Naples Pizza Guide – 11 Pizzerias Not To Miss

We created the ultimate Naples Pizza Guide after spending a month eating the best pizza in Naples Italy, the home of Neapolitan pizza. Then we returned for a week to eat even more pies. Check out our 11 favorite spots to eat Napoli pizza and plan your own independent Naples pizza tour!

But, most of all, we fell in love with the best Naples pizza. In the following years, we ate great pizzas in cities like Lisbon, New Haven, New York, Phoenix, Rome and Verona. We even took an excellent pizza making class in Rome. None of those pizzas were as good as the Italian pizza we ate at pizzerias in Naples Italy.

That’s why we booked an apartment and spent a month living like locals and eating pizza Napoli style almost every single day. We figured the best way to truly understand pizza from Naples Italy was to immerse ourselves in its homeland for an extended amount of time.

We feared that we might get bored with Naples pizza but that never happened. The more classic Neapolitan pizza we ate, the more pizza we craved. From neighborhood joints to some of the world’s best pizzerias, we ate it all and loved every bite.

When we returned for a third round of Naples pizza, we re-visited our favorite pizzerias. Then we expanded our reach by eating at even more pizzerias.

We’re pleased to report that our favorite pizzerias have retained their greatness. We’re also pleased to report that two of the new entries in our Naples Pizza Guide rank among our favorite pizzas in Napoli.

In other words, the Naples pizza game is stronger than ever. The city’s competition for ‘best pizza in Naples’ is fierce due to a cadre of pizzaiolos who have refined their craft over many generations and have access to amazing ingredients.

Take a Naples Pizza Tour if you have limited time and want to a full Naples pizza experience.

Naples Italy Pizza History

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of pizza shops in the city. The key is to know the city’s best pizzerias if you have limited time to eat pizza in Naples.

Naples Pizza Video

If you’re not convinced, watch our YouTube video to see us eat some of the best pizza in Naples and therefore the world. As a bonus, we demonstrate the proper way to mangia (eat in Italian) Napolitana pizza.

If you’re wondering if Italians eat pizza with their hands and are curious exactly how to eat pizza in Italy, then this is the video for you!

Naples Pizza Guide

As self-proclaimed Naples pizza experts (with the pizza bellies to prove it), we’ve taken our on-the-ground and in-the-mouth research to create the ultimate Napoli guide for all of our pizza-loving friends. You need to eat at these 11 pizzerias if you want to eat the best pizza in Napoli Italy.

Depending on your time in Italy’s pizza capital, you can eat at one or all of them. We also include a further afield pizzeria that obsessed pizza travelers will want to visit during a Naples day trip.

The Best Pizza In Naples

L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele

Fast forward to our second Naples pizza tour of duty when we were lucky to live just a five-minute walk from L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele for four weeks. Yes, L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele was our local Naples pizza joint and we enjoyed lunch there at least 10 times during our one month long stay in Napoli.

But then we started hearing rumors that L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele had declined. A few people opined that the pizzas weren’t the same.

After recently returning to L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele in Naples, we’re loud and proud to keep this pizzeria at the top of our guide. The shop’s excellent pizzas remain unchanged. And, despite a relatively recent move into franchising, the pizzas are still made the same way we remember.

In fact, during our triumphant return visit, we encountered the same sage-like pizzaiolo working the restaurant’s wood fired red brick oven, carefully coaxing each pie into melty, lightly charred bliss. The only difference we noticed was a one euro price increase.

These pies provide a connection to Mediterranean flatbreads like pita and laffa. They also have a heavenly, pillow-like dough that supports the kind of zesty tomato sauce that you can only eat in Naples.

Did we mention that L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele currently charges 5€ for each pie? In our opinion, the combination of price and quality makes Da Michele a necessary stop for travelers looking for cheap eats in Naples. As always, prices are subject to change at any time without notice.

Naples pizza prices are the best bargain in town and they’re especially low at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele. If this isn’t the best place to eat pizza in Naples, it’s certainly high on the list. Whether or not it’s your favorite, this is the pizza to which you’ll want to compare all other pies.

Beyond Naples, L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele has gone global with locations in cities like Barcelona, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo. We still recommend eating at the original location in Naples even if you live in one of these cities.

