.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
As predicted, there’s been a tangible boom in New York-inspired pizza across London this year. It feels like a new NY-style pizzeria is opening every month, shifting the conversation away from Neapolitan, now firmly cemented in London’s dining scene but no longer centre stage.
Detroit and Chicago-style pizzas had a little moment, but it’s all about New York today, mirroring in some way what’s going on in brasseries. Everyone wants a table at the Dover, One Club Row and Town.
Here we’ve selected nine pizzerias that are inspired by NYC slices, each one a doting homage to the world’s greatest pizza city (after Naples, naturally). But London’s shops are adventurous too, putting their own stamp on things. And it’s warming that so many exist (or at least started out) in pubs, as if our city needed to help chefs find firm footing before exploring the new world.
A quick word for Dough Hands and Breadstall here, both of which are makers of fine pizza but which are just a little too detached from NYC to make the list. Those wondering why Joe Public is missing should learn that it’s Californian. Right, to business.
Bad Boy Pizza Society
These guys started as a parody society at Southampton University in a bid to get free pizza. Obsession took hold and soon came research trips and tours (to places like Lucali in Brooklyn – Beyoncé’s favourite – and which is even harder to get into than L’Industrie these days) and now the group has three locations, each doing a different style of pie. It’s the Covent Garden joint you want, where 22-inch pizzas come whole or by the slice and are generally kept simple: margherita, white or a take on a pepperoni with ‘nduja and hot honey. Though there are rotating specials… the “sausage party” has won various awards.
Seven Dials Market, 35 Earlham Street, WC2H 9LD, badboypizzasoc.com
Bing Bong
For those unaware, “nonna-style” pizza (more common in the US: grandma pizza) is the predominant second speciality in NYC – found at the likes of Vito’s, Louie’s and Luigi’s – and is a variation believed to have started in Long Island where Italian families, newly without pizza ovens, adapted and used sheet pans in regular ones. Pies are thin and rectangular and known for their crispy crust thanks to a generous amount of olive oil in the dough. But they should also be light, a nod to Sicily; cheese is usually baked under the tomato sauce. Bing Bong’s place in London’s new canon is entirely justified thanks to careful craft and a love of the game. Get the pie that combines Italian sausages with pickled peppers, sliced potatoes and crispy kale.
13 Morning Lane, E9 6ND, @bingbongpizza
Spring Street
First things first, the pizzas here are excellent. No doubt chef Tom Kemble (who won a Michelin star at Bonhams restaurant) was given a hefty budget to traverse NYC to undertake vital R&D. He is likely to have made it to Upside on Spring Street, a newer establishment that uses tangy sourdough and works with deep, rich tomato sauces that are quite herby. Back to London and Spring Street is very much a light pastiche, with beautifully crisp pizzas that glisten with fat and beg to be sprinkled with chilli flakes and parmesan. Prices are punchy (the marinara, probably the one to get here, is £24 for the whole pie), but you can go by the half or half-sharer. Get a confit garlic aioli for crust dipping because there’s no harm in doing so. Do not get the green goddess alternative.
Arch 32, Southwark Quarter, Southwark Street, SE1 1TE, springstpizza.com
All Kaps
The guys behind All Kaps recently went to try Boston pizza in Hawaii, so who knows what’s in store. For now, the pies are pretty solidly committed to NYC and are all about big flavours, foldability, a good char and plenty of chew. Like New York’s famous John’s of Bleeker (pictured at the top of the page), All Kaps only serves by the whole. It also operates like sandwich slinger Chatsworth Bakehouse, dropping pizza slots online early in the week for collection on a Sunday. Try the Olive, Laugh, Love, made with red sauce, mozzarella, provolone, olives, and giardiniera (very Tony Soprano). Big hype is coming, make no mistake.
22-27 The Oval, E2 9DT, allkaps.pizza
Alley Cats
The insurmountable queues have faded at Alley Cats but the pizzas remain sound. Head chef Francesco Macri has all the wit and charm of an NYC old-timer and his fun, irreverent takes on the city’s most famous dish has earned the brand countless fans (and helped fuel expansion). Try the marinara, the vodka sauce or the tuna bonito with red onions. Traditional (boring?) types should ignore the pork and pineapple, as playful as any pie in London today. There’s been talk recently that the restaurant is about to start serving by the slice, which would be welcome given the prices (£16 and up) don’t really reflect the chequered tablecloths, pizza stands and gentle chaos.
Across London, alleycatspizza.co.uk
Vincenzo’s
Vincenzo’s has become one of London’s most famous pizzerias. Tom Vincent’s old school joint, a small shop in Bushey out in the suburbs (a bit like traipsing from Manhattan to Brooklyn), attracts hundreds of diners every week and sells out daily. The pies are credibly New York in style: Vincent spent years honing his craft, working to create his version of a wet, pliable dough, one that bursts with flavour and texture after being baked over stone in a hell-hot oven. Vincenzo’s is genuine, precise: thin, sturdy, oil-imbued crusts, proper tomato sauce, classic toppings and a delicate Mafia energy emanating about the place.
42 High Street, WD23 3HL, vincenzospizzas.com
Ace Pizza
Founded by Rachel Jones in 2018, Ace Pizza predates the current New York boom by years. The pizza is a clear homage to NYC, with pies calling for ingredients like fennel sausage, chilli honey, and pesto, which is added as a spiralling swirl à la Rubrirosa (Mulberry Street, NYC) on the vodka marg. But Ace makes its own plays too. The pizzeria uses biga dough — popular in Italy — in place of a classic, oil-enriched variation from across the pond. And look out for the gran moravia, a hard cheese from the Czech Republic that rarely leaves Europe. Have a vodka marg, a plate of pickles and mortadella, and “crack sauce” for dipping. Soon to open in Victoria Park.
The Pembury Tavern, 90 Amhurst Road, E8 1JH, thisisacepizza.com
Gracey’s
Gracey’s is up there with the very best. James and Grace sculpt sensational pies, acknowledging slight differences with New York’s but very much inspired by those in the city. As is the case across the Atlantic, Gracey’s calls for a dough high in gluten and it’s allowed good time to ferment and gather punch. The result is a light, crispy base which bends but stays true. Also pleasing are well sourced Italian tomatoes, while a scattering of fresh herbs post-bake sets the place apart from many in London, echoing the likes of Di Fara in Brooklyn. Out of London but regular pop-ups in town.
339 Watford Road, AL2 3DA graceyspizza.com
Crisp W6
Crisp W6 might need no introduction, really. It’s famous. Saudi Princes fly in for it; Harry Kane’s a fan. It was started in Hammersmith by former semi-pro footballer Carl McCluskey in his family pub, then under threat of closure due to pandemic-related challenges. Pizza was a way to get more punters in. These days pies must be ordered ahead so the team can keep up with demand. It’s all entirely understandable: here the they are formidable, with a slight tang to the dough, oozing mozzarella and a solid application of parmesan. They’re quite NYC, a little Roman. Whatever, we need not categorise here: Crisp defines London’s changing scene, not New York’s.
The Chancellors, 5 Crisp Road, W6 9RL, @crisppizzaw6
