Pizza
ALLEY CATS
Alley Cats is bringing a bit of the Big Apple to London with exposed brick, red and white gingham tablecloths and Italian-American inspired thin crust pizzas. Sicilian Head Chef Francesco Macri makes use of quality Southern Italian ingredients, including San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella from Campania and aged mozzarella from Molise, for his 14-inch pizzas, which come with toppings such as smoked pepperoni, aged mozzarella, tomato sauce, habanero and honey; fennel sausage, tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, pancetta, red onion and pecorino flakes; creamy vodka tomato sauce, aged mozzarella and buffalo mozzarella; and wild mushrooms, aged mozzarella, taleggio, red onion jam and fried sage. If you’ve got an American-sized appetite, you can bookend your pizzas with cheese & garlic bread knots, meatballs in slow-cooked tomato sauce, loaded vanilla soft serve, and tiramisu topped with hazelnuts, salted peanuts and pistachios.
After finding success in Ancoats in Manchester, Rudy’s Pizza, which specialises in Neapolitan-style pies, has expanded beyond its home with additional sites across the north and three pizzerias in London, in Soho, Tottenham Court Road and Shoreditch. The restaurants all sling pizza made with the brand’s signature 24-hour dough, made fresh daily, and topped with the finest ingredients from Naples, which are cooked for around 60 seconds to achieve that soft and airy crust – don’t forget to order a pot of ‘nduja aioli to dip it in. The menu includes classics like the Margherita, Calabrese and Capricciosa, alongside rotating specials like Triple Pepperoni and Guanciale & Pear and a short selection of starters and puds. Add on a couple of spritzes or Italian beers and you’ve got yourself a real pizza party.
DINNER FOR ONE HUNDRED
Founded by pizza chef Jake and London bus tour guide Jacob as a community dinner for one hundred people (hence the name), the pair turned the biz into a regular operation during the pandemic, slinging pizzas in a front garden and then as a pop-up at the Hill Station Cafe in Telegraph Hill. D4100 pizzas went down so well that the Telegraph Hill space is now permanent (they’re also doing pizzas at The Perseverance pub in Bloomsbury), so head down for a Macgyver (tomato, mozzarella, chorizo, whipped feta, hot honey, crushed fennel seeds), a Kevin (tomato, mozzarella, pancetta, leek, basil) or a Gianluca (tomato, mozzarella, basil, mushroom, olive) al fresco.
FOUR CORNERS AT RONDO LA CAVE
After originally landing at the subterranean, low-intervention wine bar as a pop-up, Four Corners is now a permanent fixture of Rondo La Cave. That means you can pair your glass of orange wine with a slice of Vodka Meatball pizza in perpetuity. Four Corners specialises in Detroit-style rectangular pizza, with lots of options al taglio. Highlights from the menu include the Red Top (cheddar, mozzarella, Sicilian oregano, pecorino and tomato, Beef and Onions (smoked entrecote, mozzarella, roasted red onions, white onions, sumac, paprika and pomegranate molasses and Pistachio Pesto & Mortadella (pistachio pesto, mozzarella, mortadella, pistachio and parmesan).
PLANT CLUB
If dietary requirements have you missing out on delish authentic Italian food, Plant Club is a restaurant to get on your list. Thanks to its owners’ Italian gluten-free and veggie backgrounds, Plant Club has crafted a menu of favourites from the cuisine that cater to intolerances while still tasting great – yes, it is possible. Their menu reads like a classic Italian trattoria, with arancini, pasta dishes such as gnocchi cacio e pepe, a range of pizzas with rice flour bases and the likes of tiramisù and gelato to finish. And, of course, there’s a list of organic wines to pair with your organic meal. Cin cin!