Pizzeria Concettina Ai Tre Santi

Ironically, Naples’ most innovative pizzeria has been operating in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods since 1951. Decades later, fourth generation pizzaiolo Ciro Oliva runs Pizzeria Concettina ai Tre Santi with a fresh attitude, an innovative rethinking of pizza and the best available ingredients.

Despite its historic location next to a shrine, Pizzeria Concettina ai Tre Santi’s dining room maintains a modern vibe with design elements like exposed brick, museum prints and colorful masks. An open kitchen near the entrance sets the tone – after all, eating pizza is the primary reason that families and business colleagues fill the restaurant every day of the week except Sunday.

Ciro Oliva’s pizzas run the gamut from simple Margherita and Marinara pies to more complicated creations with intriguing toppings like smoked provolone, eggplant, clams and even dehydrated sea algae. Fried starters are equally satisfying and shouldn’t be skipped.

We started our first meal with two fried treats – a crispy squash blossom oozing with hot ricotta and a classic frittatina loaded with spaghetti, tomato, peas, smoked provolone cheese and pepper. Both primed us for the main event – the pizza.

As we bit into a classic San Marzano topped with tangy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella di bufala, big green basil leaves and a spritz of EVOO, we declared the crust to be like a heavenly pillow. Our more unique ‘Ciro Oliva’ pie incorporated bits of lemon zest as a subtle counterbalance to rich bufala mozzarella ricotta, smoky provolone and fatty pancetta.

After ordering two different pies (Il Sole Della Sanita and Fondazione San Gennnaro), we started our second visit with a Frittatina Genovese, the pizzeria’s crunchy pasta fritter filled with ziti and covered with outstanding Genovese sauce.

We tasted the classic Neapolitan stewed onion meat sauce at three different restaurants during our recent visit and Oliva’s version was the best. The pizzeria even serves a side of its delectable sauce in a tiny copper saucepan for extra dipping.

But what about the pizza? Though we adored the Il Sole Della Sanita pie, a colorfully yellow Margherita variation, we weren’t crazy about the pizzeria’s creative Fondazione San Gennaro. With a crust stuffed with Neapolitan salami and smoked provolone and a top layer of crumbled taralli, this white pizza provided a simultaneously crunchy and meaty experience with every bite. It just wasn’t our favorite experience.

Beyond pizza and fried snacks, Pizzeria Concettina ai Tre Santi’s menu includes soup, salad and desserts as well as a curated selection of beer and wine. The pizzeria also offers a 12-course tasting experience for diners who make advance reservations and arrive with big budgets and even bigger appetites.

Pizzeria Da Attilio

We knew we were in for serious pizza at Pizzeria da Attilio the moment we walked through the door. Just feet away from the entranceway, we were greeted by a large, wood burning oven where legendary pizzaiolo Attilio Bachetti was hard at work prepping vegetables and shaping the stuffed crust pies that make his pizzeria magical.

Pizzeria da Attilio is a must-visit for pizza fans who make the journey to the city where modern pizza was invented. The third generation pizzaiolo runs his family’s pizzeria in a cozy space just off Via Toledo and mere steps from the street’s cavalcade of caffes and gelaterias.

While the Pizza Carnevale with sausage and fior di latte is Attilio’s most famous star-shaped pie, the pizzeria offers additional star-shaped options including the Sale Nel Platto. We ordered this version topped with piennolo tomatoes, fior di latte and porcini mushrooms. We rarely skip porcini in Italy when the mushrooms are in season.

If you’re dining with a partner, we recommend ordering a standard pie in addition to a star-shaped pie for the full Pizzeria da Attilio experience. This approach will give you the chance to fully appreciate Bachetti’s expert pizza skills.

With more than two dozen pizza options, narrowing the choices can be a challenge but you can always order a Pizza Attilio with nine unique slices. We instead opted for a flavorful Campagnola pie with San Marzano tomatoes, anchovies, capers, olive, garlic and oregano.

The team at Pizzeria da Attilio offers a comfortable dining experience in addition to serving excellent pies. Service is among the friendliest we’ve encountered in Naples and the bi-lingual menu with both Italian and English is easy to navigate.

If we had time for one more meal in Naples, we would have returned to Pizzeria da Attilio and tried more pies for ‘research’ purposes. Instead, this pizzeria is now at the top of our list for our next visit.

