Ammazza che Pizza. Photo by Jane Silver
They say pizza is like sex – it’s good even when it’s bad, but rarely is it truly memorable. You’ve got to have a gimmick to stand out in Berlin’s overcrowded market these days, and these four pizzerias have found theirs.
THE €1 AMERICAN SLICE: SALAMI SOCIAL CLUB
Photo by Jane Silver
Salami Social Club delivers everything its name promises – meat, hoppy beers, friendly laddish vibes – but not only. With a pliable sourdough crust sturdy enough to hold all manner of imaginative toppings, this Friedrichshain joint is a clear front-runner in the admittedly limited field of US-style pizza in Berlin. Some may say the British-American owners’ decision to slather each slice in garlic butter, Parmesan and pesto mayonaise unless ordered otherwise is a bit much, but you’re not here for subtlety. You’re here for salami – Italian, Spanish or even Hungarian, combined with burrata cheese or chilli honey. Or sausage, made in-house or sourced from beloved Kiwi butcher The Sausage Man Never Sleeps (who does “oven takeovers” from time to time). Their best vegetarian pie is the “Kürbis” with sweet sliced squash, goat cheese and black olives; vegans will be into the version with mushrooms, caramelised onions and pine nuts. Just be advised there’s no regular vegan by-the-slice option, and whole pizzas (€8-11, easily serves two) can take up to 45 minutes to arrive in the packed, pint-sized space. Nurse a Berliner Berg (€3.50/0.3L) while you wait, or come back for the vaunted €1 slice night (Thu 18-1:30), a weekly free-for-all in which pizzas are set out and immediately devoured by a hungry mob that spills out the door onto the pavement. Upcoming outposts at Renate (this month) and Else (from May) will make the “club” in the name literal.
Frankfurter Allee 43, Friedrichshain, Sun-Wed 12-24, Thu-Sat 12-1:30
Photo by Anita Richelli
CANNABIS CRUST: W PIZZA
Lukasz Sołowiej, the Polish former head chef at Paul-Linke-Ufer pizzeria Zola, opened his new venture last month in what used to be Neukölln’s Koffer Bar. He’s left the wood oven behind for a bright orange gas one, but fans will still recognise his chewy Neapolitan- style crust, fired for just 90 seconds until bubbly and blistered. What’s different is the option of ordering your pie with hemp-flour dough: the W cheekily stands for “wheat and weed”. This cannabis obviously won’t get you high, but it does contribute a greenish tint and a wholesome, nutty flavour as well as being quite filling – good news for tomorrow’s lunch. An all-wheat version is still on the table, but stick to the hemp mix for the house special with aubergine paste, provola cheese and Italian salsiccia, invented as a pre-opening special and rightly added to the regular menu. The same dough is also used to make the flatbread that’s served with a hefty salad of kale, blood orange, roasted vegetables and that trendy burrata relative called stracciatella (€9). Prices aren’t as high as you’d expect given the quality and the décor (Sołowiej’s co-owner, Darius Suski, is a high-end design dealer and will talk your ear off about the blown-metal Oskar Ziete stools): pizzas start at just €6 (for marinara) and average about €9 (for that aubergine special), though the “weed” crust comes with a €2 surcharge. Save room for a tiramisu that will win over the pickiest of Italians (€5). And if you were among the lucky few who tried Sołowiej’s sourdough bread at Zola, you’ll be happy to know that his bakery ambitions have returned in full force at W. Pick up a hemp-infused or all-wheat loaf (€3-4) and stay tuned for croissants.
Fuldastr. 31, Neukölln, Tue-Fri 18-22, Sat 13-22, Sun 13-21
SLOW DOUGH: AMMAZZA CHE PIZZA
The latest business to try its luck in the “cursed” spot on the corner of Ohlauer Straße and Maybachufer is a Roman-owned pizzeria that looks like a Mitte sushi bar. Anyone who’s passed by Nihombashi on Weinbergsweg will peg Ammazza che Pizza’s childlike, colourful décor as the work of the same designers (a Berlin outfit called Newniq) – even the oven looks like a hungry, red-and-green cartoon monster. Heated with gas for now and wood when the Ordnungsamt gives the okay, it spits out hybrid Roman/Neapolitan-style pizzas with exceptionally light, fluffy crusts thanks to a wheat dough that rests for between 48 and 72 hours before being rolled out. Toppings cover all the Italian basics, with cheese and cured meats imported from around Naples (side note: you know an Italian place is authentic when they list pugliese with anchovies as a “vegan” option). The pies won’t weigh you down, meaning you’re free to try the rest of chef Maurizio Cilento’s menu with impunity. There’s handmade pasta (like a toothsome whole-wheat cavatelli with prawns and pesto, €16), but we’d steer you towards the antipasti special (€14), a giant shared platter you’ll want to order as soon as you see it on someone else’s table. Comprising fried zucchini blossoms, buffalo mozzarella, grilled aubergine, stuffed tomatoes and various other goodies atop a bed of coccoli (fried pizza dough bites), it’s ideal for post-work snacking alongside an Aperol spritz or glass of Leverano house wine (both €4.50).
Maybachufer 21, Neukölln, Tue-Sun 11:30-22:30
Photo by Jane Silver
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT PINSA: ROSSO
Why go all the way to a desolate peninsula on the Charlottenburg-Moabit border for pizza?
Because this one-room storefront is the only place in Berlin that serves Pinza Romana, a newly en-vogue ancestral form of the snack with dough that incorporates soy and rice flour, plus extra water and long fermentation times. The resulting crust is crisp on the bottom and chewy on top, with plentiful air pockets. It’s easy to eat a lot of it – and you can do just that at Rosso’s Sunday brunch (11:30am-4:30pm, reservation recommended). For €13, you get whatever dishes Roman brothers Massimo and Marco feel like making that week, brought fresh from the oven to your table until you’re stuffed. On our visit there was beet carpaccio with capers, sliced oranges with black olives, veggie couscous with rocket-fennel-Parmesan salad… and of course pizza of all kinds: 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 (€3.50/0.25L) or a Nastro Azzurro beer (€2.50) while you’re waiting for your next dish, and don’t make any important plans before 5pm. More impatient types or local office workers can come by during the week for a plain old slice (€2.50) or whole pie (€6.40-11).
Helmholzstr. 24, Charlottenburg, Mon-Fri 11-20, Sun 11:30-16:30
Tip: From Apr 12-18, the True Italian Pizza Week promotion lets you try a whole pizza and glass of wine for €10 at Rosso, Ammazza che Pizza and 27 other Italian restaurants across town.
