Hattie Lloyd 08/01/23
It’s pretty much everyone’s dream to be rolling in dough.
So, without further ado, we’ve only gone and helped you in said quest by compiling a list of London’s very best pizza restaurants…
L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele | Marylebone
Known by many as ‘the best pizza in the world’ from the Julia Roberts film “Eat, Pray, Love”, it’s now made its way over to London from Naples so we can finally put the theory to the test.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Thin | Price? From £9-20 | Highlights? They’re known for their Marinara and Margaritas (go for the double mozzarella option – obviously). You can even go half of each and opt for a Marita. | Booking: YES for small groups before 7pm, and large groups for dinner Monday-Thursday.
Address: 199 Baker Street, NW1 6UY –
Pizzeria Mozza | Marylebone
If pizza is 90% dough, then having a dough specialist at the helm certainly doesn’t hurt. And Nancy Silverton is the dough specialist. Her litany of awards is too many to list, but suffice to say, her Marylebone pizza joint is one of the best in town. The mood is fun, the pizza is absolutely first-class, with perfectly structured sourdough crusts, and the side dishes/desserts are almost worth the trip alone – speaking of, Nancy’s Chopped Salad is delicious, but gigantic, and her Banana Gelato Pie is worth trying to cram in regardless of how full you feel.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Sourdough | Price? From £10-18 | Highlights? The courgette blossom pizza is something you won’t find anywhere else | Booking: YES
Address: 14-15 Langham Place, Oxford Circus, W1B 2QS – –
Happy Face | Victoria, King’s Cross
Pinned to the outer edge of Eccleston Yards & underneath the Everyman Cinema in King’s Cross, Happy Face is a wonderfully casual joint with slick design across both venues (particularly in the hidden cocktail bar under their King’s Cross venue). Peek into the open kitchen at either space, you’ll see a huge pizza oven peeking right back – imported from the superbly named Naples-based outfit Scugnizzonapoletano – inside which the 72-hour fermented dough gets flash-scorched. What comes out is a light, fluffy crust loaded with simple flavours. You’ll find everything from the basic Marinara (costing just a fiver) to the wonderful Sebastiano (artichoke, anchovies, black olives, lemon zest & parsley). And drawing it all, there’s a cocktail list repping two different negronis for £7 a pop. You shall indeed have a happy face.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Neapolitan (gluten free available) | Price? From £5-£12 | Highlights? The Sebastiano | Booking: YES
Address: 23 Eccleston Place, SW1W 9NF | 14 Handyside St, N1C 4DN –
Homeslice | White City, Marylebone, Neal’s Yard, Fitzrovia, Shoreditch, The City
A haven of good life decisions, Homeslice serves up some of the more experimental pizza flavours in town. You can expect 20” pizzas with toppings ranging from the classic salami, rocket & parmesan right through to cauliflower shawarma, tahini, pomegranate & chickpea. And very considerately, if you’re struggling to choose between two, you can also split the toppings 50/50.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? 20” of salty sourdough | Price? £20 (generally to be shared between 2) | Highlights? The chorizo, corn & coriander pizza will more than likely change your life | Booking: YES
Address: White City, Marylebone, Neal’s Yard, Fitzrovia, Shoreditch and the City. –
Crate Brewery | Hackney Wick
The perfect summer spot to sit canal-side, sipping on a cold beer from their on-site brewery and eating a fresh stone-baked pizza. They offer a couple of simpler options, such as the Spicy Salami and good old fashioned margherita, alongside a few more experimental ones, like their Kashmiri Dhal and Middle Eastern Lamb.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Thin and crispy | Price? From £9-13 | Highlights? Courgette, Feta, Red Onion & Gremolata | Booking: Only for tables of 6+
Address: Unit 7, Queens Yard, Hackney Wick, E9 5EN –
Franco Manca | Throughout London
Deserving a spot not only in this list, but also in pretty much every London borough; Franco Manca are clearly onto a good thing. Their pizza dough is freshly made daily and they use seasonal ingredients from small suppliers in the UK and Italy. They’re also exceptionally affordable, starting at a cool £5.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Sourdough | Price? From £5-9 | Highlights? Tomato, cured chorizo & Porella | Booking: YES, but some of their restaurants only take bookings at certain times of the day
Address: Throughout London –
Pizza Pilgrims | Throughout London