50 Kalò

Ciro Salvo has been a leading force in defining modern pizza in Naples since he opened 50 Kalò in 2014. Sure, there are many great pizza shops in Naples, but 50 Kalò stands above the crowd by serving pies with impeccably sourced ingredients like local organic tomatoes, fior di latte from nearby Agerola and pork from Caserta.

Although the name 50 Kalò sounds like an address, it’s actually a loose translation of ‘good dough.’ As a pizza master, Salvo takes pride in crafting his dough with a special flour blend and a slow fermentation process. As for us, we enjoy eating his dough once it’s transformed into pizza.

Situated in tony Mergellina, 50 Kalò is an hour walk or half hour train ride from Centro Storico. This location doesn’t deter pizza fans from crowding the pizzeria every day. The pizzeria has a second location but that one is further away in London.

Most regulars start their meals with frittatinas, typical fried pasta fritters in Naples. We ordered one too after seeing them fly by our table in rapid fashion. But without a doubt, pizza is the star at this acclaimed pizzeria.

Salvo’s team executes Neapolitan pies with world-class symphonic precision. The crusts are beautifully caramelized, just on the edge of black, with a supple texture.

When you eat at 50 Kalo, take note of the tiny dots of brown on the cheese. Every pizza that emerges from the pizza oven has this distinct caramelized look. Trust us, it’s a beautiful thing.

Pizzaria La Notizia

Enzo Coccia’s Pizzaria La Notizia, located way up the hill just past Vomero, wowed us during our first visit to Naples. We’re happy to report that the pizza mecca hasn’t lost its luster.

Coccia actively ‘holds court’ among the guests who sit ‘cheek to jowl’ in Pizzaria La Notizia’s whimsically decorated dining room. The pizzas are amazing, featuring great Neapolitan pizza dough and some of the finest local ingredients from Campania like bright yellow piennolo tomatoes and strutto, a local lardo.

The team at Pizzaria La Notizia also makes show stopping calzones. We recommend ordering a dreamy pocket of goodness filled with sausage and ricotta in addition to a pizza.

Part of the fun of eating at Pizzaria La Notizia is sitting among the local, stylish (and sometimes besuited) bourgeoisie who happily devour Coccia’s tasty pies while enjoying generous pours of local wine. We wondered if we would still see Coccia working the room when we returned years later.

As it turns out, very little had changed – Coccia was indeed there and his pizzas were just as delicious as we remembered. It was heartening to see this dynamic, energetic pizzaiolo still touching tables and wooing guests.

While we didn’t see Coccia during our third visit, we heard that he was down the hill at his other Naples pizza shop. While we missed seeing his friendly face, we enjoyed our pizza and calzone just as much as we did during our prior meals.

Solid Naples Pizzerias

The line between the best pizzerias in Naples Italy and the next tier is fuzzy at best. Each of following pizza shops is serving solid pizza that’s well worth eating during your Naples pizza tour.

Starita

We wandered by foot up a steep hill to the Materdei neighborhood to eat pizza at Starita, a pizzeria with an international reach that extends as far as New York City. We can’t say that their pizzas are our favorites in Napoli, but Starita is a wonderful place to check out if you’re in the neighborhood or if you want to round out your Naples pizza experience.

The multi-generation restaurant has been part of the city’s fabric since 1901. Made famous by the Vittorio De Sica film L’Oro di Napoli starring Sophia Loren, Starita has a full Napoli pizza menu featuring a variety of pies plus a range of classic Neapolitan starters.

During our meal, we shared two pies, including a Marinara pie topped with the reddest Pomodoro tomatoes we’ve ever seen, plus some fried treats and craft beer. Needless to say, we walked back down the hill in an attempt to burn off a few calories.

Gino Sorbillo

Follow the crowds on Via dei Tribunali to find Gino Sorbillo, arguably the most popular pizza joint in Naples. It’s no surprise that crowds fill the room when you consider the restaurant’s prime Centro Storico location, low prices and tasty pies.

We braved the crowds and waited in line to eat at Gino Sorbillo since it’s an integral part of the Naples pizza experience. During our meal, we ate two pies and especially enjoyed the pie topped with tomato sauce and briny anchovies. We later ventured to Sorbillo’s seaside pizzeria for the opportunity to eat world-class pizza with a view.

