How times have changed. Only a few years ago, you were lucky if a pizza in Bangkok boasted mozzarella, marinara sauce, and a properly leavened dough, rather than cheddar, ketchup and some oddly sweet sliced white.
These days, the 480°C heat of Neapolitan wood burning ovens competes with Bangkok’s own sweltering temperatures just off the streets of Sukhumvit and beyond, as skilled Italian pizzaiolo make this wonderful city their home and young Thai chefs put their own spin on this beloved dish.
Still, if you’ve decided to forgo your usual som tam in favour of a margherita this evening, this pizza proliferation has made the paradox of choice more omnipresent than ever.
We’re here to help you separate the finely ground durum wheat from the chaff, with our guide to the very best pizza in Bangkok, from Neopolitan to New Yorker and beyond.
Peppina
We had to start here, at Peppina, which was earlier this month named the best pizzeria in Thailand (and the fifth in the Asia-Pacific region) at the 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific awards.
Here, it’s real-deal Neapolitan pizzas, with authenticity the driving force behind the restaurant group’s (there are now six in Bangkok) continued success.
In fact, Peppina is Southeast Asia’s only AVPN certified, Napoli-style pizzeria, with the quality of the ingredients shining most strikingly in the most simple of pizzas, the marinara, with the sweet/tart interplay of the imported San Marzano tomatoes satisfying every craving for ”Western food” you’ll have in Bangkok.
Of course, you don’t have to order in such an austere fashion; there are some real gems to be found in Peppina’s Special Selection section of the menu, too. We particularly like the restaurant’s pizza carpaccio, with the fresh, creamy stracciatella and a smart squeeze of lemon lifting the dish to dizzy (and surprisingly refreshing) heights.
The pasta at Peppina is excellent, too. For us, the best bowls of pasta stay true to two pillars of all great Italian food; number one, the pasta should be the star, and two, the accompanying adornments must be fresh, of clarity, and celebrate the raw ingredient. Peppina follows both thoughtfully.
Their house favourites, which include an excellent vongole veraci and a paccheri pasta with slow cooked pork cheek ragu, are both well worth the visit, even if pizza isn’t your thing.
That clarity of ingredients is found just as keenly in the superb cocktails here; the house negroni delivers every time. This is, quite simply, the best pizza in Bangkok.
Facebook: Peppina
Pizza Massilia
Another from the Top 50 Pizza awards list (we’re not just plundering that list here, honest) and winners of the ‘Best Pizza In Thailand’ last year, Pizza Massilia this year came sixth, just behind Peppina.
What started life as a food truck has now become an ambitious bricks and mortar operation, with two restaurants in the city, in Ruam Rudee and on Sukhumvit 49, both boasting enormous dual pizza ovens built by expert pizza oven maker Stefano Ferrara.
This sense of confidence and aspiration extends to the pizzas here. Whilst Peppina seems to work best when deploying a ‘less is more’ approach, at Pizza Massilia, it’s all about true indulgence in topping form. Though the pizzas are nominally Neapolitan, plenty of luxury French ingredients make their way onto the menu. With that ethos in mind, go for the foie gras, fior di latte and organic figs, followed by a long, satisfied lie down.
Website: pizzamassilia.com
Pizza Mazzie
Now for something different over in the trendy Ekkamai district, Pizza Mazzie is run by New Yorker Jon Spearman, with the pizzas here an interesting hybrid of American and Italian sensibilities, ingredients and technique.
The oven here is the revered ‘low dome’ Acunto, built in Naples, and the dough is light and airy, owing to its super slow-fermentation process. It arrives blistered and burnished in all the right places, with Spearman’s refined approach to toppings (he believes that there should be no more than three, as a rule) meaning the pizzas at Mazzie are surprisingly delicate.
Our go-to order is the Brooklyn classic cheese (restrained in that it uses just two cheeses, fior di latte and grana padano) which in less capable hands could be a little burdensome, but here it’s sensational.
Biodynamic wines and craft beers complete the package, making Pizza Mazzie an incredibly convivial place to spend an evening. And spend many evenings here we have…
Website: pizzeriamazzie.com
Roberta’s
Roberta’s Pizza, a famed Brooklyn establishment with a storied clientele, made its debut in Thailand earlier this year, bringing with it a legacy of high-quality ingredients and a commitment to affordability and an exceptional dining experience.
Founded in 2008 by Brandon Hoy, Chris Parachini, and Michelin-starred chef Carlo Mirarchi, Roberta’s quickly grew from a humble cinderblock warehouse in Bushwick, Brooklyn to an international brand with locations across major cities including here, with us, in Bangkok, opening on the non-descript, less-than-hallowed confines of the third floor of Siam Discovery in April 2024.
Known for its wood-fired pizzas that boast boast a thin, crisp crust and slightly drooping interior – not quite a bar pizza, certainly not a Neapolitan – Roberta’s perfectly marries the characteristics of both in a pie that manages to quieten the noise of the hype (and shopping mall) and deliver first and foremost on flavour.
It’s a bright and airy place to do business. Sure, Roberta’s may share its space with passing shoppers in a kind of liminal arrangement that does nothing for a dining room’s atmosphere, but the floor to ceiling windows and never-fails-to-impress views of Bangkok’s skyline certainly do bring you back into the room, which is overlooked by artwork from two young Thai artists, Artty Rock and Anar.
All eyes back on the iconic pizzas, which arrive fresh af, having only travelled a second or two from the red domed wood-fired oven at the restaurant’s entrance to your table.
