Top Rated Pizza Joints in Matera That Locals Swear By

If you are hunting for the top rated pizza joints in Matera, you need to understand something first. This is a city carved out of limestone, where bread has been baked in wood-fired ovens for centuries, and where pizza is not a novelty but a natural extension of that tradition. I have eaten my way through every corner of the Sassi and the newer town, and the places that matter here are not the ones with the flashiest signage. They are the ones where the dough is handled by people who grew up eating their nonna's focaccia, where the tomato sauce tastes like August in Puglia, and where you will likely be elbow to elbow with a group of local university students or a family celebrating a baptism. Matera does not do pretension when it comes to pizza, and that is exactly why the food is so good.

What follows is not a list I assembled from online reviews. These are the local pizza spots Matera residents actually return to, week after year, and the ones I send friends to when they ask where to eat without spending a fortune. Some of these places sit right in the ancient cave districts, others are tucked along the edge of the ravine, and a few are in the modern streets above where most locals actually live. Each one tells you something different about this city, from its agricultural roots in the Murge plateau to its slow transformation into one of southern Italy's most compelling destinations. If you want the best casual pizza Matera has to offer, keep reading.

Il Frantoio: Cave District Dining With Deep Roots

You will find Il Frantoio along Via della Fiorentina in the Sasso Barisano, one of the two ancient cave districts that make Matera famous worldwide. The name itself tells you something, because a frantoio is an olive oil press, and this place has deep connections to the agricultural traditions of the Murge region. The dining room is carved into the rock, with long vaulted ceilings and exposed stone walls that stay cool even in the worst of the July heat. They serve a range of Lucanian dishes, but the pizza is what keeps the regulars coming back. Their crust has a particular character, slightly thicker than a Neapolitan style, with a chew that comes from a long fermentation process the kitchen has refined over years. Order the pizza topped with crusco pepper, a dried sweet pepper from Basilicata that is fried until it becomes crisp and almost smoky, paired with local caciotta cheese. It is a combination that tells you exactly where you are. The best time to arrive is early evening, around 19:30, before the dinner rush fills every cave room. One thing most visitors do not realize is that the kitchen closes pizza service earlier than the rest of the menu, usually by 22:00, so do not show up late expecting a margherita. Parking anywhere near the Sassi is essentially impossible after 18:00, so walk or take a taxi from the station.

Le Botteghe del Sassi: Piazza San Pietro Barisano

Le Botteghe del Sassi occupies a restored cave complex right on Piazza San Pietro Barisano, one of the most photographed squares in the old town. The piazza itself sits at the highest point of the Sasso Barisano, with a panoramic terrace that drops away into the Gravina ravine. The restaurant spreads across several interconnected cave rooms, each with its own atmosphere, and the pizza oven sits in a space where you can watch the pizzaiolo working. This is one of the cheap pizza Matera options that does not feel cheap at all, because the setting is genuinely extraordinary. Their dough is made with a blend of local and imported flours, and the crust comes out with a nice char and a soft interior that folds well when you eat it the way locals do, in half and then in quarters. I would suggest the pizza with nduja, the spreadable salami from Calabria that has become wildly popular across southern Italy, because the spice cuts through the richness of the mozzarella in a way that feels effortless. Weekday lunches are the smartest time to come, because on weekends the wait for a table can stretch past an hour and the service gets stretched thin. A detail most tourists miss is the small door at the back of the dining area that leads to a narrow staircase cut into the rock, which you can sometimes ask to see if the staff are not too busy. It connects to an older section of the cave network that predates the restaurant by several centuries.

Il Pizzeria del Viale: Modern Matera Above the Ravine

Moving away from the Sassi and up to the newer part of town, Il Pizzeria del Viale sits along Viale della Libertà, one of the main commercial streets in the modern center of Matera. This is where university students from the University of Basilicata come when they want good pizza without paying tourist-zone prices, and the energy in the room on a Friday night is loud and unpretentious. The space is simple, with tiled floors and wooden tables covered in paper, and the open kitchen runs along the back wall so you can see everything happening. Their margherita is the benchmark, made with San Marzano tomatoes and fior di latte from a local Caseificio in the province of Potenza, and it costs around €5.50, which is remarkably fair for the quality. The crust is thin in the center with a puffy cornicione that has good structure and a slight tang from overnight fermentation. If you want something more adventurous, try the pizza with potato and rosemary, which is a southern Italian classic that this kitchen executes better than most. The one honest complaint I will make is that the acoustics in here are terrible when the room is full, so if you are looking for a quiet conversation you will be shouting across the table by the second course. Come on a weeknight before 20:00 for the most relaxed experience. The connection to Matera's broader character is subtle but real, because this neighborhood represents the city's post-war expansion, when families moved out of the overcrowded Sassi and built the modern town that now houses most of the population.

