In October 2019 we posted our article about the search for “the best pizza in Athens”. But now we have updated our choices and here is our new verdict :
Pizza is probably one of the most famous dishes in the world. Pizza, as we know it, was invented in Naples and since then, along with its variants, has spread all over the world. In 2009, upon Italy’s request, Neapolitan pizza was registered with the European Union as a Traditional Guaranteed Dish and in 2017 the art of its making was included by UNESCO in its list of intangible cultural heritage. In Athens, you can find numerous places making pizza, as it is one of Greeks’ most beloved dishes. In this article, we are going to present our top picks for delicious and unique pizza in Athens and its suburbs. We have concentrated on places that make almost exclusively pizza and excluded trattorias, Italian restaurants, or any other kind of restaurant.
Crust : In the revived neighbourhood of Psyri, Crust opens at noon every day and offers excellent and delicious authentic New York pizza. The dough is fluffy and at the same time crispy, while the ingredients are always fresh. Perfectly baked and offering a wide variety of combinations, it is going to be hard to stop at one slice. (Protogenous 13, Psyri – Athens)
School Pizza Bar : Probably the most popular pizzeria in the city center. Always crowded, it offers tasty Italian pizza with a few American touches. The dough is thin and crispy. There is a good range of combinations and the pizza is always perfectly baked. The decoration of the restaurant which resembles a school classroom is also very interesting. (Plateia Agia Eirinis 8, Athens)
Smak : This place is one of these pleasant surprises you could find in downtown Athens. The place is the result of the effort and the will of four friends to make good pizza and peinirli. The difference here is in the dough, which is prepared and seasoned for six days. The pizza is always baked the moment you order it and has a distinct shape with the edges raised. (Romvis 21, Athens)
Granello : Excellent pizza near Syntagma Square with tasty, crispy and flavouring dough from a cook who learned who to make it in the UK. The place is perfect for those who want pizza to be extra thin. The quality and variety of toppings is very good and original (try pizza truffa for something completely different). (Perikleous 18, Syntagma – Athens)
La Bella Napoli : A small pizzeria hidden in the streets of Dafni that makes probably the best authentic Italian pizza in the city. Here they make pizza in the original Neapolitan way and use only Italian products. The choices are not many but each one of them is very tasty. This place is a real Italian experience. (Roumpesi 64, Dafni – Athens)
Tzaiant (Τζάιντ): This little pizzeria is a new arrival in the city for pizza lovers. With amazing dough that matures for 48 hours and in ten unique tasty combinations, here you will try a pizza that subverts the usual. Beef with eggplant and sausage with broccoli are two very tasty combinations that you will hardly try anywhere else. (Georgaki Olympiou 21, Koukaki – Athens)
Oh_my Pinsa! : Pinsa is considered the ancestor of pizza and its origin goes back to Ancient Rome. The shape is rectangular, not round and the dough, although thin, is extremely tasty. The combinations of flavours are imaginative and the quality of ingredients is excellent. The pizzeria is a fresh proposal in the ever-rising neighbourhood of Pagrati, and the shop itself is bright with a few tables on the sidewalk. Our favourite combination here is prosciutto crudo with arugula and parmesan. If you come once it is certain that you will come again. (Efranoros 21, Pagrati – Athens)
Mystic Pizza and Pasta : This restaurant has been operating for the last nineteen years (in Exarchia and later in Pagrati) and is one of the places which has taught Athenians to seek and eat quality pizza. The secret here is in the dough is made with flour from organic cannabis sativa, and gives pizza a unique taste. Mystic owes its success to its original recipes and the high-quality organic products they use. Recently they have added to the menu a selection of very tasty vegan pizzas. (Emmanouel Mpenaki 76, Exarchia & Ferekydou 2, Pagrati – Athens)
Just Pizza : In the streets of Zografou, you will find this small pizzeria, loved by the university students who live in the area (due to its proximity to the university campus). The two cooks had worked as pizza chefs in various restaurants in Greece and abroad, before opening their pizzeria. The pizza is thin and tasty with fresh ingredients and well baked in a wood oven. The variety is sufficient and they also make excellent calzone. (Mouskou 21, Zografou)
Nonna Edda : What started as a common secret among the inhabitants of Kesariani, it’s now considered one of the best Italian pizzas in the city, made by an Italian. The difference here is in the extra thin and extra tasty dough. Delicious, perfectly baked, always hot from the oven, and made with authentic Italian products. You have a choice between red pizza (with tomato sauce ) and white pizza (without tomato sauce) (Ethnikis Antistaseos 62-64, Kesariani)
Tzimmy’s Pizza : Although this pizzeria is famous in its area for many years, we learned about it relatively recently. If you like classic pizzas, as they were made in Greece during the ’80s and ’90s, but with quality ingredients, do not hesitate to order from this family pizzeria. Perfectly baked, rich, and always hot, this pizza will never disappoint you. (Proedrou Drakaki 10, Agios Dimitrios)
Coupepe (Bake & Shake) : Far from the city center, this place deserves every km you will drive to find it. It started as a small place with three tables and now it is one of the most famous pizzerias in town. The dough is tasty and fresh, but what makes this place stand out is the originality of the toppings they use. Chestnuts, chorizo, Iberian sausage, German speck, bresaola and curry are only a few of the things you could taste on their pizzas. They have a distinction between red and white (bianca) pizzas, and also some excellent sweet ones. (Plateia Heroon Polytechneiou 31, Penteli)
We are sure there are many more places that make good pizza in the city, so your suggestions are more than welcome.