Roman pizza and Neapolitan pizza are different animals. Neapolitan: thick cornicione, soft center, eaten with fork and knife, 90 seconds in 450°C oven. Roman: thin, crispy, crunchy base — scrocchiarella — that snaps when you fold it, eaten with your hands, 3-4 minutes in 300-350°C oven. And then there's pizza al taglio (by the slice/weight) — thick, focaccia-like rectangles with inventive toppings, sold by weight from display cases. Rome has both traditions. Naples has one. This guide ranks the best of each.
Plan my pizza pilgrimage →#1 Pizzarium Bonci (Via della Meloria 43, Prati). Gabriele Bonci is the Michelangelo of pizza al taglio. Toppings change daily — mortadella with pistachio, pumpkin with smoked scamorza, potato with rosemary. The dough: 72h+ fermentation, light as air, crispy crust. Gambero Rosso Tre Rotelle (maximum rating). €4-6 for 2-3 pieces. The best pizza al taglio in the world.
#2 Antico Forno Roscioli (Via dei Chiavari 34). The pizza bianca (white pizza — just dough, olive oil, salt) is the benchmark. Crackly outside, soft inside, the olive oil pools on the surface. €2/piece. Eaten standing on the sidewalk. The simplest, most perfect thing you'll eat in Rome.
#3 Panella (Via Merulana 54, near Santa Maria Maggiore). Upscale bakery-pizzeria. Pizza al taglio + pastries + supplì. Tourist-adjacent but quality is serious. €3-5/piece.
#4 Pinsere (Via Flavia 98, near Termini). Pinsa romana — oval, lighter than pizza, 72h fermentation, crispy-chewy texture. €4-7. Modern interpretation of the ancient Roman tradition.
#5 Da Remo (Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice 44, Testaccio). The most Roman pizzeria in Rome. Paper-thin, blistered, cracker-crispy base. Margherita €7. Cash only. No reservations. Queue at 7:30pm. Loud, chaotic, perfect. Outdoor tables on the Testaccio piazza.
#6 Ai Marmi (Viale di Trastevere 53). Known as "l'obitorio" (the morgue) because of its marble-slab tables and fluorescent lights. The ambiance is zero. The pizza is a 10. Thin, crispy, €6-8. The anti-Instagram pizzeria that delivers on taste.
#7 Sbanco (Via dei Castani 172, Centocelle). The new wave — Centocelle neighborhood, experimental toppings on perfect tonda base. Stefano Callegari (who invented the Trapizzino) consults here. €8-12. Worth the trip to the periferia.
#8 Gatta Mangiona (Via Federico Ozanam 30, Monteverde). Thick-crust style (closer to Neapolitan but with Roman crispness). Long fermentation, excellent craft beer list. €8-12. Rome's best pizza+beer combo.
In every Roman pizzeria, you START with supplì. Supplì (fried rice ball with mozzarella heart, €1.50-2) is the appetizer that arrives before pizza. The mozzarella stretches when you break it — the string is called the filo del telefono (telephone wire). If a pizzeria's supplì is good, the pizza will be good. If the supplì is bad: leave.