La Grotte del Buon Vino: Pizza Among the Ancient Caves

La Grotte del Buon Vino is located on Via San Giacomo, in the lower section of the Sasso Caveoso, the other of Matera's two ancient cave districts. The name references the wine tradition of the area, and the restaurant does have a respectable list of regional wines, but the pizza deserves equal attention. The dining rooms are deep cave spaces with irregular walls and low ceilings, and the effect is intimate without feeling claustrophobic. What sets this place apart from other cave restaurants is the quality of their dough, which has a lighter, airier texture than you might expect from a tourist-facing establishment. They use a wood-fired oven that was built into the rock face, and the heat distribution gives the crust a particular smokiness that is hard to replicate in a modern gas or electric setup. I recommend the pizza with fresh ricotta and grilled vegetables, because the ricotta is sourced from a small producer in the Val d'Agri and has a creaminess that balances the char on the eggplant and zucchini. The best strategy is to arrive right when they open for dinner, around 19:00, because the cave rooms fill up fast and the kitchen gets backed up on busy nights. One insider detail is that if you ask nicely, the staff will sometimes let you see the wine storage area, which is a natural cave extension that maintains a constant cool temperature year-round without any mechanical refrigeration. It is a reminder that Matera's residents have been using these geological features to their advantage for thousands of years, not just for dining ambiance but for practical food preservation.

Il Rusticone: Local Favorite in the Serra Venerdì Area

Il Rusticone is situated in the Serra Venerdì neighborhood, which sits on the western edge of Matera along the rim of the Gravina gorge. This is not a place you stumble upon while wandering the old town, and that is precisely why locals love it. The dining room is large and unadorned, with checkered tablecloths and a television in the corner that is always tuned to the local football match. The pizza here is honest and unpretentious, made with a medium-thick crust that has a satisfying crunch on the outside and a tender crumb inside. Their specialty is the pizza al taglio, Roman-style pizza by the slice, which they bake in large rectangular trays and cut to order. The potato and onion version is the one to get, because the thin slices of potato cook directly on the dough and develop a golden, almost translucent quality that is deeply satisfying. Prices are among the most affordable in the city, with a generous slice costing around €2.50 to €3.00, making it one of the best cheap pizza Matera has for someone eating on the go. The best time to visit is late afternoon, around 17:30 to 18:00, when the first batches come out of the oven and the selection is widest. A local tip: Serra Venerdì is also home to some of the best views across the Sassi at sunset, so grab a slice and walk to the edge of the gorge afterward. The neighborhood itself has a working-class identity that stretches back to the mid-twentieth century, when it developed as housing for families relocated from the Sassi during the forced evacuations of the 1950s, and that sense of community still defines the area.

Pizzeria da Gemma: Family-Run on Via Ridola

Via Ridola is one of the main streets in the historic center, running between the Piazza del Sedile and the edge of the Sasso Barisano, and Pizzeria da Gemma occupies a modest storefront along this corridor. This is a small, family-run operation with a wood-fired oven, a handful of tables, and a menu that changes slightly depending on what is available at the morning market. The owner, Gemma, has been running this place for decades, and her approach to pizza is rooted in the home cooking traditions of Matera rather than any particular regional style. The crust is medium-thick, with a texture that sits somewhere between Neapolitan and Roman, and the toppings are applied with a restraint that lets the quality of the base ingredients speak. I always order the pizza with sausage and friarielli, the bitter broccoli rabe that is a staple of southern Italian cooking, because the combination of the rich, fennel-studded sausage and the slight bitterness of the greens is one of the great flavor pairings in this part of the world. The best day to come is a Wednesday or Thursday, because on weekends the tiny space gets overwhelmed and the wait times become unpredictable. One thing that surprises first-time visitors is the house red wine, which is served in a simple carafe and comes from a small producer in the nearby Vulture region. It is rough and honest and costs almost nothing, and it is exactly what you want with this kind of food. The connection to Matera's history is in the simplicity itself, because this is how people ate in the Sassi for generations, with minimal ingredients transformed by skill and a good oven.

Anima Viva: Creative Pizza in the Heart of the Center

Anima Viva is located on Via Antonio Gramsci, in the commercial heart of Matera's modern center, and it represents a slightly different approach to pizza in this city. The space is contemporary and clean-lined, with an open kitchen and a visible dough preparation area, and the clientele skews younger and more cosmopolitan. What makes this place worth including among the top rated pizza joints in Matera is the creativity of the topping combinations, which draw on local ingredients but arrange them in ways that feel fresh rather than gimmicky. Their dough is made with a mix of type 00 flour and a percentage of whole wheat flour from the Murge plateau, which gives the crust a nuttier flavor and a slightly darker color. The pizza with smoked scamorza, honey from the Altopiano delle Murge, and walnuts is a standout, because the sweetness of the honey and the smokiness of the cheese create a balance that is surprisingly sophisticated. They also do a seasonal rotation that might include toppings like fresh figs in late summer or roasted chestnuts in autumn, so the menu is never quite the same two visits in a row. The best time to come is weekday lunch, when they offer a pizza and drink combo for around €8.00 that is one of the best deals in town. The minor drawback is that the whole wheat crust, while flavorful, can be slightly denser than what you would get at a more traditional pizzeria, so if you are a purist about Neapolitan-style leavening you might find it a bit heavy. Anima Viva reflects the newer Matera, the one that has emerged since the city was named a European Capital of Culture in 2019, where young entrepreneurs are reinterpreting local traditions for a more diverse audience.