FATTO A MANO PIZZA & BEER
After becoming a beloved local spot in Brighton and Hove and establishing street food kitchens in both Shoreditch and Croydon Boxparks, Fatto a Mano has opened a proper brick-and-mortar spot in the capital. Fatto Pizza & Beer has set up shop in the Pancras Square development in King’s Cross – they’ve got a small terrace out front, with the pizza oven and bar dominating the ground floor, and more tables up top. In terms of the pizza, they’re all about proper Neapolitan pizzas made using 24-hour proven dough and ingredients sourced from small suppliers. The crust is soft and pillowy and you’ve got all the classic topping combos, like diavola, salsiccia e friarielli, ham & truffle, and aubergine & smoked ricotta to choose from. Don’t miss the calzoncino fritto either – it’s got a doughnut-like dough that’s filled with salami, mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan, and it’s unlike any regular calzone you’ve had before. Fatto has six craft beers on tap, including their own Fatto Bionda Pilsner brewed by Harbour Brewing Co, plus a couple more in the fridge alongside a handful of wines and cocktails. Service is fast and friendly so you could defo treat yourself to pizza on your lunch break if you work nearby.
FLAT EARTH PIZZAS
After a series of pop-ups and residences across East London, Flat Earth Pizzas has found a permanent home in Bethnal Green, and founders Sarah Brading and Rich Baker have gone right back to where they started as the new restaurant is on the site where they held their very first pop-up. Flat Earth Pizzas is London’s most sustainable pizza joint – they make all elements of the pizza in house, using Wildfarmed and Gilchester’s Organic heritage grain flour for the base and locally sourced ingredients for the toppings, they’ve got wine on tap, and they send zero waste to landfill. They sling veggie and vegan pizzas, including the Hackney Hot with sweet pickled beets, the Kimchi Fiorentina and the Buffalo Mozzarella & Wild Garlic. The restaurant also does brunch (hello skillet baked kimchi shakshuka) and toasties in the daytime with small plates like pickled beetroot & white cabbage achar accompanying the pizzas in the evening.
DUSTY KNUCKLE
They might be famous for slinging some of the most notorious sandwiches known to mankind but Thursday through to Saturday, The Dusty Knuckle on Green Lanes (sister to the Dalston original) switches to an evening menu of pizza and drinkies. Head Chef Clare Payne in charge of the menu knocking up an exciting selection of small sharing plates along with pretty epic pizzas. Having built their own wood-fired pizza oven these could not be delivered to our table fresher, and with toppings like thouse-made nduja & honey and ricotta, fior di latte, potatoes & sweet onion, we are most definitely a fan. Not just a bakery and cafe, Dusty Knuckle are a social enterprise that does some amazing work with ex-offenders, early school-leavers and the long-term unemployed. Respect.
Chef’s Table star Nancy Silverton has brought her LA spot Pizzeria Mozza over to London, taking up residence in the Treehouse Hotel. Nancy’s pizzas are known for their crusts – crispy but soft, light and airy – with toppings like tomato, mozzarella di bufala, olives, anchovies & fried capers; clams, red onion, garlic & pecorino; and speck, pineapple, jalapenos, tomato & mozzarella. Sorry Italians but pineapple on pizza is 100% our vibe. Aside from the pies, the menu also includes shrimp with melon & chilli lime vinaigrette, courgette blossom fritti with ricotta, and salamis and mozzarella.
Looking for the best Neapolitan pizza outside of Napoli? Well we’ve found it. Yep, Cinquecento are slinging them just like Nonna does over in Napoli, using 100% Italian ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes, Fior di latte mozzarella, Sicilian anchovies, San Daniele ham and Calabrian ‘nduja. It also feels like you’re sitting round Nonna’s table in their cosy dining room, featuring plants hanging down from above and framed pictures on the wall. Plus there’s three different locations to choose from, so wherever you are over West, a slice of the good stuff is not too far away.
CRUST BROS
A good crust can make or break a pizza, which is why with a name like Crust Bros we had pretty high expectations. Thankfully they didn’t disappoint. The Waterloo pizza joint is known for its Neopolitan-style pillow-like, chewy crusts – something which we’re big fans of. There are plenty of toppings to choose from, including whole burrata, or you can mix and match and create your own personalised pizza. Located close to the station Crust Bros have an outdoor terrace, making it ideal for those summer spritz and slice dates. Better still, the restaurant also promises to plant a tree for every pizza sold in partnership with Earthly to help combat climate change.
