Is the jury still out on pineapple on pizza? Don’t worry, we’re not going there today. Instead, we’re focusing on the best pizza in Melbourne, covering the most popular pizza styles and restaurants around the city.
Trying to find Melbourne’s best pizzas is an ambitious and thoroughly delicious task. When it comes to pizza in Melbourne, narrowing down your favourite styles and restaurants is key to discovering that slice de résistance. Many Melbourne restaurants have their own specialty styles worthy of a meal or two. You could embark on a city-wide pizza search or save yourself some time with this in-depth guide to the best pizza in Melbourne.
COVID-19 Update: Restaurants around Melbourne have implemented safety precautions to keep you safe. Find information about cleaning, sanitising, and usage of personal protective equipment on their OpenTable page. You can also order delivery or takeaway via the OpenTable app or website.
Meat Flour Wine
Known for: Best square pizza in Melbourne
Quick Bites
- Meat Flour Wine is an Italian restaurant.
- Meat Flour Wine is located at 248 Boundary Road, Braeside, Victoria 3195.
- Meat Flour Wine is open from 7am until 3pm (Tue-Fri), 8am until 3pm (Sat & Sun) and 5pm until 10pm (Wed-Sun).
- Meat Flour Wine is a licensed restaurant.
- You can order takeaway from Meat Flour Wine through OpenTable.
- You can book a table at Meat Flour Wine through OpenTable.
(@alwaysbrunchin_)Also known as a Sicilian, square pizza originated on the Mediterranean island of Sicily. While Italian pizzerias were dishing out classic round pizzas, the Sicilian bakeries opted to create their own square-shaped pizza that was pan cooked with an inch-thick crust. The original square pizza, called Sfinciuni, has since evolved into various crossovers blending the square shape with thinner crust and a more diverse range of toppings.
The first pizza on this list takes us all the way down to one of Melbourne’s southernmost suburbs, Braeside. Arguably the best pizzas in Melbourne’s south, the half-metre and one-metre pizzas at Meat Flour Wine are consistently pleasing crowds and their respective stomachs.
These delicious square pizzas come in multiple flavours. Diners are allowed to choose two flavours for a half-metre pizza or three flavours for the full one-metre pizza. You might think choosing flavours an easy task before browsing the menu, which includes classic Italian staples like Margherita, Capricciosa, Quattro Formaggi and Napoletana.
The ingredients are wonderfully fresh – juicy cherry tomatoes, lip-tingling chilli, soft bufala mozzarella and smoked leg ham – and the crust is perfectly cooked to a light crunch. Sit down to one or more of these with some friends and you may very well be rolling out the restaurant.
Neighbourhood Pizza
Known for: Best Neapolitan pizza in Melbourne
Quick Bites
- Neighbourhood Pizza is an Italian restaurant.
- Neighbourhood Pizza is located at 20 Beatty Avenue, Armadale, Victoria 3143.
- Neighbourhood Pizza is open daily from 5pm until 10pm.
- Neighbourhood Pizza is a licensed restaurant with BYO Sundays.
- You can order takeaway from Neighbourhood Pizza through OpenTable.
- You can book a table at Neighbourhood Pizza through OpenTable.
Finding authentic Neapolitan pizza in Melbourne can be difficult, because of the many requirements put in place by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN) that has final judgement on all pizzas claiming to be Neapolitan. Naples is clearly proud and protective of its pizza. With centuries of history, we really can’t blame them.
So let’s get into the saucy guts of what comprises a Neapolitan pizza. For starters, it must be made with highly refined Italian type 0 or 00 wheat flour, fresh brewer’s yeast, water and salt. It can only be kneaded and formed by hand (sorry, no rolling pins allowed).
The beauty of a Neapolitan pizza is its simplicity. Every single ingredient is fresh and only specific ingredients can be used. Toppings include raw, pureed San Marzano tomatoes from Italy, one of only two types of mozzarella cheese (fior di latte or mozzarella di Bufala), fresh basil and olive oil. Finally, the pizza is only baked for about 90 seconds in a wood-fire oven.
Neighbourhood Pizza doesn’t officially say its Spicy Saliccia is a Neapolitan pizza, but we can’t help but notice similarities that might make the VPN folks appreciate this Australian twist on their beloved Italian classic. The wood-fired pizza is topped with fresh San Marzano tomatoes and fior di latte, but also includes the delightful flavours of bouchier sausage, brocoletti, pancetta and chilli. It’s honestly one of the best pizzas in Armadale and greater Melbourne.