Il Forno di Via Santa Cesarea: The Bakery That Also Makes Pizza

Via Santa Cesarea runs along the southern edge of the Sasso Caveoso, and Il Forno is a working bakery that also happens to make some of the best casual pizza Matera residents eat on a regular basis. This is not a restaurant. There are no tables, no waiters, and no wine list. You walk in, order at the counter, and eat standing up or take your pizza away. The oven is a massive wood-burning affair that dominates the front of the shop, and the smell of baking bread and charring dough pulls you in from the street. Their pizza bianca, topped only with olive oil, salt, and fresh rosemary, is a thing of beauty, because the quality of the dough is so good that it does not need anything else. The olive oil is local, pressed from Ogliarola olives grown on the plains south of Matera, and it has a peppery finish that lingers on the palate. A full pizza rossa, with tomato sauce and a scattering of oregano, costs around €4.00 and is enough for one person. The best time to stop by is mid-morning, around 10:30 to 11:00, when the first batches are coming out of the oven and the bread is also at its peak. Most tourists walk right past this place because it does not look like a destination, but if you ask any local where to grab a quick, excellent pizza, this is one of the first names you will hear. The bakery itself has been operating for over forty years, and the wood oven is original, built from volcanic stone that holds heat for hours. It is a direct link to the baking traditions that sustained life in the Sassi for millennia, when every neighborhood had a communal oven and families brought their dough to be baked.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the one must-try local specialty food or drink that Matera is famous for?

Matera and the wider Basilicata region are known for peperone crusco, a dried sweet pepper that is fried until crisp and used as a topping or snack. You will find it on pizzas at several local spots, and it has a unique smoky-sweet flavor that is unlike any other dried pepper in Italy. Another essential local product is Lucanian salumi, particularly the ventricina sausage from the Vulture area, which is seasoned with wild fennel and chili. For wine, the Aglianico del Vulture red, produced on the volcanic slopes of Mount Vulture about 60 kilometers north of Matera, is the region's most important DOC wine and pairs perfectly with the charred crusts and rich toppings of local pizza.

Is Matera expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.

A mid-tier daily budget for Matera runs approximately €80 to €120 per person, excluding accommodation. A pizza dinner at a casual local spot costs between €5.00 and €9.00 per pizza, with a carafe of house wine adding around €4.00 to €6.00. Breakfast at a bar, meaning a cornetto and espresso standing at the counter, costs about €2.50 to €3.50. A sit-down lunch with a pasta course and a drink runs €12.00 to €18.00. Accommodation in a mid-range guesthouse or B&B in the Sassi or modern center averages €70.00 to €110.00 per night for a double room, depending on the season. Museum entry fees are modest, with the Casa Grotta di Vito Truda cave house museum costing €3.00 and the MUSMA contemporary art museum in the Sassi charging €5.00.

How easy it is to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Matera?

Vegetarian pizza is widely available across Matera, with most pizzerias offering a marinara, a pizza bianca with rosemary and olive oil, and various vegetable-topped options as standard menu items. Vegan pizza is less common as a labeled option, but many places can prepare a pizza without cheese if you ask, using tomato sauce and vegetables. The challenge is that mozzarella and ricotta appear on many traditional Lucanian pizzas, and not every kitchen stocks plant-based cheese alternatives. Your best strategy is to look for pizza bianca with olive oil and vegetables, or a marinara with tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, and olive oil, which is naturally vegan at most establishments. Several of the newer restaurants in the modern center are more accommodating to plant-based requests than the older, more traditional spots in the Sassi.

Is the tap water in Matera safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?

The tap water in Matera is safe to drink and meets all Italian and EU potability standards. It comes from mountain sources in the Apennine range and has a clean, neutral taste. Many locals drink it without hesitation, and restaurants routinely serve tap water if you ask for acqua di rubinetto rather than bottled water. That said, the water in Matera is moderately hard, with a higher mineral content than what some visitors from softer-water regions might expect, which can affect the taste slightly. If you are sensitive to mineral-heavy water, most convenience stores and alimentari sell large bottles of filtered or spring water for under €0.50. There are also public drinking fountains, called fontanelle, scattered throughout the Sassi and the modern town where you can refill a bottle for free.

Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in Matera?

There are no formal dress codes at any pizzeria or casual restaurant in Matera, and locals dress casually for even most evening meals, with jeans and a clean shirt being perfectly acceptable. However, if you plan to visit one of the churches or religious sites in the Sassi, which many visitors do before or after dinner, you should cover your shoulders and knees, as these are active places of worship. Tipping is not obligatory but is appreciated, with locals typically rounding up the bill or leaving €1.00 to €2.00 per person for good service. It is also customary to greet staff with a polite buonasera when entering a restaurant, especially in the evening, and to wait to be seated rather than choosing your own table. In the Sassi specifically, be mindful that many cave restaurants are in residential areas, so keeping noise levels reasonable when walking through the narrow streets after dinner is a sign of respect to the families who live there.