Italy, we need to talk. The 50 Top Pizza awards just crowned the world’s best pizzerias for 2026 at a ceremony in Naples. But despite hosting the event on home turf, the birthplace of pizza has officially been knocked down a slice.
The rankings come courtesy of nearly 1,000 anonymous, unpaid inspectors who scout the globe. Visiting each venue at least twice a year, they judge far more than just the final taste, scoring everything from dough quality and ingredient sourcing to service and overall atmosphere.
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Topping the list is Napoli on the Road in London, run by Michele Pascarella. The pizzeria started life in 2016 as a three-wheeled Piaggio Ape van slinging pizzas at farmers’ markets, before growing into full restaurants across Chiswick, Richmond and more recently, Soho. It’s a well-earned win too, as founder Michele Pascarella was already crowned the world’s best pizza chef back in 2023, and Napoli on the Road has topped the separate 50 Top Pizza Europa awards for three consecutive years running. This year, London finally claimed the biggest prize of all.
Just behind in second is Una Pizza Napoletana in New York, run by pizza maestro Anthony Mangieri, the reigning champion this list just dethroned. Tucked away on the Lower East Side, the restaurant is about as stripped-back and obsessive as pizza gets. Mangieri makes every single ball of dough and bakes every single pizza himself, working just three nights a week from a short menu of six pies, all naturally leavened and wood-fired, with only the barest minimum of toppings. Reservations are notoriously hard to come by, opening two weeks in advance and disappearing within minutes. This isn’t Una Pizza Napoletana’s first time at the top, as it previously held the number one spot in 2022, 2024 and 2025, making London’s win this year a changing of the guard.
Zoom out and Italy still dominates the wider list, unsurprisingly. Of the 100 pizzerias ranked across 36 countries this year, 31 are Italian, streets ahead of the United States in second with 22. New York alone is home to seven of this year’s entries, which is more than any other single city, just ahead of Naples with six and São Paulo with five.
A handful of special awards were also handed out on the night. Daniel Semrani of gigi’s in Sydney was named Pizza Maker of the Year, while the ‘Pomodori’ pizza at QT Pizza Bar in São Paulo took home Pizza of the Year. London got a second mention too, with 50 Kalò picking up the award for Best Fried Food.
The world’s 10 best pizzerias in 2026
- Napoli on the Road, London, England
- Una Pizza Napoletana, New York, USA
- Confine, Milan, Italy
- I Masanielli, Caserta, Italy
- Seu Pizza Illuminati, Rome, Italy
- Pizzeria Sei, Los Angeles, USA
- Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, San Francisco, USA
- Leggera Pizza Napoletana, São Paulo, Brazil
- RistoPizza by Napoli sta ca, Tokyo, Japan
- Baldoria, Madrid, Spain
Curious what makes London’s winning pizzeria so special? Here’s everything you need to know about Napoli on the Road’s win.
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