Sutton, Pizza Restaurant Guide

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

This “old-school” Notting Hill Italian has been “a great crowd-pleaser for the whole family” for more than 30 years. According to one local: “you will not have a great meal but on the other hand I’ve never had a bad one” – as a result it can be “extremely busy, but the service is great” and keeps on top of things. Essenza and Mediterraneo in the same street (see also) are its younger stablemates.

This “good, reliable Italian local” in Wimbledon Village majors in home-made pasta and thin-crust pizza, while “other items like calves’ liver are lovely”. “The midweek offers are not as good as they used to be”, however, while “the menu rarely changes”.

“Very good pizzas” are the pick of the broad Italian menu (also with seafood on display) at this Notting Hill Gate fixture, where the best seats in summer are on the large outside terrace. With a “great family atmosphere”, it’s “very much a local restaurant, and all the better for that!”.

“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.

Near the Albert Hall, on a quirky site built in the Venetian Gothic style to please Queen Victoria, this “typically bustling family-run Italian” opened in 1967, and offers a “standard menu, with properly cooked pasta” and dependable pizza. “Kids are really well looked after, just like being in Italy” – as Princess Diana found, when she used to take Wills and Harry out for a treat from nearby Kensington Palace.

Review: “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.

“Excellent tapas, half a dozen paellas and good pizza as well” make this “homespun” local by Chiswick’s Bedford Park a “pleasant but simple place to eat”. It’s “very good value”, with an attractive terrace for warmer months.

“Evolving the humble pizza into something that’s much more”: Michele Pascarella opened five years ago in Chiswick just off the high street in this “small, rather cramped and noisy” spot. Fans say that pizza “doesn’t get better than this” and they are “imaginative” in style, with a selection that‘s “seasonally changing, plus classics”.

“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.

“Real quality pizza, good portion sizes and reasonable prices” have driven the rapid growth of this Chelsea-based group, launched five years ago by Carmelo Meli and Emanuele Tagliarini. A couple of reports also give a shout out to the “short but reasonably priced wine list”.

“A stunning space that’s great for a fun night out” – Big Mamma group’s “exotic” Kensington mega-trattoria is “definitely a place to impress” (especially if you are relatively young-at-heart). With four floors, 4,000 sq ft and 170 seats, it would be amazing if its pizza, pasta and other Italian fare was totally consistent, but the poor reports from last year have subsided and it received a much better rep this year.