Top Rated Pizza Joints in Naples That Locals Swear By
Words by
Marco Ferrari
The Real Slice: Top Rated Pizza Joints in Naples That Locals Swear By
I have been eating pizza in Naples for over thirty years, and I can tell you that the top rated pizza joints in Naples are not always the ones with the longest lines outside. Some of the best casual pizza Naples has to offer is found on side streets where the owner still shapes every dough ball by hand at 5 in the morning. I walked into my first pizzeria when I was six years old, standing on a milk crate to watch my nonna argue with the pizzaiolo about whether the San Marzano tomatoes that week were worth the price. That argument, that passion, that obsession with a single ingredient, is what makes this city the undisputed capital of pizza. What follows is not a tourist list. These are the local pizza spots Naples residents actually return to, week after week, year after year, and I have personally eaten at every single one of them within the last twelve months.
1. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, Via Cesare Sersale 1, Forcella
You will see the line before you see the door. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele has been operating since 1870, and it remains one of the most uncompromising kitchens in the entire city. They serve only two pizzas: Margherita and Marinara. That is it. No appetizers, no desserts, no substitutions. The Margherita arrives with a puffy cornicione, a center that is almost soupy with melted fior di latte and San Marzano sauce, and a char pattern on the bottom that looks like a topographical map of Vesuvius. I went on a Tuesday afternoon in March and still waited forty minutes, which is actually fast by their standards. The Marinara, with its raw garlic, oregano, and tomato but no cheese, is the pizza that purists use to judge every other pizzeria in Naples. If the Marinara is right, everything else will be right.
What most tourists do not know is that the original oven inside was built in the 19th century and has been relined but never replaced. The bricks hold heat the way modern ovens simply cannot replicate. The pizzaiolo on duty the day I visited told me they fire the oven with oak and a small amount of chestnut, and the temperature at the center of the dome hits 485 degrees Celsius. That is why the pizza cooks in under ninety seconds.
Local Insider Tip: "Go at 1:15 PM on a weekday, not at noon. The lunch rush peaks at 12:30, and by 1:15 the line drops by half. Also, order the Marinara first, not the Margherita. It is the true test of the house, and if you only have time for one, that is the one that tells you everything."
The only real complaint I have is that the seating is communal and cramped, and if you are a larger person, the wooden benches will make your back ache after twenty minutes. There is no lingering here. You eat, you pay, you leave. That is the deal.
2. Pizzeria Di Matteo, Via dei Tribunali 94, San Lorenzo
Di Matteo sits on Via dei Tribunali, the ancient decumanus inferior of Roman Naples, and it has been a fixture of this street since 1936. What sets Di Matteo apart from the dozens of other pizzerias on this same road is their fried pizza, the frittatina, which is a pocket of dough filled with ricotta, cicoli (cured pork fat), and black pepper, then dropped into a vat of boiling oil. It is obscene and perfect. I ate three of them last October and I am not ashamed to say I considered a fourth. Their wood-fired Margherita is also excellent, with a slightly thicker crust than da Michele and a more pronounced yeasty flavor in the dough.
The best time to visit is early evening, around 6 PM, before the dinner rush fills the narrow street with foot traffic. I have been at 8 PM on a Saturday and waited over an hour, which is common on Tribunali during peak season. The frittatina counter is separate from the sit-down area, so if you just want the fried pizza, you can grab it and eat standing on the sidewalk like a proper local.
Local Insider Tip: "Ask for the 'pizza a portafoglio' at the counter. It is a small, folded pizza meant to be eaten while walking, and it costs under two euros. Most tourists never see it because it is not on the printed menu. The woman at the cash register will know what you mean if you say 'portafoglio' with confidence."
One thing to watch out for: the bathroom is downstairs in the basement, and the stairs are steep and uneven. If you have mobility issues, plan accordingly. This is a centuries-old building and it shows in every uneven stone step.
