Say what you like about Berlin, one thing it is not lacking nowadays is great pizza. Sure, Berlin is a long way from Rome, but we can still enjoy a slice of ‘La Dolce Vita’ right here in the Hauptstadt. Here is our list of the best pizza places in Berlin.
Standard
Naples-born pizzaiolo Alessandro Leonardi changed the Berlin culinary landscape like no other ever had. You can now find Neapolitan pizzerias on just about every block, and the trend started with Leonardi. If you want to taste the pizza that kicked off the trend (at least here) get the standard Margarita at Standard, and marvel at the simplicity and the deliciousness.
- Standard Serious Pizza, Templiner Str. 7, Prenzlauer Berg, details.
Zero Stress Pizza
It started as a food truck, but Nicola Marchetti has turned his business into two ‘brick and motars’ in recent years. Whilst he says he is against what he calls radical veganism, there are vegan options alongside the prosciutto, salami and mozzarella.
- Zerostress Pizza, Colbestr. 3, Friedrichshain, OR Lausitzer Pl. 10, Kreuzberg, details.
Sotto
What happens when you take a Finn and an Italian, with zero restaurant experience, and get them to open a pizza joint, just after their first baby together was born? You get Sotto, and Berlin’s food scene is all the better for it. Bettina Hajanti and Mattia Mancini’s 100 percent meatless fare is exactly what Wedding needed. It’s fancy enough to impress a date, but not so fancy that you need to book. And there are nearly as many vegan choices as vegetarian!
- Sotto, Neue Hochstr. 25, Wedding, details.
La Stella Nera
This pizza joint is cooperatively run by a bunch of lefties (check out their manifesto online). If their political arguments online aren’t enough to convince you to go vegan, the pizzas certainly will. Think homemade vegan ricotta, wood-fired dough, spicy house-smoked tofu. They do char the crust a bit, but it’s intentional, adding just a touch of sour to all that savoury goodness.
- La Stella Nera, Leykestr. 18, Neukölln, website.
Zola
On the leafy banks of Paul-Linke-Ufer (the Kreuzberg Riviera) you will find the refreshingly simple and authentic Zola. The menu changes seasonally, but they play all the classics: Margarita, Parma, Buffala, all cooked in a real wood fire oven for no longer than 90 seconds.
Original owner Łukasz Sołowiej describes their traditional Napoli recipe as : “flour, yeast, water, salt and passion” and you can definitely taste the passion.
- Zola, Paul-Lincke-Ufer 39-40, Kreuzberg, details.
W Pizza
Remember that name, Lukasz Sołowiej? He branched out after Zola, adding another secret ingredient to his incredible pizza: weed. The W in W Pizza stands for Weed and Wheat. Expect the same bubbly and blistered Neapolitan style pizza that you got at Zola, but with some non-intoxicating additions that add a greenish tint and a deeper nutty flavour. No stress narks, you can still get an all wheat version if you don’t feel like a walk on the wild side.
- W Pizza, Fuldastr. 31, Neukölln, details.
Mangiare
Alessandro Piras needed a place to store the foodstuffs he’d been importing from his native Sardinia. But as luck would have it, the Keller he was renting in in Moabit’s Arminiusmarkthalle came complete with a market stall! And so he began making classic Neapolitan pizzas with everything he was being sent. They exploded in popularity during lockdown, and have now become a Kreuzberg classic.
- Mangiare, Prinzenstraße 85d, Kreuzberg, details.
Malafemmena
Regularly lauded as the best of the best Neapolitan pizzas in Berlin, Malafemena is, well, excellent. Our only criticism is that you can’t get a table at the Prenzlauer Berg branch!
- Malafemmena, Hauptstr. 85, Schöneberg OR Danziger Str. 16, Prenzlauer Berg, details.
Lovebirds
With La Pausa, the king of the mediocre (but irresistibly cheap) right there on the same Platz, you’d be crazy to open another pizzeria within spitting distance, right? Apparently not. Putting his own spin on the classics, master pizza instructor Gianluca Simonato also serves his pizza as Roman-style slices, if that’s more your vibe. It can be a little unorthodox, but that’s kind of the point.
