08 Feb 2023
The best pizza's you have to try in Sydney
Pizza is everyone’s best friend…we’re fairly certain that that’s a quote somewhere right? It’s there to pick you up after your workday lows, it stands at the ready for your post-party party with your best friends, and it’s definitely there for your anniversary date with your partner. Sinfully tasty no matter whether it’s loaded with gourmet prosciutto or traditional pepperoni, a hot slice of woodfire crusted pizza never hurt anyone. All that, and topped with melty cheese – what’s not to love?
With an inner west success story like Pizza Da Mario under their belt, it’s a no-brainer that the team would open a second venue. And that the venue would become one of Sydney’s favourite pizzerias.
Purveyors of Pizza Napoletana and authentic Italian food, the pizza here comes Naples style, freshly wood-fired in their three-tonne oven and hell-bent on allowing the ingredients to take centre stage. You’ll find chewy, puffy crusts, and fresh ingredients, no excessive toppings crowd the room here.
Their staples are the pizzas they craft; simple and no-fuss mouthwatering goodness. Their pasta and calzone come equally as loved, but really, you won’t go wrong with any dish here.
What pizza should you try at Da Mario? Dish Cult recommends the $27 Margherita Con Bresaola.
The OG is a Surry Hills stalwart, and their new kid on the block is a Darlinghurst darling. With their newer outpost, owners Ken Willians and Drew Huston have successfully lived out their longtime dream of a massive woodfired pizza oven. The pies they sling at Dimitri’s are now the best they’ve ever been – and the crowds packed into this spot will attest to that.
Adventurous and kooky innovation is the heart here, and you’ll find traditional-style dough topped with perhaps the most unexpected of toppings.
A fan favourite is the Bee Sting with its housemade tomato sauce, in-house mozzarella, free-range sappressa, hot honey, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Other offerings on their tasty lineup include spuds (yes, you can live your carbs on carbs dream), creamed corn, and macadamia nuts.
What pizza should you try at Dimitri’s Pizzeria? Dish Cult recommends the $26 Bee Sting.
Racking up some serious accolades, the eponymous Lucio Pizzeria is helmed by none other than Naples-native pizza maestro Lucio De Falco himself, best pizza in Australia and the fifth-best pizza in the world in 2018.
The Darlinghurst restaurant has beautiful alfresco dining and is a testament to authentic bang-up Italian food. The pizzas here are done true Neopolitan style, and one of their signatures is a half margherita half calzone treat.
A slice here is a slice of Naples tucked away in our very own Darlinghurst corner. The pizza lineup includes mainstays and rotating specials with toppings like buffalo mozzarella cheese, sausages, capers, and hot salami. Food comas await.
What pizza should you try at Lucio Pizzeria? Dish Cult recommends the $24 Lucio Pizza.
The longtime dream of Sydney’s food scene power duo Savage and Hildebrandt (the team behind Monopole and Bentley), Ria is a pizza joint slinging what you’ll come to realise is Italian food by way of Sydney.
The dough crust is first crispy then chewy, and each of the pies here come loaded with a range of toppings from traditional to Aussie-inspired with salami, nduja, and octopus and prawns. Our tastebuds are weeping silently right now.
Snacks here feature Sydney rock oysters and burrata in olive oil, and that should be enough to tip you off to the fact that this isn’t a regular pizza parlour. It’s not quite play-by-the-rules Italian, with heavy Aussie influence and upmarket toppings that’s casual upscale dining delivering really, really good pizza every time.
What pizza should you try at Ria Pizza and Wine? Dish Cult recommends the $28 Shaved Prosciutto, Clam, Capers and Chervil Pizza.
Tucked away at the heart of Redfern lies La Coppola, one of Sydney’s finest pizza institutions, serving up hot slices of Sicilian style pies. Soft and puffy dough is a match made in heaven with a crispy base, and ingredients that are a mix of Italian imports and homegrown Aussie goodness.
On the repertoire here you’ll find family-inspired recipes, pizzas named after people, and a rotation of specials on any given night. The space is small, casual, and cosy, and you’ll feel the familiar warmth of home (if your home were an Italian neighbourhood) over flavourful slices of pizza and bruschetta dusted with parmigiano reggiano.
What pizza should you try at La Coppola? Dish Cult recommends the $25 Milazzo.
Matteo’s is gorgeous southern Italian-style dining, and the pizza dough here is stretchy, light and elastic, the product of a double-proofing technique that ensures there’s no yeast in the dough.
The pizzas are the star of the show at this beloved joint, and you can enjoy a cheesy slice in their alfresco terrace dining that sees an ever-rotating stream of DJ’s, vibes, and good food. The space is fitted out perfectly in sync with upscale elegance, with stained marble finishings and high ceilings that whisk you straight to the streets of Milan city living.
Aside from their woodfired gems, also on offer here are minute steaks, a wide range of antipasti and pasta and dessert – all done to Italian perfection.
What pizza should you try at Matteo? Dish Cult recommends the $23 Siciliana.
Authenticity meets creative flair at Bella Brutta, and the brains behind this joint are big names in Sydney’s hospo scene. Pulling out the big guns with this pizzeria, you’ll find it doesn’t fit into any one particular style.
Bottom line is, you won’t be too sure exactly what style of pizza you’re eating, but you’ll be wishing you could devour it twice as fast because of how good it tastes.
With a name meaning “beautiful ugly”, pizzas here are served hot and charred from the blistering woodfired oven heat, full of flavour and texture that’s next-level delicious. Don’t miss their surf clam and pecorino pizza, and grab their ricotta cannoli for a sweet/savoury finish that’ll colour you happy.
What pizza should you try at Matteo? Dish Cult recommends the $30 Clam Pizza.