3. Pizzeria Sorbillo, Via dei Tribunali 32, San Lorenzo
Gino Sorbillo is probably the most famous pizzaiolo in the world right now, and his family has been making pizza on this same block since 1935. The line here can stretch past the neighboring shopfronts, but it moves faster than you would expect because they have multiple ovens running simultaneously. The dough at Sorbillo is lighter and airier than almost anywhere else I have tried, with large irregular bubbles along the cornicione that shatter when you bite into them. I ordered the Sorbillo, their signature pizza, which comes with smoked provola, roasted walnuts, and a drizzle of honey. It sounds like it should not work, but the sweetness of the honey against the smoky cheese is one of the best bites of pizza I have ever had.
The neighborhood of San Lorenzo, where Sorbillo sits, is the historic heart of Naples and one of the most densely populated urban areas in Europe. Walking down Via dei Tribunali, you are walking on a street that has been a commercial artery for over two thousand years. The pizzeria itself is wedged between a bookshop and a leather goods store, and the whole block smells like wood smoke and tomato sauce from morning until late at night.
Local Insider Tip: "If the line outside is longer than thirty people, walk two doors down to the Sorbillo 'takeaway' window. They sell whole pizzas and slices there with no wait, and the quality is identical. I have done this dozens of times and the pizza is just as good eaten three blocks away in Piazza San Gaetano."
The downside is that the interior dining room is loud and chaotic, with servers shouting orders and tables packed so close together that your elbow will end up in the next person's bread basket. If you want a quiet romantic dinner, this is not the place.
4. Pizzeria Starita a Materdei, Via Materdei 27, Materdei
Starita is a short walk uphill from the Centro Storico, in the Materdei neighborhood, and it has been operating since 1901. This is one of the local pizza spots Naples residents from the northern neighborhoods swear by, and it has a fraction of the tourist traffic that Tribunali gets. The Montanara Starita is their signature fried pizza, and it is a thing of beauty: a disc of dough that has been fried, then topped with tomato sauce, smoked provola, and basil, then finished briefly in the wood oven. The result is a pizza that is crispy on the bottom, creamy in the center, and charred on top. I had it last July and I still think about it.
The Materdei neighborhood itself is worth the walk. It is one of the original Spanish Quarters, a grid of narrow streets built in the 16th century to house Spanish soldiers and their families. The buildings here are tall and close together, and laundry hangs from every balcony. It feels like old Naples in a way that the polished parts of the Centro Storico no longer do.
Local Insider Tip: "Sit at the back table near the kitchen if you can. The pizzaiolo sometimes sends out experimental pies to the back tables, things that are not on the menu. Last spring I got a pizza with nduja and pistachio cream that was not listed anywhere, and it was extraordinary."
The one issue with Starita is that the street, Via Materdei, is a one-way road with almost no parking. If you are driving, you will need to park in the lot near the Materdei metro station and walk five minutes uphill. In summer, that walk is brutal.
5. Pizzeria Concettina ai Tre Santi, Via Arena della Sanità 7, Sanità
The Sanità neighborhood, just north of the Centro Storico, is where Naples gets real. This is not a polished tourist quarter. It is a working-class neighborhood with a history that stretches back to Greek and Roman burial chambers beneath the streets. Concettina ai Tre Santi has been here since 1949, and three generations of the same family have run the kitchen. The pizza here is excellent, but what keeps me coming back is the atmosphere. The walls are covered with photos of local families, old movie posters, and framed newspaper clippings. The owner, Concettina's grandson, still greets regulars by name.
I recommend the pizza with friarielli (broccoli rabe) and sausage, which is a combination you will find across Naples but rarely executed as well as it is here. The friarielli are blanched just enough to remove the bitterness, and the sausage is crumbled by hand rather than sliced. The best time to come is Sunday lunch, when the whole neighborhood seems to be eating at the same time and the energy in the room is electric.
