The Best Places for Pizza in Barcelona

To say that Parking Pizza has made a bit of a buzz on the local food blogging scene would be an understatement. The hip, industrial interior with its grey-washed walls and fading wooden furniture wouldn’t be out of place in London’s Shoreditch. The pizza toppings read like a gourmet restaurant’s menu, with offerings like ‘black truffle, fontina cheese and an egg’ setting the tone. Crisp sourdough bases come served on metal trays, and there’s a handful of non-pizza dishes and some pretty moreish desserts to choose from too.

Frankie Gallo Cha Cha Cha is unlike any other pizzeria in the city – and that’s not just because of its quirky name. For one it’s much larger than your average pizza bar, and the décor much more eye-catching, especially at night when the neon ‘Frankie’ signs set the mood and there’s 80s hiphop in the background. There’s a whole range of signature pizzas to choose from, brimming with sexy-sounding ingredients such as nduja and scamorza.

A true neighbourhood gem, La Pizza del Sortidor has long been known to pizza lovers across the city as one of the best slices around. Invariably busy most evenings, the place is particularly busy on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings when all pizzas are just €7 (USD$8.15). The sourdough dough is one of the best in town, and the pizzas are cooked on a wood-fired oven in the back. This is a casual affair without plates or cutlery, although you do now get a glass for wine. Try the tiramisu if you have any space left.

This Neapolitan-style pizzeria is located on a side street off Poblenou‘s main artery, the Rambla del Poblenou. The name – Madre Lievito – is a play on words, which refers to the fact that they use a sourdough base for their pizzas. Aside from the traditional Neapolitan pizzas, Madre Lievito also serve a cuoppo pizza – rolled over and reminiscent of a calzone – focaccia, and a special square pizza with thick crusts, which are all cooked in a wood fire oven.

This well-known El Born pizzeria specialises in classic Neapolitan-style pizzas, made with the usual successful combination of a sourdough base, Italian flour and a wood-fired oven. The are no crazy topping suggestions and extravagantly expensive ingredients used at NAP – which stands for Neapolitan Authentic Pizza – although there’s a daily changing topping which is usually very nice. None of the pizzas cost more than €10 (USD$11.70), which for an authentic pizza in the centre of Barcelona is a veritable bargain.

Once located in trendy Gràcia, Pizza Circus recently made a bold move – given how much Gràcia locals loved it – and relocated to El Raval, just round the corner from La Rambla. There’s nothing particularly fancy about the pizza here, no import flours or day-long fermentation processes. But their pizzas are always generously topped, cooked to a crispy perfection and what’s more, they’re sold by the slice. Vegetarians and vegans will be pleased to know that there’s a range of pizzas for them too.

This uptown Barcelona pizzeria is serious about its dough. All the bases are made with organic flour and left to ferment for at least 72 hours before being rolled out and cooked, which helps make the dough easier to digest. The pizzas are topped with premium Italian ingredients and there are some heavenly combinations to choose from, such as the Kamchatka, topped with pancetta, smoked ricotta, artichokes and mozzarella.