slice of pizza. It is arguably Italy's greatest culinary success story and remains one of the world's most popular foods - just as it should be. But what do you look for in your most superior slice? Is it all in the sourdough or is there a must-have topping? With competition fiercer than ever before, pizza vendors have stepped up their game, keeping in step with modern-day dietary requirements and perfecting their recipes. So the choice is all there; vegan, gluten-free, crispy crusts, rich tomato sauces and an array of the best topping combinations. So to help you avoid the soggy bases and tasteless toppings out there, we've tried and tested the best pizza venues in London and put the best slices outside of Naples on the map. You're welcome.
Hands down one of the best pizza places in London and easily beyond. This little unique pizzeria makes a perfect authentic Neapolitan pizza with the exact right amount of tomato sauce, cheese and toppings. The sourdough base is deliciously cooked to the point where it's nicely done but not burnt and not too soggy either. Only selected quality toppings make it on top of the base and each pizza is prepared with care. Apollo pizzas are truly addictive and will not disappoint.
Price guide
Margherita
£6.75
Diavola
£9.50
Address
Pizzeria Apollo 160 Stoke Newington High Street Stoke Newington N16 7JL show on Google Maps
Figli del Vesuvio was created by two young Neapolitans who met in London in 2008 and have been cooking true traditional Neapolitan pizzas since then. They keep all their recipes very authentic with the only exception being their signature pizza which is their own creation and named after the restaurant itself. Most of their ingredients are imported from Campania and the pizzas are cooked in an authentic wood fired oven which is built of lava stone from Mount Vesuvius. The pizzas are without doubt one of London's finest and you can tell that the cooks pay a lot of attention to detail. We think Figli del Vesuvio is the best pizza you can get in South London and one of the best pizzas of the city overall.
Pizza Pilgrims certainly belongs to the top pizza restaurants in London today. They specialise in true traditional Neapolitan pizzas, using ingredients sourced from and around Naples and even went through some proper training with some of the top pizzaolos in Campania. Their pizzas are famous and their success speaks for itself. Pizza Pilgrims has been quickly expanding in recent years with some new additions in Exmouth market and in Shoreditch only to name a few. We highly recommend their traditional Margherita or the Nduja if you feel a bit more spicy.
Yard Sale Pizza, still fairly new and only set up in 2014, has already proven to be one of its own kind and won many pizza lover's hearts since then. Their pizza is not exactly a classical Neapolitan style pizza, but still very tasty and extremely well prepared. The dough is slightly thicker than with a true Neapolitan pizza and with a touch more ingredients, which surprisingly works really well. The tomato sauce and mozzarella are evenly spread out to the borders of the pizza, which is very much to our liking. If I had to describe it in one sentence then I'd say that Yard Sale Pizza is a posher and much much better version of Pizza Express without a posh price tag attached to it. They also have their own delivery service which is well run and has not disappointed yet.
Price guide
Margherita
£7.50
Holy Pepperoni
£10.00
Address
Yard Sale Pizza 105 Lower Clapton Road Lower Clapton E5 0NP show on Google Maps
Pizza East has been popular for many years now and that is for a good reason. All their toppings come at a very high standard and the dough is fantastically cooked which makes every bite a pleasure. The base has a bit more texture than a traditional Neapolitan pizza and can sometimes feel a little bit more chewy when it cools down, but otherwise the pizza is an absolute delight! Our favourite is the black truffle pizza, which comes with a good amount of real black truffle and some delicious Italian cheese.
Price guide
Margherita
£10.00
Black truffle
£12.00
Salami
£14.00
Address
Pizza East Shoreditch 56 Shoreditch High Street Shoreditch E1 6JJ show on Google Maps
The first thing you will find out about Princi is that it is far more than just an excellent pizzeria. Princi is a Soho bakery which offers everything from deliciously baked sourdough bread to a broad selection of Italian desserts. There's a real danger that you'll find yourself coming back for more than just a pizza. The wood fired Neapolitan styled pizzas are very good in every respect and definitely top of the range. Additionally to the eat in option you can also buy a fantastic take away pizza which is made with a delicous bread base, which deserves a mention of its own (some of us think it is Ciabatta and others believe it is some sort of mediterranean pide bread). We highly recommended this to anyone who works in Soho and is in need of a quick and tasty take away meal!
Pizza Union, more of a Pizza canteen than a restaurant is mostly known for its extremley fast service while maintaining very good quality pizzas. Unlike other restaurants on this page they specialise in Roman style pizzas which are a little bit thinner and crispier than a traditional Neapolitan style pizza, but equally delicious and a nice variation for true pizza lovers. What makes this pizza place so special is that you don't only get your pizza extremely pronto (time of order until your first bite is usually less than 3 minutes), but also extremely good value for money with a Margherita just under £4 or a Funghi for under a fiver! This pizza place will want to make you commute via Kings Cross all the time.
Since Michele's first opening in 1906 in Naples, five generations of master pizza makers have carried on the work of the founder, respecting the tradition and being faithful to Michele's instructions: there are only two types of Neapolitan Pizza, the Marinara and the Margherita, and no junk should be used in making the pizza that could alter its world famous genuineness and taste. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele is Naples' most famous and original pizzeria and the London branch in Stoke Newington is its first expansion outside of Naples, bringing the world's most desired Margherita to pizza cravers in the UK.
Price guide
Margherita
£7.90
Marinara
£6.90
Address
L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele 125 Stoke Newington Church St Stoke Newington N16 0UH show on Google Maps
Franco Manca, founded in 2008 and not yet 10 years old already feels like a long standing name in the pizza business with its nearly 40 branches across the UK. This pizza chain prides itself with true Neapolitan pizzas and even plans to open a new branch in Sicily in June 2017. Even though we found quite some variations in quality between the 30+ branches, their pizzas do mostly live up to the hype and undoubtably belong to London's best pizzerias. Sometimes Franco Manca can get a bit sloppy where a Margherita doesn't have any cheese on one half of the pizza or other occasions where large areas of the pizza were not covered with tomato sauce or other ingredients at all, but it doesn't happen very often and we think it is mostly limited to the very busy branches only.
You know a pizza restaurant is good if there's not a single day during a week where it does not get busy. Regardless of weather or temperature Santore always attracts plenty of customers to come and enjoy a Neapolitan pizza. The restaurant is located in the heart of Exmouth market and has it's very own Italian flair. Santore's speciality is metered pizza which is best enjoyed as a group of friends or family. The pizza is cooked very thinly and has lots of toppings on it which makes it a little bit more soggy than what we normally like, but nonetheless a very good pizza. The pizzeria itself is very charming, they have very friendly staff and plenty of seating in- and outside the restaurant.
