There's no food as ubiquitous as pizza. From .99 slices in New York City to artisan pies in Italy to thick crust colossi in Chicago, there's a pizza out there for every palate. As such, pizza is more than the amalgamation of dough, sauce, and cheese — it's a spectrum that encapsulates, in many ways, the entirety of human experience. There's the really good, the really, really bad, and a whole lot of the in-between.
And the beauty of pizza is its ability to be beloved at every level: After a few martinis, that bar pie doesn't look too bad. A frozen pizza is a welcome respite for a roaring stomach when your fridge is empty. When it's done right, though, a humble pizza is hard to beat. Hell, the perfect pie probably beats even a Michelin-starred meal, proving pizza, though not fine dining, per se, is a fine art in its own right.
But it isn't always. And it hasn't always been. In 16th-century Naples, when topped, a galette, which is a flat, open-faced pastry, was called "pizza," a word which now has contested roots; some say it stems from "pitta," a Greek word for flatbread, while others trace it back to "bizzo," a word for bite. (The Greeks made their own form of pizza first.)
Either way, it was known as a dish for poor people — a meal that made the most of readily available ingredients. It didn't take off, or even come served with tomato sauce, until the Spanish brought them to Italy from the Americas. The first "pizza" with red sauce, basil, and mozzarella cheese was eventually served to Queen Margherita of Savoy during a visit to Naples as an ode to the colors of the Italian flag. Tethered to Italian culture from thereon forward, it traveled with Italians as they emigrated.
Now, while traditionally Italian, it's, in many ways, the world's food, both a bridge between cultures and centuries. From Tokyo, Japan to New Haven, Connecticut, world-class pizza awaits. Get it while it's hot.
Ooni Halo Pro Spiral Mixer
Never mind the toppings — great pizza starts with great dough. Known for their pizza ovens, Ooni is tackling the base with its Halo Pro Spiral Mixer. Unlike standard stand mixers, this powerhouse uses pro-level spiral mixing to build a stronger gluten network, giving your dough that perfect stretch, rise, and airy texture. The dual-kneading action does the hard work for you, while the 58-speed control lets you fine-tune every batch. Plus, the high-capacity, dishwasher-safe bowl makes cleanup a breeze.
Sho Pizza Bar
1309 McGavock Pk, Nashville, TN
Acclaimed American chef Sean Brock is bringing Tokyo-style pies stateside with his newest venture, Sho Pizza Bar. The obsessive, omnipresent culinary talent worked tirelessly, ever since his first tasting of a Tokyo pizza in 2016, to become what the Japanese call shokunin, which essentially translates to master craftsman. He learned the ins and outs of the style, all while making his own tweaks to dough preparation, oven temperature, and wood-style. Here, Tokyo-style pizza comes to life, with Brock adapting to their methodologies, not the other way around.
Pizzeria da Attilio
Via Pignasecca, 17, Napoli, Italy
Located in one of Naples' liveliest working-class neighborhoods, Pizzeria da Attilio serves classic Neapolitan pies alongside a few house specials — including pizzas shaped like an 8-pointed star. Now run by the third generation of the founding family, they've been in business since 1938, serving whole pies only to dine-in guests at tables spread between two small dining rooms. They don't take reservations, but the chewy, gooey, plate-sized pies cooked in a stone-clad, wood-fired oven are well worth the wait.
Una Pizza Napoletana
175 Orchard St, New York, NY
For the best pizza outside Italy, experts would argue, head to Una Pizza Napoletana, where Neapolitan pies are hand-crafted with unmatched precision. And at an odd cadence. Though pizza is traditionally a dish designed to be eaten all day round, pizza expert Anthony Mangieri's Una Pizza Napoletana only opens three days a week. When open, he's the one shaping the pies and tending to the wood-burning oven, which spits out pies with airy edges, paper-thin bottoms, and amalgamated upsides of mozzarella di bufala and sweet San Marzano tomato and Amalfi Wild Oregano sauce.
Confine
Piazza Cardinal Massaia, Milano, Italy
In a minimal, modern space sheltered by an unsuspecting facade, intersected by art galleries and smaller, family-run restaurants, lies Confine, which is arguably the best place in Milan for pizza. And likely the only place on this list where there's an optional cocktail or wine pairing menu. Here, the wood-fired pies satisfy purists and Instagram-era "foodies" with one menu, acing the iconic margherita and offering house specials like the Popeye, which comes topped with spinach cooked down in fine French butter, Parmesan, a marinated egg yolk, a helping of steak tartare, and shavings of local black truffle.
