Chertsey, Pizza Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: These “buzzing family-run Italians” in southwest London create “an exceptional atmosphere” for large parties of all ages – and “they won’t break the bank”. “Despite the celebratory brouhaha, they produce a very respectable menu of traditional dishes – fish stew, duck, pizza on demand” – “even the veggies are catered for”. “Expect noise and old people dancing.”

2021 Review: These “buzzing family-run Italians” in southwest London create “an exceptional atmosphere” for large parties of all ages – and “they won’t break the bank”. “Despite the celebratory brouhaha, they produce a very respectable menu of traditional dishes – fish stew, duck, pizza on demand” – “even the veggies are catered for”. “Expect noise and old people dancing.”

“Worth a detour” – “some of the best pizza outside Italy” is found at this “excellent Neapolitan pizzeria”, “run by an Italian family in an unlikely suburban location” in Ealing. “The barman makes a mean negroni to get the evening off to a great start”.

“The pizza is second to none”, combining “top-quality ingredients and fabulous bases” at this quartet of “bustling” pizzerias founded 15 years ago by Neapolitan-born Angelo and Pasquale. Since launching in Ealing, they have expanded slowly to Fulham, Islington and Fitzrovia – and the extent to which they’ve maintained their ratings is an achievement for an expanding group.

2021 Review: These “buzzing family-run Italians” in southwest London create “an exceptional atmosphere” for large parties of all ages – and “they won’t break the bank”. “Despite the celebratory brouhaha, they produce a very respectable menu of traditional dishes – fish stew, duck, pizza on demand” – “even the veggies are catered for”. “Expect noise and old people dancing.”

2022 Review: A “lovely local” near Turnham Green, this “family-owned Italian” is “tiny but with terrific food and atmosphere”. There’s a good range of pizzas but the Puglian dishes are what makes it special.

2021 Review: “The best pizza in the area” – “thin, very tasty” and in “large” portions – wins fans for this “friendly” family-owned trio that has built a solid following in Fulham and Putney over two decades. SW15 is primarily take-out and delivery (but has some outside seating).

“The slow-rise sourdough bases are like nothing ever tasted before” – this “small and friendly” three-year-old Hammersmith independent now has spinoffs in Barnes and Putney, and serves “unusual and unusually good pizza”. Founder Tim Thornton is a jazz bassist whose lockdown project – baking pizzas to raise funds for the NHS – took over his life. “I went all the way to Naples and had what was supposed to be ‘the best pizza in town’, and I’m not sure it was any better than at Base Face!”

“Thin and crispy pizza with coarse semolina in the base” is the main focus at this smart Notting Hill pub conversion, where “the tapas-style starters and excellent pizzas are rather more interesting than the main-course choices”. The Oak W12 near Ravenscourt Park and the Bird in Hand at Brook Green operate on similar lines.

2021 Review: “The best pizza in the area” – “thin, very tasty” and in “large” portions – wins fans for this “friendly” family-owned trio that has built a solid following in Fulham and Putney over two decades. SW15 is primarily take-out and delivery (but has some outside seating).

2021 Review: “The best pizza in the area” – “thin, very tasty” and in “large” portions – wins fans for this “friendly” family-owned trio that has built a solid following in Fulham and Putney over two decades. SW15 is primarily take-out and delivery (but has some outside seating).

2021 Review: “Neapolitan influences are evident in the choice of ingredients, and the wood-burning oven makes for good, chewy, charred crusts, unlike most high-street pizzas” – so say fans of this global chain, whose HQ is indeed in Naples. Not everyone is impressed, though, and ratings are dragged down by those who feel it’s merely an “everyday” choice: “OK for a bog-standard group, but not great”.

2022 Review: With its foliage, fairy lights and heaters, this September 2020 newcomer – where tables are predominantly outside – injects a festive spark into a quirky space, next to Shepherd’s Bush market and the Goldhawk Road tube bridge (opposite the station). Founders Will Fuller of Soho House Group and Frazer Timmerman of Incipio Group aimed, apparently, to import a bit of East London groove to this converted railway arch and adjoining large yard, and judging by it being permanently packed they’ve succeeded! Pizza is the menu mainstay and staff try hard. A 120-seater, it’s also available for events.

“Lush pizza” that’s reliably “top-quality” has driven the expansion of this Islington-based group that has developed four different 48-hour ferment bases – including gluten-free and ‘black vegetable charcoal’ versions to reduce stomach gas; so “everyone’s happy”. The eight-year-old group now has nine sites in the capital (including a new one labelled as ‘Chelsea’ but on Fulham Broadway) and one in Reading.

“More hit ’n’ miss than they used to be, but still a go-to chain” – the Elliot brothers’ successful group is heading towards 20 branches in the capital, but “still producing quality dishes despite becoming quite a brand”: “lovely scorched, pillowy-based pizzas with plenty of power in the ingredients” and “reasonably priced for the quality!” Latest to launch, in June 2024, was a branch by Euston.

“Great food and drink, especially pizza” makes it worth remembering this stylish (if sometimes noisy) Olympia pub-conversion, a few minutes’ walk from Brook Green (part of the Oak group).

“The pizza is second to none”, combining “top-quality ingredients and fabulous bases” at this quartet of “bustling” pizzerias founded 15 years ago by Neapolitan-born Angelo and Pasquale. Since launching in Ealing, they have expanded slowly to Fulham, Islington and Fitzrovia – and the extent to which they’ve maintained their ratings is an achievement for an expanding group.

“The secret is well and truly out now” – “Carl (the owner) makes some of the best pizza in London”, selling out daily from the unpromising-looking Hammersmith boozer he was born in (near the bridge, behind Riverside studios). His ‘pies’ are “insane”, fully justifying “the hype about being the best” created by influencers including Dave Portnoy of America’s Barstool Sports and rapper Action Bronson. A former semi-pro footballer, Carl McCluskey developed his own recipe for NYC-style crisp-base pizza when he took over the Chancellors pub in – yes – Crisp Road when his grandmother retired during the pandemic. He has talked of moving to Mayfair, but as of summer 2024 was still pumping out the pizzas on home turf.