11 Inch Pizza
Known for: Best California pizza in Melbourne
Quick Bites
- 11 Inch Pizza is an Italian restaurant.
- 11 Inch Pizza is located at Equitable Place, 353-359 Little Collins Street, Melbourne City, Victoria 3000.
- 11 Inch Pizza is open from 11am until 10pm (Mon-Fri) and 5pm until 9pm (Sat & Sun).
- 11 Inch Pizza is a BYO wine and beer restaurant.
- You can order takeaway from 11 Inch Pizza through OpenTable.
- You can book a table at 11 Inch Pizza through OpenTable.
California style pizza is a glorious amalgamation of pizza styles from New York, Italy and California. The pizza’s round, thick crust is from NYC, while the art of baking it in a wood-fired oven has been adopted from Naples. The toppings are all Californian, where the California pizza’s creator, Ed LaDou, favoured fresh, seasonal and local produce.
Many of these ingredients can be a touch strange to see atop your slice of pie, such as goats’ cheese, truffles and mustard. This innovative pizza has never strayed away from challenging the traditional pizza concept, often pairing barbecue chicken or shrimp with kale, beets, cauliflower and avocado.
We’re quite partial to the California style pizza at 11 Inch Pizza, one of the best Italian pizzerias in Melbourne CBD. Their take on the Californian is called Get Veg’d and includes farm-fresh ingredients sourced from local vendors. Head on down and satiate your Cali cravings with this popular pizza featuring tomato pulp, mozzarella, mushrooms, red capsicum, artichokes, black olives, goats’ cheese and semidried tomato paste.
A25 Pizzeria
Known for: Best calzone in Melbourne
Quick Bites
- A25 Pizzeria is an Italian restaurant.
- A25 Pizzeria is located at 720 Chapel Street, South Yarra, Victoria 3141; 800 Collins Street, Docklands, Victoria 3008; and 399 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne City, Victoria 3000.
- A25 Pizzeria is open daily from 11am until 9pm.
- A25 Pizzeria is a licensed restaurant.
- You can order takeaway from A25 Pizzeria through OpenTable.
- You can book a table at A25 Pizzeria through OpenTable.
Those crazy kids in Naples sure know how to invent new variations of pizza. They’re also the masterminds behind the calzone, which is essentially a portable pizza. Seriously. The name calzone has its roots in the Italian word for stocking and originated in the 18th century as a walk-around pizza.
Calzones are basically folded-over pizzas, but these little pockets of ooey gooey goodness have garnered a fan base similar to that of their preceding pies. Typically made from salted bread dough and baked in an oven, a calzone is often stuffed to bursting with various cured meats, cheeses, vegetables and even eggs (breakfast calzone, anyone?).
The calzone at A25 Pizzeria, a popular pizza joint in Melbourne with three locations, offers a gourmet twist on this beloved Naples creation. Considered the best calzone in Melbourne, it treats diners to wagyu beef meatballs, double smoked leg ham, provolone, tomato sugo, fior di latte and parmesan.
A25 Pizzeria (2nd mention)
Known for: Best sweet pizza in Melbourne
Have you really lived if you haven’t had pizza for dessert? Sweet pizzas might seem like a typical Western excuse to make almost anything sugary, but they actually date back around the origin of pizza in Italy. While most pizza was originally topped with pork scraps and olives, Italians were also devouring sweet pizzas made with honey, raisins and pine nuts.
These days, sweet pizzas typically have chocolate bases or even chocolate-filled crusts. Instead of cheese, they’re sprinkled with powdered sugar and are often topped with fruit, such as strawberries. It’s also not uncommon for diners to dip their slices in honey or melted chocolate.
A25 Pizzeria gives you the best excuse to stick around for dessert with its sweet pizza that’s seemingly hand-delivered from Dionysus, the god of ecstasy. Nutella, strawberries, coconut and a scoop of vanilla ice cream combine beautifully atop a doughy crust to provide the perfect finish to any date night.
Find the best pizza in Melbourne with OpenTable
Can’t decide which restaurant has the best pizza in Melbourne or the right pizza style for you? Fortunately, at OpenTable we offer reviews, photos and foodie-focused information to help you find the right restaurant (and pizza) every time.
Browse OpenTable to find the perfect pizza in Melbourne, regardless of whether you’re craving a California pizza, sweet pizza or a classic calzone.
