RFK Cuisine · Pizza · Sydney
Best Pizza Restaurants in Sydney 2026
Wood-fired Neapolitan & beyond · Sydney · 6 pizzerias ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
Sydney argues about pizza the way it argues about coffee — seriously, and with a clear hierarchy. A Darlinghurst room whose owner has been named the best pizzaiolo in the country sets the bar; a Newtown pizzeria has spent two decades proving a fully plant-based menu can pass Naples's own certification; and in December 2025 the 1870 institution from Naples itself opened on Pitt Street, queues and all. The dough here is overwhelmingly Neapolitan — puffy, charred, soft in the middle — but the city has earned enough variety that the real question is which room, not which style. Ranked on the pizza, the room and what the bill buys, with the order to beat at each.
1.Lucio Pizzeria
The Darlinghurst room widely named Australia's best pizza; book it for a faultless Diavola and the city's benchmark Naples dough.
Lucio Pizzeria on Palmer Street has held the top of Sydney's pizza conversation for years, and chef-owner Lucio De Falco has the awards to back it — repeatedly named among the best pizzaioli in the country. The dough is classic Naples: a 24-plus-hour ferment, a fast wood-fire bake, a puffy charred cornicione and a soft, foldable centre. The Diavola — salami, chilli and fior di latte — is the order to beat, though the house "Lucio," half margherita and half a ham-and-ricotta calzone, is the only acceptable half-and-half in town. The room is small, buzzy and strictly classical; there is no novelty here, just the form executed at a very high level. Book ahead for weekend dinner, start with the Diavola, and trust the daily specials board. The benchmark.
Reserve ahead for weekends; the Diavola, the house Lucio half-and-half, a Margherita to judge the dough.
2.Gigi Pizzeria
The world's only AVPN-certified plant-based pizzeria; go for vegan Neapolitan pizza that wins over committed carnivores.
Gigi, on King Street in Newtown, is the most interesting pizzeria in Australia — the only fully plant-based room in the world to hold certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the Naples body that polices true Neapolitan technique. Pizzaiolo Marco Mattino has run it since 2006 on a simple bet: that a 100-percent vegan menu, cooked to AVPN standards, can be as good as any with mozzarella. The plant-based Diavola, made with house vegan sausage, and the Capricciosa are the proof, and they convert sceptics nightly. The room is small, warm and unmistakably Newtown. It is not a gimmick; it is a top Sydney pizzeria that happens to be vegan. Book ahead for weekends, order the Diavola, and don't announce that it's plant-based until after the first bite. The most original room in town.
Reserve ahead for weekends; the plant-based Diavola, the Capricciosa, the daily vegan special.
3.Da Mario
A North Sydney stalwart doing one of the city's best cheese-and-sausage pies; book it for a classic Neapolitan night north of the bridge.
Da Mario, in North Sydney, is the reliable old hand of this list — a proper sit-down Neapolitan pizzeria that has fed the lower north shore well for years and reads exactly the way a Sydney Italian room should. The kitchen works from a wood oven and Naples dough, and the salamino, the cheese-and-sausage pizza, is the one regulars order without thinking; the Margherita and the marinara are textbook. It is more neighbourhood restaurant than scene, with a full menu of pastas and antipasti alongside the pizza, which makes it the easy choice for a family or a group. North of the bridge it has no real rival. Book a table midweek or ahead at weekends, order the salamino, and add a plate of pasta to share. The north-shore stalwart.
Reserve midweek or ahead for weekends; the salamino, the Margherita, a pasta to share, a Chianti.
4.Pellegrino 2000
Surry Hills's modern Italian wine bar with serious wood-fired pizza; book it when you want pizza inside a proper night out.
Pellegrino 2000, on Crown Street in Surry Hills, is not a pizzeria in the strict sense — it is one of the city's best modern Italian wine bars, ranked among Sydney's top tables — but its wood-fired pizzas are good enough to put it on this list. The dough and the toppings are handled with the same care as the handmade pastas, and the room treats wine as seriously as the food, with a list that rewards a long sit. This is the choice when you want pizza as part of an evening rather than a quick feed: a few antipasti, a pizza or two, a bottle of something Italian and obscure. It is loud, dark and fashionable. Book ahead, especially at weekends, share the pizzas across the table, and let the floor steer the wine. The grown-up pick.
Reserve ahead; the wood-fired pizzas to share, the handmade pasta, a bottle off the Italian list.
5.L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele
The 1870 Naples temple's Sydney outpost, open since December 2025; go for the purist Margherita and Marinara, and expect a queue.
L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele opened its first Australian branch on Pitt Street in the CBD in December 2025 — the Sydney chapter of the Naples institution founded in 1870 and made famous worldwide by Eat Pray Love. The Naples original is a single-minded place that has historically served just two pizzas, the Margherita and the Marinara, and the Sydney room keeps that purist spirit: blistered, wet-centred, minimally topped pizza that is as much about the dough and the San Marzano as anything piled on top. It is the most "authentic Naples" experience in the city by lineage, and it largely runs on walk-ins and queues in the Neapolitan tradition. Go early or off-peak to beat the line, order the Margherita first, and eat it with a knife and fork like a Napoletano. The heritage pick.