Local Insider Tip: "After lunch, walk two minutes down the street to the Catacombs of San Gaudioso. They are open most afternoons and almost no tourists go there. The guided tour is in Italian but the guide will switch to English if you ask. It is one of the most haunting sites in Naples."
The complaint here is that the wine list is short and the house wine, while drinkable, is nothing special. If you care about what you are drinking with your pizza, bring your own. They do not charge a corkage fee, which is rare in Naples.
6. Pizzeria Dal Presidente, Via dei Tribunali 120, San Lorenzo
Dal Presidente earned its name in 1989 when Francesco Mitterrand, the son of French President François Mitterrand, walked in and ordered a pizza. A photo of the visit went up on the wall and never came down. But the pizza here stands on its own without any presidential endorsement. The crust is medium-thick, with a slight sweetness from the long fermentation of the dough, and the toppings are applied with a generous hand. I had the pizza with buffalo mozzarella and anchovies last December, and the salt of the fish against the creaminess of the cheese was perfectly balanced.
This is another Via dei Tribunali institution, but it tends to be less crowded than Sorbillo or Di Matteo because it is slightly further east, closer to the Porta Nolana end of the street. The best time to visit is mid-afternoon, around 3 PM, when the lunch crowd has cleared and the dinner prep has not yet begun. You can often get a table with no wait at that hour.
Local Insider Tip: "Ask for the 'pizza al taglio' at the counter if you want a quick slice. They cut it from a large rectangular tray and serve it on paper. It is the cheapest pizza Naples has to offer at this quality level, usually under three euros for a generous slice."
The interior is small and the ventilation is not great, so if you are sensitive to smoke, sit near the door. The wood oven produces a lot of it, and on a busy night the room can get hazy.
7. Pizzeria La Notizia, Via Michelangelo da Caravaggio 53, Vomero
If you want to see where pizza is heading in Naples, you go to La Notizio in the Vomero neighborhood, high above the city on the hill. Enzo Coccia is the pizzaiolo here, and he is widely considered the most innovative pizza maker in Italy. He experiments with dough fermentation times that stretch to 72 hours, uses flours from small mills in Puglia and Campania, and sources toppings from individual farms and producers. The result is pizza that is lighter, more complex, and more expensive than what you will find in the Centro Storico. A Margherita here costs around 8 euros, which is roughly double what you would pay on Tribunali.
I went in February and ordered the pizza with smoked buffalo ricotta, pistachio pesto, and dried tomatoes. It was the single most refined pizza I have ever eaten, and I say that as someone who has had pizza at least three times a week for three decades. The Vomero neighborhood is a different world from the chaotic streets below. It is quieter, wealthier, and has views of the bay that will make you forget you came for pizza.
Local Insider Tip: "Book at least three days in advance for dinner, especially on weekends. And ask for a table on the terrace if the weather is good. The view of Vesuvius from up there at sunset is something you will remember longer than the pizza, and the pizza is already unforgettable."
The one drawback is the price. If you are looking for cheap pizza Naples style, this is not it. A full meal with wine per person will run 25 to 35 euros, which is high by local standards. But for a special occasion, it is worth every cent.
8. Pizzeria Oliva e Clelia, Via San Biagio dei Librai 35, Spaccanapoli
Oliva e Clelia is a smaller, family-run pizzeria on the street that cuts through the heart of old Naples, Spaccanapoli, the ancient east-west decumanus of the Greek and Roman city. The owners, a husband-and-wife team, opened in 2005, which makes them newcomers by Naples standards, but the quality of their work has earned them a loyal following. The dough is made with a blend of type 0 and type 00 flour, fermented for 24 hours, and the result is a crust that is thin in the center but with a cornicione that rises tall and irregular, full of large air pockets.
I had the pizza with cherry tomatoes, bufala, and fresh basil last August, and the basil was so fragrant I could smell it from two tables away. The best time to visit is early dinner, around 7 PM, before the Spaccanapoli foot traffic peaks. The street itself is one of the most atmospheric in all of Naples, lined with churches, artisan shops, and street vendors selling everything from religious figurines to fresh seafood.
