With such a huge demand for the Italian staple we now find that London boasts more pizzerias than you can shake a stuffed crust at... and, regretfully, not all of them good.
So what does it take to create the perfect pizza? In a word, "passion".
Passion for the heritage of the pizza, passion for the ingredients, passion to indulge the customers and passion to spin those doughey little suckers in the air to the whoops and applause of the diners.
With so many pizzerias in London to choose from, save time and sample the best... here's our list of where you can enjoy London's best pizzas.
Find the best Pizzas in London
Pizza East needs little introduction but if you are unaware of how much it rules then simply witness its rapid expansion. With locations in the east, north and west its combination of gourmet pizza (veal meatballs anyone), informal atmosphere and hip architecture seems to be a winner wherever it goes.
In an area that throngs with delectable eateries Franco Manca stands out. Located on Brixton Market, you can often expect a queue but it’s worth it for the reasonable prices, sourdough base on every pizza and the traditional wood oven.
Busy, noisy and authentic, Saporitalia is just how a pizzeria should be. Anybody that doesn’t agree will soon come around once they have tried the sublime pizzas in the Portobello Road restaurant. Just try to relax as you watch the therapeutic sight of pizzas being slid in and out of the wood oven while sipping on a bubbly glass of Italian fizz.
If there’s one thing ultra hip East London street, Broadway Market was lacking before Bella Vita moved in it was a family style Italian restaurant. Now its blend of classic pizza flavours, charcuterie and atmosphere have made it one of the area’s most popular parlours.
Santore is a proper Italian pizzeria and solely on its Exmouth Market location you know it has to be good. This short street has a slew of gourmet food stalls and restaurants and Santore is just one more to add to its appeal. A foldable Margerita and a heavenly soft, flavoursome dough are two of its greatest assets.
The simplicity of traditional Neopolitan pizza from a wood fired oven is the basis of Santa Maria. Despite following a tried and tested method style of cooking its pizzas are one-offs. Swollen, doughy and succulent with crispiness in all the right places and flavoursome, fresh toppings. Head to its Ealing outpost and you’ll be converted.
From food truck to busy Neal’s Yard outpost, Homeslice offer gargantuan 20 inch slice pizzas with eclectic toppings such as cauliflower, merguez and kale. To drink choose from prosecco on tap or Camden Brewery lager.
The trend these days seems to be for crisp Italian pizzas but thanks to Mulberry Street, London is getting a little dollop of the Big Apple a long with it. Named after the main intersection in New York’s Little Italy, Mulberry Street is ‘the neighbourhood pizzeria’ that delivers great slices, sports and a spot of contemporary Americana.
It may sound like we’ve entered the wrong venue here but Crates Brewery is not just a Hackney Wick brewhouse but a delightful pizzeria. Residing in a large warehouse space on the canal, the joint pizza and craft beer venture is a big reason to head into the relatively unchartered realms of the Wick.
Once part of the Frateli La Bufala chain, this pizzeria is now going it alone and proving to be a great success in its own right among Hampstead locals. The Neapolitan pizzas are large, measuring 13", and there is a mixture of tomato and white pizzas.