Walk in early or off-peak; the Margherita, the Marinara, a cold Italian beer; expect to queue at peak.
6.Via Napoli
A north-shore Neapolitan favourite known for metre-long pizzas; go for a big, generous group feed with proper Naples dough.
Via Napoli, with rooms in Hunters Hill and Lane Cove, is the crowd-pleaser of this list — a genuinely good Neapolitan kitchen that also does the showpiece metre-long pizza built for a table to share. Beneath the spectacle is real technique: a long-fermented Naples dough, a hot wood oven, and toppings that take the classics seriously, from the Margherita to a strong Diavola. It is family-friendly, generous and a little theatrical, which makes it the pick for a birthday or a big group rather than a purist pilgrimage. The north-shore locations are an easy ferry-and-walk from the city. Book ahead for a group, order a metre pizza to share if there are enough of you, and add a few classics by the standard size. The group-feed pick.
Reserve ahead for groups; the metre-long pizza to share, the Margherita, the Diavola, a round of Aperols.
How Sydney eats pizza
Sydney's pizza is Neapolitan-first. The dominant style — long-fermented dough, a 60-to-90-second bake in a wood oven, a puffy charred edge and a soft, foldable centre — is what Lucio, Gigi, Da Mario and Via Napoli all work from, and AVPN certification (the Naples standard) is something the serious rooms wear with pride. The newest arrival, L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, imports the purist Naples ethos wholesale. The city's twist is range: a world-leading plant-based room in Newtown, a wine-bar-grade kitchen in Surry Hills, and the showpiece metre pizzas on the north shore.
A few practical notes. These are sit-down pizzerias, not slice counters, so book ahead for weekend dinner and walk in early on a weeknight; da Michele runs on queues. Tipping is not expected in Australia, though rounding up is common, and dress is relaxed everywhere here. Pizza in Sydney is a wine-or-Aperol occasion as much as a beer one, especially at Pellegrino 2000 and Lucio. For the rest of the city's tables — its harbourside fine dining, its Italian and its bars — the Sydney dining guide maps it by neighbourhood and occasion.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for serious Sydney pizza
The late-night CBD chain slices. The takeaway slice shops around the clubs and stations trade on convenience, not dough — thick, pale, reheated bases that have nothing to do with the city's wood-fire scene. For the real thing five minutes away, head to L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele on Pitt Street or book Lucio Pizzeria in Darlinghurst.
Pellegrino 2000 when you just want a quick, cheap pizza and out. It is a fashionable, book-ahead wine bar where pizza is one part of a longer, pricier evening — the wrong call for a fast budget feed. When you want a straightforward great pizza without the scene, point yourself at Da Mario or Via Napoli instead.
Frequently asked
What is the best pizza in Sydney?
Lucio Pizzeria in Darlinghurst is the consensus pick — chef-owner Lucio De Falco cooks Naples-style wood-fired pizza that has been named the best in Australia, with a Diavola of salami, chilli and fior di latte that is the order to beat. For something different, Gigi Pizzeria in Newtown is the world's only fully AVPN-certified plant-based pizzeria, and Da Mario in North Sydney does a benchmark salamino. Choose Lucio for the classic and Gigi for the most interesting room in town.
Where is the best Neapolitan pizza in Sydney?
Several rooms cook to genuine Neapolitan standards. Gigi Pizzeria on King Street, Newtown, holds AVPN certification, the Naples body that polices true Neapolitan technique. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele on Pitt Street is the Sydney outpost of the 1870 Naples original made famous by Eat Pray Love, and Lucio Pizzeria and Da Mario both work from Neapolitan dough and a wood oven. For the puffy, charred, soft-centred Naples style, those are the addresses.
Is there good vegan pizza in Sydney?
Yes — Gigi Pizzeria in Newtown is the standout, the world's only fully plant-based pizzeria certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. Owner-pizzaiolo Marco Mattino makes the entire menu vegan without sacrificing the Neapolitan method, from the plant-based Diavola to the Capricciosa. It has been doing it since 2006 and remains the reference for vegan pizza in Australia. Go early; the Newtown room fills fast on weekends.
How much does pizza cost in Sydney?
A wood-fired Neapolitan pizza at the better rooms runs roughly 24 to 34 Australian dollars, with the more elaborate toppings — buffalo mozzarella, nduja, premium salami — toward the top of that range. A two-person meal with a starter, two pizzas and a couple of drinks lands around 90 to 120 dollars. These are sit-down pizzerias rather than slice shops, so factor a glass of Italian wine or an Aperol; the lists at Pellegrino 2000 and Lucio reward it.
Do you need to book a pizzeria in Sydney?
For the busy rooms, yes. Lucio Pizzeria, Gigi and Pellegrino 2000 fill quickly on Friday and Saturday nights, and a booking saves a long wait. Da Mario and Via Napoli take reservations and are easier midweek. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele runs largely on walk-ins and queues, in the Naples tradition. As a rule, book ahead for weekend dinner and walk in early on a weeknight.
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