Pizza restaurants in Rome
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‘Gusto
If Terence Conran were Italian, he might have dreamed up ‘Gusto, once a mould-breaking warehouse-style gastronomic complex. It’s still buzzing after all these years, and is a great place to sit on the terrace and eye up the new Richard Meier-designed Ara Pacis museum. Go for the Neapolitan-style pizzas rather than the restaurant fare, which receives mixed reports. There’s a recommended brunch (weekends) and lunchtime buffet.
reviewed
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Al Forno della Soffitta
None of those namby-pamby thin crusts - this is pure Neapolitan pizza, keeping workers from nearby offices happy with its cheery décor, substantial dough and fine array of toppings. Try the amatriciana, topped with pancetta and tomato.
reviewed
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Pizzeria da Vittorio
One of the few pizzerias in this neck of the woods to serve thick-crust Neapolitan-style pizzas, backstreet Vittorio is a consistent crowd-pleaser. The tiny interior is decorated with murals depicting appropriately Neapolitan scenes such an erupting Vesuvius, and heaves with happy eaters. There are also a few outside tables.
You'll find all the regular pizzas plus a few house specialities such as the Vittorio (fresh tomato, basil, mozzarella and Parmesan) and the Imperiale (fresh tomatoes, lettuce, cured ham and olives); football fans might like the Maradona, made in honour of Naples' favourite football superstar.
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Open Colonna
Spectacularly set at the back of Palazzo delle Esposizioni, superchef Antonello Colonna’s restaurant is tucked on a mezzanine floor under an extraordinary glass roof (wow factor before you’ve had a bite). The cuisine is new Roman: innovative takes on traditional dishes, cooked with wit and flair. The best thing of all? There’s a more basic but still impressive fixed two-course lunch for €15, and Saturday and Sunday brunch at €28, served in the larger downstairs room, so you can live the life without splashing the cash.
reviewed
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Pizza Ré
Part of a chain, but a good one, this popular pizzeria - handy for Piazza del Popolo - offers Neapolitan-style pizzas, with thick doughy bases and delicious, diverse toppings. The salads are fresh and the antipasti is great - try the fried things or the mozzarella fresca di bufala e prosciutto San Daniele (buffalo mozzarella with San Daniele dry-cured ham). There's a narrow strip of outdoor tables. It's busy so you might have to book or wait.
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Forno di Campo de’ Fiori
Obscenely good, direct-from-the-oven pizza al taglio keeps this place permanently packed. The pizza bianca – white pizza with olive oil, rosemary and salt – is divine, the pizza rossa (‘red’ pizza, with olive oil, tomato and oregano) sublime, and the pizza patata (with potato and rosemary) and pizza pommidorini (with cherry tomatoes) are heavenly.
reviewed
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Pizzeria Ivo
One of Trastevere’s most famous pizzerias, Ivo’s has been slinging pizzas for some 40 years, and still the hungry come. With the TV on in the corner and the tables full, Ivo’s a noisy and vibrant place where the crispy, though not huge, pizzas are made with conventional toppings (exceptions include an unorthodox gorgonzola and apple combo) and the waiters fit the gruff-and-fast stereotype.
reviewed
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Dar Poeta
Dar Poeta, a breezy, cheery pizzeria hidden away in an atmospheric side street, proffers some of Rome’s best pizza. The base is somewhere between wafer-thin Roman and Neapolitan comfort food, and the slow-risen dough apparently makes it easier to digest. There are also great bruschettas and salads, and it’s famous for its unique ricotta and Nutella calzone. Expect to queue, elbows at the ready.
reviewed
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Pizzeria Remo
Not a place for a romantic tête-à-tête, Pizzeria Remo is one of the city’s most popular pizzerias, busy with noisy hordes of young Romans. The mixed fried appetisers are scrumptious, and the pizzas are thin Roman classics, with toppings loading the crisp, charred base. Place your order by ticking your choices on a sheet of paper slapped down by an overstretched waiter. Expect to queue.
reviewed
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Pizzeria da Baffetto
Da Baffetto offers some of Rome’s best pizzas, served in typical wham-bam style. To partake, join the queue and wait for the bustling waiters to squeeze you in – you may have to share a table. To start, try the tasty fried things – courgette flowers, olive ascolane and so on – before moving onto the pizzas, bubbling hot from the wood-fired oven, and as Roman as it gets.