- Lovebirds, Rosenthaler Str. 3, Mitte, details.
Gazzo
There’s Neapolitan pizza, there’s the pale imitators and then there’s Gazzo, a new-school hybrid featuring a sourdough crust and local-artisanal toppings. What’s the secret? Jumping on the hyperlocal sourcing trend, by partnering up with a buffalo farm in Brandenburg. That means as-fresh-as-it-gets mozzarella, ricotta and burrata for its pizzas, and milk so creamy it’s almost already soft-serve.
Al Catzone
This quirky, all-vegan pizzeria, sitting in a renovated Sozialkaufhaus (complete with coin operated children’s rides) might seem like it is just a gimmick. The reality is that Al Catzone offers some of the best “impossible food” versions of your favourite carnivore pizzas. Don’t skip the starters though, the montanara (fried mini-pizzas) are our favourite.
- Al Catzone, Entrance on Mehringplatz, Brandesstr. 7, Kreuzberg, details.
Ammazza Che Pizza
The secret is resting the dough two to three days, according to Maurizio Cilento. That’s how he gets the light fluffy crusts on his pizzas. Expect the standard options topping wise, but all with excellent ingredients. The pasta and antipasti options available here are also excellent, and make the perfect accompaniment for an after work Aperol Spritz.
- Ammazza che Pizza, Maybachufer 21, Neukölln, details.
Capvin
There’s a time for tradition, and there’s a time for innovation. When Jan Hunke decided he wanted his own Neapolitan pizza shop, he opted for tradition. He bought the recipes, flour stash and name of third generation pizzaiolo, Vincenzo Capuano. When buying equipment for the restaurant, he went innovative, opting for large golden scissors instead of pizza cutters. After two successful ventures in his (imaginary) hometown of Bielefeld, his third in Berlin is going strong.
- Capvin, Weinbergsweg 24, Mitte, details.
L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele
L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele is the sister restaurant of a legendary Naples institution. The pizzas are often too large to fit into a pizza box, so it’s better to dine in for the full experience.
- L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, Fritz-Reuter-Str. 7, Schöneberg, details.
Nea Pizza 1889
Almost the entire staff at Nea were born and raised in Naples. Chef Oscar Eisa ensures that every ingredient that graces the chewy, blistered dough comes straight from his homeland. While sweets at most pizzerias are an afterthought, the traditional pastries baked here will make even the crankiest nonna nostalgic. Don’t forget the takeaway desserts!
- Nea Pizza 1889, Chausseestr. 49, Mitte, website.
Stranero
Since 2014 Stranero in Wedding has been serving up authentic Neapolitan pizza in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. You can often walk in without a reservation, and the antipasti selection is worth saving stomach space for as well.
- Stranero, Liebenwalder Str. Wedding, details.
Prometeo
Prometeo takes its name from the legend of Prometheus, as well as its love for fire. This Schöneberg restaurant serves up authentic Neapolitan pizza in their wood burning oven. If you time it right, you can even see them preparing their own Porchetta, or Italian sucking pig. Both options have your mouth watering? You get both when you order the Porchetta pizza.
- Promoteo, Goebenstr. 3, Schöneberg, details.
Rosso Berlin
This is the only place in Berlin that serves Pinza Romana, an ancestral form of the snack with dough that incorporates soy and rice flour, extra water and long fermentation times. The resulting crust is crisp on the bottom, chewy on top, and full of air pockets. The possibilities are almost endless: a flatbread-like version with tomato sauce and anchovies; puffy focaccia topped with Gorgonzola and mushrooms; Pinsa Romana with grilled zucchini and aubergine, then with artichoke, Pecorino and mint. As everything but the couscous is made al minuto, service is, shall we say, “relaxed”. Have some wine or a Nastro Azzurro beer while waiting for your pizza, and don’t make any important plans before 5pm.
- Rosso, Helmholtzstr. 24, Charlottenburg, details.