Local Insider Tip: "After your pizza, walk five minutes south to the Cappella Sansevero. The Veiled Christ sculpture inside is one of the most astonishing works of art in Italy, and most people outside Naples have never heard of it. Go in the late afternoon when the light through the windows hits the marble at the right angle."
The complaint is that the space is tiny, with only about eight tables, and they do not take reservations. If you show up at 8 PM on a Friday, you will wait. There is no way around it.
When to Go and What to Know
Naples is a year-round pizza city, but the experience changes with the seasons. Summer, from June through September, is peak tourist season, and the lines at the famous Tribunali pizzerias can exceed an hour. If you can visit in October, November, March, or April, you will get the same pizza with a fraction of the crowd. Winter is actually my favorite time because the wood-fired ovens feel even more welcome when the air is cool and damp.
Most pizzerias open for lunch at 11:30 or noon and close around 3 PM, then reopen for dinner at 7 or 7:30 PM. Some close on Mondays, others on Sundays, and a few close for two weeks in August when the owners go on vacation. Always check before you walk across the city.
Cash is still king at many of the older pizzerias, especially the cheap pizza Naples is famous for. Carry at least 20 to 30 euros in cash with you. Cards are increasingly accepted, but not everywhere.
Tipping is not expected in the way it is in the United States, but rounding up the bill or leaving one to two euros per person is appreciated, especially at the smaller family-run places.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the one must-try local specialty food or drink that Naples is famous for?
The fried pizza, or "pizza fritta," is the single most iconic food specific to Naples. It is a pocket of dough filled with ricotta, mozzarella, and cicoli, then deep-fried until golden and crispy. Street vendors and pizzerias across the city sell it, and it typically costs between 2 and 4 euros. The sfogliatella, a shell-shaped pastry filled with sweet ricotta and candied fruit, is the city's most famous dessert and is available at most bakeries for around 1.50 to 2.50 euros.
How easy is it is to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Naples?
Vegetarian options are widely available at nearly every pizzeria in Naples, with the Marinara (tomato, garlic, oregano, no cheese) and Margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basil) being the most common. Fully vegan pizza is harder to find but growing, with a handful of pizzerias in the Centro Storico and Vomero now offering vegan cheese or cheese-free specialty pies. Outside of pizza, traditional Neapolitan cuisine relies heavily on seafood and meat, so dedicated vegan restaurants are limited to roughly 10 to 15 across the entire city.
Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in Naples?
There is no formal dress code at any pizzeria in Naples, from the cheapest counter to the most refined dining room. Locals dress casually, and tourists in shorts and sandals will not be turned away. The one cultural etiquette to observe is that pizza is eaten with a knife and fork at sit-down pizzerias, not by hand. Eating a whole pizza by hand at a table is considered unusual, though folding a slice to go is perfectly normal. Tipping one to two euros is polite but not mandatory.
Is Naples expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.
Naples is significantly cheaper than Rome, Florence, or Milan. A mid-tier traveler can expect to spend roughly 70 to 100 euros per day, broken down as follows: accommodation in a decent hotel or B&B costs 50 to 70 euros per night, a full pizza dinner at a quality pizzeria runs 8 to 15 euros per person, lunch or a quick meal costs 5 to 10 euros, local transportation (metro, bus, funicular) is 1.50 euros per single ride, and a coffee at the bar is 1 to 1.50 euros. Museum entry fees range from 5 to 15 euros per site.
Is the tap water in Naples safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?
The tap water in Naples is safe to drink and is regularly tested and treated by the local water utility. It comes from the Campanian aquifer and meets all EU safety standards. Many locals drink it directly from the tap without issue. However, the taste can be slightly mineral-heavy compared to bottled water, and some travelers prefer the neutral taste of filtered or bottled water, which is available at every supermarket and corner shop for under 50 cents per liter.
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