Born out of a ‘pilgrimage’ around Italy, Pizza Pilgrims has come a long way since its humble beginnings serving pizza out of a small van. They now have 10 sites across London; each of which serves Naples Pizzas, proved for 48 hours before cooking at 500°C to give a chewy dough.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Thick crust, chewy | Price? From £6-12 | Highlights? Nduja and the oven roast mushroom & truffle | Booking: NO
Made of Dough | Peckham and Brixton
After schlepping around the UK in a Land Rover with a wood-fired oven in tow, spreading their good word/pizza; it was only a matter of time before Made of Dough’s 60-hour fermented pizzas found themselves a home. Their Peckham site is a beautifully airy space, with marble dining counters and a little garden for those sunnier days. You can expect a small simple menu, with 6 pizzas done very, very well. So well, in fact, that they were even voted the best pizza in London twice over the last 5 years.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Thick crust | Price? From £7-11 | Highlights? Serrano | Booking: YES, right HERE
Address: 182 Belleden Road, Peckham, SE15 4BW –
Circolo Popolare | Fitzrovia
As the new kid on the block, they’re already creating quite the stir. It seems as though everyone wants a piece of the action, so expect a pretty hefty queue before indulging in one of their metre-long sharing pizzas. Once inside, you’ll be thrown into a lavish world of overstated decor, with playful nods to a British family abroad. Specifically Sicily, with garish postcards and magnets dotted around.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Big. Thick, chewy crusts and moist (yep.) centres | Price? From £11-18 | Highlights? The I wanna Nduja is delicious | Booking: Only for groups of 8+
Address: 40-41 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia, W1T 1HX –
Yard Sale Pizza | Leystone, Walthamstow, Finsbury Park & Clapton
Having started off as a bit of an experiment in a Walthamstow back… yard; they’ve clearly gotten the hang of things. You’ll find their stone-baked pizzas in Leytonstone, Walthamstow, Finsbury Park and Clapton.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Thin and crispy | Price? From £7.50-22.75 (for an 18” pizza) | Highlights? The TSB | Booking: NO
Address: Leytonstone, Walthamstow, Finsbury Park & Clapton. –
Theo’s | Camberwell and Elephant & Castle
Effortlessly delicious, thick, doughy, wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas. They change up their menu weekly, sourcing all of their ingredients locally. Their ‘Nduja, for example, is bought from their neighbours down the road at The Camberwell Arms, who make it themselves from scratch.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Thick and doughy | Price? From £7-13 | Highlights? Whatever they recommend | Booking: Only for tables of 6+
Address: 2 Grove Lane, Camberwell, SE5 8SY and 17-18 Elephant & Castle, SE1 6TH –
Voodoo Ray’s | Dalston, Shoreditch and Peckham
Voodoo Ray’s is a winner if you’re after a late-night pizza, with their Dalston haunt keeping its doors open until 3am on a Friday and Saturday night. For best results, order fresh.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Thin crust | Price? From £3.50 for a slice – £20 for a whole pie | Highlights? Anything at 3am | Booking: NO
Address: Dalston, Shoreditch and Peckham –
Mother | Battersea
A welcome arrival from Copenhagen, Mother has set up shop in one of Battersea Power Station’s arches. The exposed brick, vaulted space is dimly lit, with huge semi-circular windows by the entrance filling (most) of it with light. Their organic sourdough pizzas are made with seawater; filtered and purified in Italy, with a generous amount of toppings.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? YES | Base? Crunchy crust | Price? From £7.50-14 | Highlights? Get on their chilli oil | Booking: YES
Address: Mother, Battersea Power Station, 2 Arches Lane, SW11 8AB –
The Oak W12 | Shepherds Bush
Great pizza in West London can be hard to come by. That is, until you stumble upon The Oak W12, selflessly satisfying the cravings of all those in its vicinity. Their pizzas are relentlessly delicious, and thankfully, more than generous in size as well.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? NO | Base? Big with a crunchy crust | Price? From £10-15.50 | Highlights? Diavola and Contadina | Booking: YES
Address: The Oak W12, 243 Goldhawk Road, W12 8EU –
Cecconi’s Pizza Bar | Soho
Yet another Soho House outpost to make the list; Cecconi’s Pizza Bar can be found in the heart of Soho. The Art Deco interiors and elegant features makes for a slightly swankier dining experience, whilst the menu doesn’t stray too far from the classics; Napoli, Parma Ham, Salami etc.
Veggie options? YES | Vegan options? NO | Base? Sourdough | Price? From £6-15 | Highlights? Fennel Sausage, Nduja | Booking: YES
Address: 19-21 Old Compton Street, Soho, W1D 5JJ
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