The best pizza in Naples isn’t in one neighbourhood. For the old guard, we start with Starita in Materdei or Di Matteo on Via dei Tribunali. Fried pizza and genovese mean a trip to the Rione Sanità. For the lightest modern dough, go to Ciro Salvo’s 50 Kalò on Piazza Sannazaro or to Diego Vitagliano in Bagnoli. Below are nine pizzerias, grouped by the kind of pizza you’re after.
The short list
9 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01Starita a MaterdeiMontanara opener, then a classic wood-oven pizzaMaterdei
- 02Pizzeria Gorizia 1916Provola e pepe nero, old-school styleVomero
- 03Pizzeria Di MatteoFrittatina di maccheroni on the streetVia dei Tribunali
- 04Pizzeria PelloneBenchmark margherita, cash onlyNear Piazza Garibaldi
- 05Elettroforno GiuliaPizza ripiena di scarole to take awayPosillipo
- 06Concettina ai Tre SantiGenovese pizzaRione Sanità
- 07Isabella De ChamFried pizza with genoveseRione Sanità
- 0850 KalòThe Cosacca and long-fermented doughPiazza Sannazaro
- 09Diego Vitagliano PizzeriaA tasting run from marinara to sweet pizzaBagnoli
Where to eat classic Neapolitan pizza in Naples
For pizza made the way it has been for generations, we go to Starita a Materdei or Pizzeria Gorizia 1916 in the Vomero. Starita’s wood oven has stayed in the same spot since the pizzeria opened in Materdei in 1901. Gorizia puts old-school provola and salami pizzas on the same menu as the modern style. Its regulars have been coming for decades.
One family runs Starita, from one address. What sets it apart is the montanara: a small fried dough with tomato and provola, eaten as an opener before your main pizza. Sophia Loren filmed scenes here for L’Oro di Napoli.
Starita a Materdei
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sun 12:00–15:30, 19:00–23:30
Address: Via Materdei, 27/28, 80136 Napoli NA, Italy
Gorizia started on Piazza Sannazaro and later moved to Via Bernini. It is the oldest surviving pizzeria in the Vomero. The room is lived-in and unpretentious. The order that marks you out is the pizza con provola e pepe nero, and the kitchen is at its calmest on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening.
Pizzeria Gorizia 1916
Hours: Mon–Sun 12:30–16:00, 19:30–00:00
Address: Via Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 29, 80127 Napoli NA, Italy
Where to eat street pizza on the go in Naples
Pizzeria Di Matteo on Via dei Tribunali and Pizzeria Pellone near Piazza Garibaldi both run fast counters at low prices, and Elettroforno Giulia in Posillipo sells pizza in teglia and fried snacks to take away. At Di Matteo and Elettroforno Giulia, locals carry their food outside. We do the same.
The frittatina di maccheroni (fried pasta with béchamel and ragù) is the reason to queue at Di Matteo, a fixture of Via dei Tribunali since 1936, and it sells as fast as the kitchen can make it. The fried counter opens before the pizza oven, and on Saturdays the frittatine are gone by noon, so we come in the morning. Bill Clinton ate here in 1994. The food would have its reputation without him.
Pizzeria Di Matteo
Hours: Mon–Sat 11:00–23:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via dei Tribunali, 94, 80138 Napoli NA, Italy
Pellone takes cash only and fills up with cabbies and market workers. Many Neapolitans treat its margherita, soft in the centre and properly charred, as the benchmark for what pizza should taste like. If you want to eat on your feet, order the pizza al portafoglio. Go for a weekday lunch. In the evening the queue on Via Nazionale stretches past the corner.
Pizzeria Pellone
Hours: Mon–Sat 10:00–16:00, 18:00–00:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Nazionale, 93, 80143 Napoli NA, Italy
Elettroforno Giulia is a takeaway counter on Piazza San Luigi selling pizza in teglia. When it started, in 1950, the only option was margherita. Now there is also parigina, plus pizza ripiena di scarole: escarole under a layer of puff pastry. A fry case holds crocché, arancini and frittatine di pasta. The ripiena is the slice that first made the place known. With only fifteen seats inside, we take ours out to the piazza.
Elettroforno Giulia
Hours: Mon 09:00–02:00 · Tue–Thu 08:30–01:00 · Fri–Sun 08:30–02:00
Address: Piazza S. Luigi, 12/13, 80123 Napoli NA, Italy
Where to eat fried pizza and genovese in the Rione Sanità
The Rione Sanità is worth a trip of its own. Concettina ai Tre Santi and Isabella De Cham sit on the same street, Via Arena della Sanità, and both build their signature dish around genovese, the slow-braised beef and onion. Concettina puts it on a classic leavened base, Isabella on fried pizza. Leave time to walk the neighbourhood before or after.
Ciro Oliva’s toppings at Concettina draw on the Campanian landscape, and none of them feel decorative. His family has made pizza in the Sanità since 1951. Book the evening specifically for the genovese pizza. Walk-ins have better odds at lunch.
Concettina ai Tre Santi
Hours: Mon–Thu 10:00–23:30 · Fri–Sat 11:00–23:30 · Sun 10:00–23:30
Address: Via Arena della Sanità, 7 Bis, 80137 Napoli NA, Italy
Isabella De Cham opened her pizza fritta shop in 2018. The dough is made fresh, and the fry comes out clean and dry. Ricotta e cicoli is the classic filling. The one to order is the open fried pizza topped with genovese. Opening time is when the full menu is on. Gluten-free pizza is made separately, as a preparation in its own right.
Isabella De Cham
Hours: Mon–Sun 12:00–16:00, 19:00–00:00
Address: Via Arena della Sanità, 27, 80137 Napoli NA, Italy
Which Naples pizzerias are worth crossing town for?
For the most exacting modern Neapolitan dough, go to 50 Kalò or Diego Vitagliano. At 50 Kalò on Piazza Sannazaro, Ciro Salvo is obsessive about hydration and long fermentation. Vitagliano’s pizzeria in Bagnoli pulls pizza lovers out of the centre for a very light crust with a precise char on the rim. At both, the dough is the point. Keep your first order simple.
Salvo’s dough is airy, with proper blistering at the cornicione. The Cosacca (San Marzano tomato, pecorino and basil, no mozzarella) leaves nothing on top to distract from the base. A counter seat faces the oven. On a weekday, arrive before 8pm and you’ll stay out of the queue.
50 Kalò
Hours: Mon–Thu 12:00–16:30, 18:30–00:30 · Fri–Sat 12:00–16:30, 18:30–01:00 · Sun 12:00–16:30, 18:30–00:30
Address: P.za Sannazaro, 201/c, 80121 Napoli NA, Italy
Vitagliano makes contemporary Neapolitan pizza without getting sentimental about tradition. Evenings fill quickly, so book dinner ahead. On a first visit we follow the progression the staff suggest, starting with a marinara and finishing with a seasonal sweet pizza.
Diego Vitagliano Pizzeria
Hours: Mon–Sun 12:30–15:00, 19:30–00:00
Address: Via Nuova Agnano, 1, 80125 Napoli NA, Italy
Check each card for opening hours before you set out. Several pizzerias close between lunch and dinner, and three close one day a week. Book the sit-down places for dinner, Concettina above all. Counters work best for lunch or a mid-morning snack. Pair places that are close together (the two Sanità addresses share a street), and carry some cash for Pellone.