reviewed
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Pizzeria al Leoncino
It can be difficult to source a cheap meal in this upmarket area, which is why Leoncino gets a round of applause. A boisterous neighbourhood pizzeria with a wood-fired oven, it has two small rooms, cheerful décor and gruff but efficient waiters who will serve you an excellent Roman-style pizza and ice-cold beer faster than you can say ‘ delizioso’.
reviewed
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Pizzarium
Another contender for Rome’s best pizza al taglio, this unassuming place is the baby of chef Gabriele Bonci, and offers the most superbly digestible fluffy base and crisp crust topped by intensely flavoursome toppings (slice around €2 to €3), made from the freshest seasonal delights. Eat standing up, and wash it down with a chilled beer.
reviewed
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Panattoni
Panattoni is nicknamed l’obitorio (the morgue) because of its marble-slab tabletops. Thankfully the similarity stops there. This is one of Trastevere’s liveliest pizzerias, with paper-thin pizzas, a clattering buzz, testy waiters, streetside seating and fried starters (specialities are supplì and baccalà ).
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Hostaria-Pizzeria Giacomelli
This neighbourhood restaurant has them queuing around the block for thin and crispy Roman pizzas. The décor is nothing fancy (high ceilings, lots of photos), but the reliably good food, from the crostini to the spicy diavola pizza, has locals voting with their feet. There’s also some in-demand outside seating under striped awnings.
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Pizzeria Amalfi
With a yolk-yellow interior featuring murals of the Bay of Naples, you could imagine yourself in Campania, digging into the house pizzas – of course the Neapolitan, thick-crust variety. They’re justly popular, and it’s always busy, with some sunny streetside tables too. Finish with a creamy crème brûlée.
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Zazá
Handily sandwiched between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, this hole-in-the-wall pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice) place hits the spot with its highly digestible pizza – the base is made using extra-virgin olive oil and is risen for up to 60 hours. The finishing touch? Succulent, all-organic toppings.
reviewed
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Le Naumachie
This modern, popular pizzeria caters to locals and tourists, has a brick-arched, spacious interior, and offers classic Roman pizzas at both lunch and dinner, with tried-and-tested toppings such as capricciosa (a variety of toppings, usually mushroom, ham, artichoke and olives) and marinara (seafood).
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Récafe
On perhaps the chicest square in Rome (it's overlooked by the new Ara Pacis museum), this is Rome's chicest pizzeria. Take your food outside, or dine inside under twisted globelike chandeliers in an airy wood-floored space. Roman thin-crust pizzas are the name of the game, but it's also a good place for a drink.
reviewed
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La Focaccia
Hotfoot it to one of the few outside tables at this unsigned pizzeria, facing the beautiful Chiostro del Bramante, or settle for a place in the surprisingly large interior. As well as great bruschetta, the wood-fired pizzas and breads and delicate fresh pastas, and desserts are worth leaving space for.
reviewed
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Bir & Fud
This orange-and-terracotta, vaulted pizzeria wins plaudits for its amazingly good pizzas, crostini and delicious fried things (potato, pumpkin etc) and has a micro brewery on site. Chef Gabriele Bonci of the wonderful Pizzarium is consultant here. Save room for dessert. Book ahead.
reviewed
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Sisini
Locals love this pizza al taglio in Trastevere, and you’ll need to jostle with them to make it to the counter. Here, simple styles reign supreme – try the margherita or marinara – and the supplì and roast chicken are tip-top too.
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Forno la Renella
The wood-fired ovens at this historic Trastevere bakery have been firing for decades, producing a delicious daily batch of pizza, bread and biscuits. Piled-high toppings (and fillings) vary seasonally. Popular with everyone from skinheads with big dogs to elderly ladies with little dogs.
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Pizzeria la Montecarlo
La Montecarlo, another true Roman pizzeria full of raucous charm, is ideal for sightseers exploring the centro storico (historic centre), but is also crammed with pizza-hungry locals. Expect thin, wood-charred pizzas, paper tablecloths, milling queues and turbocharged waiters.
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Formula Uno
As adrenaline-fueled as its name: at this basic, historic San Lorenzo pizzeria, under whirring fans, waiters zoom around delivering tomato-loaded bruschetta, fried courgette flowers, supplì al telefono and bubbling thin-crust pizza, to eternal crowds of feasting students.
reviewed
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Pallotta
The Pallotta family has been running this pizzeria for generations. It serves great pizzas, plus the usual fried things and barbecued meats, swiftly, and the leafy garden gives it a special atmosphere. It’s an icon of unpretentious quality in this yuppie area.
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