The best pizza in Naples: 7 delicious spots to make the most of this foodie Italian city
Ask 10 Neapolitans about where to find the best pizza in Naples and you will probably get ten different answers.
The first pizza margherita was created in Naples in 1889 by Raffaele Esposito at Pizzeria Brandi (still in business) for the visit of King Umberto I of Savoy and Queen Margherita. Topped with red tomatoes, white mozzarella and green basil, it recalled the Italian flag and today, it is the touchstone by which any pizzaiolo worth his dough should be judged; there is nowhere to hide with a margherita.
The new millennium saw a younger generation of pizzaioli such as Enzo Coccia who challenged the tried and tested formula of their fathers and grandfathers (yes, they are nearly always men), experimenting with longer leavening times, giving increased importance to the provenance of ingredients, and offering an ever more inventive range of toppings. The trend continues and you can now choose between the ultra-traditional style of pizza and something more creative; when executed properly, they all work brilliantly. After 25 years of visiting the city – and eating lots of pizza along the way – these are some of my favourite spots.
Da Michele
It may feel a bit like eating from a production line these days (and the brand has now been syndicated around the world), but a pizza at Da Michele is still an essential Neapolitan experience. The pizza here is as frill-free as the décor (marble-topped tables, bare white walls and a large, wood-fired oven) and now comes in four versions; the classic Margherita and Marinara have been joined by a Marita (half of each) and Cosacca (with pecorino cheese). Standards may have slipped a bit, but at €6,50 per pizza and a mere €1 cover charge, it’s still great value. The drinks list, too, is minimal: water, beer, Fanta and Coke. Not a place for a romantic evening out, but that’s hardly the point. Address: Via Cesare Sersale 1 Website: damichele.net
Concettina ai Tre Santi
Be prepared to wait for a table at busy times at Ciro Oliva’s celebrated pizzeria, opened in the heart of the pulsing Rione Sanità by his great-grandmother, Concettina, in 1951. There is good reason for the queues as his pizzas are exceptional: light, puffy crusts topped with the best regional ingredients and cooked to perfection in the wood-fired oven. Bag a table on the back terrace, order a bottle of chilled local bubbly from the excellent wine list and a selection of fried antipasti and marinated veg while you choose between the likes of Sole della Sanità (yellow datterini, buffala mozzarella, basil and oregano) and Borgo Vergini (scarola, capers, olives and provolone cheese). Ciro recently opened a pizzeria in Capri, located near the iconic Piazzetta. Address: Via Arena della Sanità 7 Website: concettinaaitresanti.com
Da Attilio alla Pignasecca
Third-generation owner Attilio Bachetti has been dubbed ‘the pizzaiolo’s pizzaiolo’ for his light, puffy bases and choice of some 40 pizzas made with top-notch, local ingredients. His no-fuss, family-run restaurant (a firm local favourite) has occupied two bright rooms near the bustling Pignasecca market since 1938. The pizza menu is divided between ‘Tradizione’ and ‘A Capa Nostra’ (roughly translated as ‘off the top of our heads’) and Senza Tempo’ (timeless) pizzas; I recommend one of the signature star-shaped ones with a ricotta cheese-stuffed crust. Appenini comes with mozzarella, sautéed courgettes and pancetta, porcini mushrooms and parmigiana. And if you can’t decide, order the Attilio, which has 9 separate slices, each with a different topping. At lunchtimes, there are also other Neapolitan classics such as pasta with potatoes or pasta alla genovese. Address: Via Pignasecca 17 Web
50 Kalò
Pioneering, award-winning pizzaiolo Ciro Salvo is known for his particularly digestible dough, which is lighter and crispier than the norm, thanks to the higher percentage of water to flour. Seasonal ingredients that go into his toppings are scrupulously sourced and mainly local: try the carciofi e capocollo (with roasted artichoke hearts and capocollo ham) or diavola with spicy salame. Veggie options include a take on the famous spaghetti alla Nerano with courgettes and mint. The drinks list includes plenty of local wines along with a good selection of artisanal beers and fizz. His contemporary Mergellina pizzeria is always busy and you can’t book, but there is now a second branch in Piazza della Repubblica where you can. Addres: Piazza Sannazaro 201/B Website: 50kalo.it
Isabella de Cham
Unusually, this small, contemporary temple to the stomach-challenging pizza fritta is run by an all-female team headed by local gal Isabelle de Cham, who has been working with pizza since she was 16. Located deep in the Rione Sanità district, it offers both familiar versions of the deep-fried golden balloons of light, crispy dough, such as the Classica (stuffed with pork rind, ricotta, pepper and fresh basil) and the more unusual Donna Isabella, with rocket, provola and caciocavallo cheeses, cut with zingy lemon zest. There are traditional baked pizzas on the menu too. For dessert, try the Millefritta, a tempting play on the traditional millefoglie made with thin discs of fried dough layered with whipped ricotta, hazelnuts and apricot jam from Vesuvius. There’s now a second branch in the Montesanto market. Address: Via Arena della Sanità 27 Website: isabelladecham.com
Starita
Open since 1901 and now with branches in such far-flung places as Bangkok, Pizzeria Starita is an icon of Neapolitan pizza tradition run today by the fourth generation of the Starita family. Located in the Materdei neighbourhood northwest of the Archaeological Museum, its rambling rooms hold some 100 punters who pile in for the puffy, light-crusted pizzas baked in its famous red wood-fired oven. Order a Montanara (a puffy, fried, then baked mini-pizza invented by Sig. Starita in the 1980s) to start while you peruse the vast pizza menu; pistachio e salsiccia comes with spicy sausage, pistachio pesto and smoked provola cheese while the signature Marinara Starita is topped with sweet, Sicilian datterini tomatoes, garlic, pecorino and oregano - simple but totally delicious. Angioletti, sweet, deep-fried dough sticks topped with either Nutella or pistachio cream, make a decadent finale. Addre
Pizzaria La Notizia 53
The expansive Enzo Coccia, the first pizzaiolo to obtain Michelin recognition and a true pioneer of the modern pizza movement in Naples, has three outlets on the same street in a non-touristy area of Vomero. Homely La Notizia 53 serves textbook versions of all the old favourites along with a choice of Mpustarelle, a kind of filled panino, while at the more stylish number 94, you can order gourmet pizzas with intriguing toppings such as 4 Bufale with four kinds of buffalo cheese and Inverno al Sud with broccoli, mozzarella, pecorino Romano and crumbled, dried crusco peppers from Calabria. The wine list showcases labels from Campania: a bottle of chilled Kratos, Luigi Maffini’s delicious, mineral-rich Fiano from Paestum, is a fine pairing for pizza. Address: Via Michelangelo da Caravaggio 53 Website: pizzarialanotizia.com