Gino Sorbillo crossed the pond and now has locations in New York City, Miami and Tokyo as well at Italian locations in cities like Rome, Milan and Genoa. Although there’s nothing like eating pizza in Naples, we’re be happy to eat Sorbillo’s pizza when we’re back in the states or in Asia.

Pizzeria Tutino

Crowds of locals queue for Pizza Tutino’s signature fried pizza pockets called portafoglio, but don’t discount this pizzeria’s pies. Located just a few blocks from Piazza Garibaldi and the Napoli Centrale train station, Pizzeria Tutino has been baking pies in wood-fired ovens since 1935.

Guests who ascend the pizzeria’s stairwell are rewarded with a range of classic, creative and fried pies. We tried two different pizzas – a classic Bufalina pie topped with tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala and fresh basil and a fried Ripieno al Forno pie stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, prosciutto, salami, tomatoes and basil. After just a bite or two, we immediately remembered why Naples is our favorite pizza city.

Pizzeria Tutino may not be the best pizzeria in Naples but it’s a solid option if you’re looking for good pies at a good price near the train station. Sit down at a table with a view of the restaurant’s mural, order Italian beers and pick your pies. After you complete these three steps, you can enjoy your pizza in hectic Naples without feeling rushed or stressed.

Historic Naples Pizzerias

Pizza pilgrims will want to explore all aspects of the pizza landscape when they visit Naples. If you fit into this category, don’t miss the following pizza legends:

Pizzeria Brandi

We couldn’t end our month in Naples without trying a Margherita pizza at Pizzeria Brandi, the upscale pizzeria that ‘invented’ the Margherita pizza recipe in the late 19th century. (According to one historical account, pizzas with tomatoes, cheese and basil had been in existence since the late 1700s.) That’s how we ended up eating pies at Pizzeria Brandi on our very last day in Naples.

What did we think of the pizza at one of the oldest pizzerias in Naples? Truth be told, Brandi didn’t make our favorite pies. Plus, they cost twice the price compared to Da Michele and Gino Sorbillo.

We only recommend a special trip to Pizzeria Brandi if you doing a large-scale Naples pizza tour or if you’re in the area and your Italian cruise ship is about to leave. That being said, the pizza at Pizzeria Brandi is likely better than any pizza you’ll eat in your hometown, assuming you weren’t born in Naples.

La Masardona

Fried pizza is an ideal way to combine two Naples specialties, pizza and fried snacks, in one fell swoop. And there’s no better place to accomplish this feat than La Masardona, the king of pizza fritta in Naples.

La Masardona has specialized in fried pizza since 1945. Named after matriarch Anna Manfredi who earned the nickname La Masardona while delivering a letter to a neighbor, this historic pizzeria delivers the goods when it comes to frying pizza and serving it on a plate.

Focusing exclusively on pizza fritta, Enzo Piccirillo stays true to his family’s pizza traditions at La Masardona. Sure, you can try this pizza variation at many of the pizzerias featured in this guide, but La Masardona is worth a visit for its history alone.

With more than a dozen choices and ingredients like fresh ricotta, sautéed escarole, salami and octopus, the only challenge is deciding what to order. And then there’s dessert…

Pizzeria Dal Presidente

Hidden behind a colorful entrance with a tempting selection of fried treats, Pizzeria dal Presidente has a dining room where customers can enjoy the pizzeria’s famous pizza. This is the same pizza that President Clinton ate when he visited Naples (although at a different location), hence the name of the pizzeria and its historic claim to fame.

Pizzeria Dal Presidente is located at Via dei Tribunali, 120, 80138 Napoli, Italy.

Neighborhood Pizza Shops

Further Afield – Pepe In Grani

Pepe in Grani is located at Vicolo S. Giovanni Battista, 3, 81013 Caiazzo, Italy.

Naples Pizza FAQs

Things To Do In Naples

Where To Stay In Naples

We also stayed at the Ibis Styles Napoli Garibaldi for one night. However, we only recommend this bare-bones hotel if you’re arriving late and don’t want to worry about the hotel reception being closed.

Since we wanted access to a kitchen during our second Naples visit, we opted to stay in an apartment for a month. As a bonus, this type of stay enabled our Da Michelle addiction based on its proximity to the famous pizzeria.

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Original Publication Date: May 25, 2017
Republish Date: October 16, 2020