Waltham Abbey, Pizza Restaurant Guide

“Delicious thin-crust pizzas” win consistently high ratings for this 10-strong chain across north, east and south London. They are a socially conscious bunch who contributed 8,000 meals to NHS staff during the pandemic.

“Delicious thin-crust pizzas” win consistently high ratings for this 10-strong chain across north, east and south London. They are a socially conscious bunch who contributed 8,000 meals to NHS staff during the pandemic.

2021 Review: “A top local” – this small, basic-looking three-year-old between Wood Green and Tottenham is worth remembering for its “great pizzas along with superb pastas”.

“Top Neapolitan pizza”, say fans of this Kensal Rise 11-year-old and its Crouch End offshoot, which offers a “limited and delicious menu (they stick to what they know) in cool surroundings”.

“Delicious thin-crust pizzas” win consistently high ratings for this 10-strong chain across north, east and south London. They are a socially conscious bunch who contributed 8,000 meals to NHS staff during the pandemic.

2022 Review: In gentrifying Clapton – this ‘pizza pub’ (on the former site of The Elephant’s Head) is the creation of the founders of two pizza multiples: Santa Maria (Pasquale Chionchio & Angelo Ambrosio) and Firezza (Edin Basic). Craft beers and live music complete the offering.

2023 Review: This well-known Finsbury Park fixture celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and is well established as a hub for north London’s Italian community as well as locals drawn by its reliable “cheap and cheerful” Italian comfort food, led by pizza from the wood-fired stove. There’s a bar in case you have to wait for a table, and bambini are made to feel welcome.

“Delicious thin-crust pizzas” win consistently high ratings for this 10-strong chain across north, east and south London. They are a socially conscious bunch who contributed 8,000 meals to NHS staff during the pandemic.

Hang with the hip crowd at this groovy Hackney Wick haunt – a canal-side warehouse (‘The White Building’) just across the water from the Olympic Park, with a big outside terrace. On the menu: affordable and yummy pizza, washed down with quality brews from the in-house microbrewery. Downside? At busy times it’s a bit of a zoo.

“Down a classic dodgy Dalston alleyway, this beautiful place awaits!” (there’s also an offshoot in Green Lanes, Haringey). “I love the good old Dusty Knuckle”, which inspires affection not just for its “absolutely top bread, pastries and sarnies” plus “excellent coffee”; but also for its social enterprise role supporting at-risk young East Londoners.

“It’s hard to be ‘special’ with pizza these days with so much competition, but the eye-catching options give an edge” to this popular nine-strong chain, whose calling card is a choice of four different 48-hour fermented pizza bases, including the distinctive black vegetable charcoal. Their latest opening is in Canary Wharf.

This lively bottle shop and local in De Beauvoir Town does a good trade in Neapolitan-style pizzas and a small selection of Italian starters and mains – not surprisingly, it attracts “loadsa families, so choose your time carefully”.

2022 Review: A late 2020 arrival in Hackney – this new haunt bills itself as ‘a neighbourhood oasis in east london’. It’s a large space (200 covers), complete with bar made out of recycled materials and garden courtyard. Everything is ‘curated’ including the craft pizza. No survey feedback as yet, but the general social buzz about the place is a good one.

“Glorious-tasting authentic Neapolitan pizza”, “with interesting toppings that are quite unique”, is the USP of this Ealing-based operation launched in 2010 by Naples-born duo Angelo and Pasquale, which has grown in recent years into a small group with outlets as far away as Islington and Fitzrovia. Their “aim is to transport you to Naples, and the pizzas live up to the ambition”.

2022 Review: Adding Indian spicing to pasta and crispy Italian pizza explains the name of Devinder Singh’s Tufnell Park venue, which opened in Spring 2020. Early bird feedback suggests it's a concept that ‘has legs’.

2021 Review: A 140-seater ‘craft bar and kitchen’ near some soon-to-be developed railway arches in hip Bethnal Green that opened in June 2019, too late for any survey feedback. It’s open from breakfast on – at lunch and thereafter the main menu offering is pizza.