Strada Pizza
106-0045 Tokyo, Minato City, Azabujuban
Crowned the best pizza in Tokyo several times over, Strada Pizza, known locally as Variety Pizza for its menu's wide range of toppings and accouterments, applies Japanese precision to Italy's most famous export. Prepared right in front of patrons behind a neck-level glass window, the whole experience recounts Japan omakase restaurants, where fine, fresh ingredients lie in wait and are then prepared inches from their eventual destination (your mouth).
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
157 Wooster St, New Haven, CT 06511
Though it's now a viral tourist destination, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut, has the humblest of roots. But that changed fast. Founded in 1925 by its namesake, Frank Pepe, who immigrated to the United States as a teen in 1909 and began selling his pies off a wagon around the Wooster neighborhood, it was at one point the largest restaurant in America. To this day, the thin crust, New Haven-style pizzas — the most popular being the tomato pie, which is served without cheese — are cooked in red-hot, coal-fired brick ovens modeled after the original.
Bella Brutta
135 King St, Newtown NSW 2042, Australia
Though clam pies are a staple of the New Haven pizza scene, Bella Brutta, located in Sydney, Australia, made a name for itself internationally with its iteration, which marries light, airy, and slightly tangy dough, thanks to the fermentation process, with a sunctuous, chowder-like sauce, topped with tender sea clams, chillis, fresh parsley, and a quick squeeze of a ripe lemon. There are options on the menu, of course, like a perfectly executed margherita, but foodies flock from all over the world for their signature pie.
Dough Hands
The Spurstowe Arms, 68 Greenwood Rd, London
Technically still a pop-up, the aptly named Dough Hands rotates from location to location, riding out what they call "residencies." But with pizza this good, people follow — from nearby neighborhoods and faraway countries. The antonym of a coal-fired New Haven pie, these pizzas are light and floppy, much like how the traditionalists do it in Naples and New York. But don't let a soft bottom scare you. With a menu that's equal parts inventive and true to the form, you're sure to find a combination that satiates you — or, at the very least, tests your understanding of the dish. It's an establishment that once again reminds diners that pizza, though a working man's food, if you will, should be treated with the same respect you give sushi or steak.
Oobatz
4bis Av. Jean Aicard, 75011 Paris
With a compact menu featuring four staples and one "chef's choice," Paris' buzzy Oobatz isn't your typical pizzaiolo. Though the pies skew traditional — crispy, nicely charred, and topped with the usual haunts: red sauce, gumdrops of mozzarella di bufala, and basil — the pop-up-turned-fixture relies on sourdough base to differentiate itself from bar pies and offers an extensive natural wine list, and will kindly point you to the wine that'll pair best with the pie destined for your table (or your takeaway box).
How to Make Dough at Home
Pizzas like those offered by the above establishments are easier to make at home with Ooni's new dual-action Halo Pro Spiral Mixer, which mixes and kneads ingredients against the stainless steel breaker bar, creating elongated gluten strands that the dough needs to develop and proof effectively.
Ingredients:
• 774g of lukewarm water
• 40g of fresh yeast or 13g instant dried yeast or 20g active dried yeast
• 40g of salt
• 1290g of 00 flour
• Or buy it frozen from Ooni
Instructions:
1. Attach your Spiral Dough Hook & Breaker Bar to your Ooni Halo Pro and switch the mixer on.
2. Add all of the 00 flour into the Halo Pro stainless steel bowl. If needed, place the bowl on the Ooni Dual Platform Scales to weigh the flour before attaching it to the mixer.
3. In a separate jug or bowl, combine all the water, salt, and yeast. Stir gently until fully dissolved.
4. Mixing at 25% / 120 RPM, pour the water mixture into Halo Pro's bowl with the flour. Set the timer to mix for 10 minutes.
5. Set Ooni Halo Pro to 0% speed (0 RPM) and start a 10-minute timer. Allow the dough to rest in the bowl with the splash guard fully closed during this time.
6. Once resting time is up, mix at 15% / 90 RPM for an additional 30 seconds to smooth the dough and strengthen the gluten network.
7. Release the head of the Halo Pro and tilt upwards to easily remove the bowl, keeping the dough inside covered with a damp dish towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
8. When the dough is ready, use Ooni Dough Tools to divide and weigh the dough into equal portions based on your desired pizza size: 8 x 250g for 12-inch pizzas, 7 x 300g for 14-inch pizzas, or 6 x 350g for 16-inch pizzas.
9. Sprinkle Ooni Pizza Dough Boxes with 00 flour and place each dough ball inside to prove. Leave to rise in a warm place for another 30 to 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
10. It's time to get cooking. Fire up your Ooni oven of choice and enjoy.