This south London sourdough star began life in Camberwell and became so popular, the team soon added a second site just down the road in Elephant and Castle. Neapolitan is the house style here, beginning with the classic marinara and margherita, and moving on to some more adventurous creations such as mushroom, leek, and gorgonzola as well as our favourite, the Camberwell scotch bonnet nduja which is HOT. Add Italian wines and cocktails and a relaxed, friendly south London vibe and you’ve got yourself a winning pizza joint.
Crazy Pizza in Marylebone prides itself on providing high quality Italian food and even makes its mozzarella on site. All the pizzas here have a thin, crispy crust and a light base (no heavy dough here) meaning you can leave satisfied but not mega bloated. It also means you can save room for the Crazy Cake, which was a calorific mix of crossaints, mascarpone cream cheese and loads of Nutella. Although it’s not the cheapest pizza in town, it’s worth a go if you’re looking to celebrate – or you just want to check out the “world champion dough spinning” chefs
Voodoo Ray’s creates thin and crispy NY-style pizza, which comes by the slice or as a whole 22-inch whopper – you can’t go wrong with The Meat Is On or the Giorgio Moroder – and they do an after-midnight spesh at the Dalston branch, which is open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, for when the munchies strike. Wash down one of the massive slices with a signature frozen marg.
A Yard Sale Pizza is kneaded in everyone’s life. Yard Sale set the standards high by leaving their dough to prove for 24 hours and cooking out their tomato sauce on the pizza to deepen the flavour. Whether you wanna dine in or take out these handmade beauties are available as 18-inch sharers or 12-inch pizzas. From the regulars to the guest pizzas, whether you’re holy over your pepperoni or all over the squash, Yard Sale is where to get a pizz’a the action.
If you’re looking for pizza in King’s Cross, there’s only one place you need to go to and that’s Happy Face. Opened by the team behind Spiritland – yes that does mean the soundtrack is on point, even the toilets have some fancy speakers – Happy Face is a modern take on the classic pizzeria. Decked out in millennial pink and teal, it’s a fun, relaxed restaurant to be in and that’s before you even get to the food. The menu is pleasingly tight: just a handful of starters (definitely get the courgette fritti) and desserts, with nine classic pizzas like funghi, melanzana and pepperoni on offer. They use a 72-hour fermented dough here and it does result in a lighter crust, and there’s chilli oil on the table as standard for all your crust dipping needs. The most expensive pizza comes in at £15 but the majority are a tenner or under. Considering the size and quality, it’s a right bargain, and they’re speedy with the service too. Not only is Happy Face right next to the Everyman (so you can catch a film before dinner), it’s got the retro late-night cocktail bar Supermax in the basement (so you can keep your night going long after the pizzas have been eaten).
Sourdough bases, charcoal crusts, massive 20″ pies…there’s a lot of pizza in London but no one’s really been doing the deep-dish thing. Until now that is. Japes is all about that Chicago-style pizza, which means high crusts and lots of filling. The deep-dish, which comes in personal and sharing sizes (and believe us a personal one is more than enough), comes with a thick layer of cheese on the bottom of the crust, with the toppings and sauce on top. You will have to knife-and-fork it as they are generous when it comes to filling these babies. Japes also does the even less well-known pot-pie pizzas. As you may be able to guess from the name, these are baked in a pot like a pie and turned out before eating, so the cheese is on top, encasing all the filling underneath – we rate the Green Queen because it’s jam-packed with veggies (so it’s healthy, right?)
Zia Lucia has not one, not two but FOUR different types of dough to choose from, making them a great choice for those who are gluten free or anyone that just likes to be different. As well as the classic pizza base there’s wholemeal, gluten free, and their signature item, the vegetable charcoal base which is a dusty black colour all the way through. It certainly adds a little extra flavour to the dough but whichever base you choose, you can expect classic Italian toppings such as n’duja, pepperoni, buratta, and – our favourite – the ‘Andrea Pirlo’ topped with Mozzarella, gorgonzola, apple, truffle and olive sauce. A classy pizza named after a classy guy.