That freshness and digestibility means we have little shame in wolfing down two of these bad boys, all leopard-skinned and pockmarked from the briefest of spells in that ripping hot oven, the thoughtfully composed toppings still very much speaking of themselves rather than having melted into a single homogenous mass.
The brand places great emphasis on toppings that are simple yet deeply flavourful. It’s an ethos apparent in the fresh, milky premium mozzarella. It’s there in the spicy pork sausage, made in-house and crumbled on our favourite pie here. It’s also there in the the excellent pepperoni, gossamer thin and blackened around the edges so enticingly (ask for a drizzle of honey on it; you’ll thank us later).
All of which has won Roberta’s a seriously dedicated following, including Jay-Z and Beyonce (and, less endearingly, Bill Clinton) back in Brooklyn. We count ourselves among that following, too.
Address: Unit 301, Siam Discovery, 989 Rama I Rd, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Instagram: @robertaspizza_asia
Pizza Mania
If you’re looking for a truly American style pizza, then you should check out Pizza Mania, just off Asok BTS Station in Bangkok’s downtown.
The pizzas here are thin-crust and crisp, and generously topped with a whole raft of meats, shellfish, and even pasta sauces (Carbonara pizza? Check. Bolognese sauce pizza? Check.).
Yep, this one wouldn’t pass the Nonna test, sure, but if you get that very specific itch – often brought on by a hangover, admittedly – that only an American pizza can scratch, then Pizza Mania is a very satisfying slice, indeed.
Look out for the restaurant’s monthly deep pan Detroit style pizzas, which are properly indulgent and too infrequently on the menu, in our humble opinion. Make them a regular thing, guys!
Website: pizzamania.co.th
Via Emilia
Next up we’re heading to Bangkok’s Sathorn district, to Via Emilia, which aims to faithfully recreate the food and hospitality of Italy’s famous Emilia Romagna region. It’s pure escapism, and sometimes, after a hectic and hot day in Bangkok, it’s just the kind of place you want to sink into.
Though this tribute to a region that encompasses the foodie meccas of Bologna, Modena and Parma focuses on all the main food groups (pasta, risotto, cheese, salami… You get the jist), the pizzas at Via Emilia certainly aren’t an afterthought.
Made in the Bolognese style (no, not topped with ragu, but rather, with thin and crispy crusts), the dough is naturally leavened and left to ferment for 72 hours, resulting in an enjoyable lightness and depth of flavour. The parma ham and burrata, which is added fridge-cold once the pizza is cooked, and is subsequently refreshing, exemplifies this light touch. Delicious.
IDEAL Tip: We know this is an article about pizza, but you’d be a fool not to order the strozzapreti con le canocchie on your visit – hand twisted pasta with mantis shrimps in tomato sauce – yes, please.
Facebook: Via Emilia
Il Bolognese
Speaking of regional Italian restaurants that do a mean pizza, Il Bolognese is – and does – just that. This trattoria has been a stalwart of the Bangkok dining scene for over a decade, knocking out Italian comfort food, top-notch pizzas and pouring very drinkable claret to the weary masses in an elegant dining room that feels like a film set, so faithfully furnished it is.
Read: 10 IDEAL travel tips for surviving Bangkok
Indeed, you may well forget you’re in Bangkok during your leisurely lunch here, with the Partenopea pizza (essentially, a margherita) a relative steal at under 400 baht. Whether or not you actually want to forget you’re in one of the world’s most exciting cities is another matter. Anyway, on to the next pizza…
Website: ilbolognesebangkok.com
Pala Pizza Romana
A very different proposition at Pala Pizza Romana, and our list’s first dalliance with Roman pizza. Here, the metre long, rectangular pizza al taglio sits in the window on a paddle, a pala, enticing Bangkokians inside to grab a slice (or should that be ‘square’?) for a very reasonable 90 baht.
The base is thick, with a crisp bottom and fluffy middle, similar to focaccia and very much in the Roman style, with toppings restrained but refined. The capricciosa here is particularly fine.
Alongside their pizza offering is a good selection of pasta and other dishes. Their fritti (deep fried) offerings are particularly good – think suppli, classic crocchette and our fritti favourite – the Amatriciana, filled with tender as you like cured pork cheek. Squisito!
Website: palapizzabangkok.com
Chef Bing’s Pizzeria
We promised young Thai chefs putting their own spin on pizza in our introduction, so we had to include Chef Bing’s Pizzeria, which has been making waves in Lumphini in recent months.
We say ‘had to’, but the New York style pies here more than deserve their inclusion on merit alone, and the inventiveness of the toppings here is certainly a refreshing change.
Run by Navapan ‘Chef Bing’ Puangpakdee, who moved from Thailand to New York at the age of 7, there are some pretty out-there pizzas on the menu here, including one – the kor moo yang pizza – which repurposes the beloved Thai streetfood staple of grilled pork neck into a gorgeous pizza topping, finessed further with sawtooth coriander and toasted rice powder. Trust us; it works!
Website: chefbing.com
Nonna Nella By Lenzi
We return to something more traditional to finish, to a restaurant that sits on the other side of Lumpini Park to the aforementioned Chef Bing; Nonna Nella By Lenzi.
The only place on our list to be featured in Bangkok’s Michelin Guide, it’s the quality of the ingredients that sets Nonna Nella apart. All the hams and cheeses are produced on chef Lenzi’s farm, and other ingredients such as the tomatoes for the superb pizzas are 100% organic and hand-selected by the chef himself.
Those pizzas, by the way, boast a thinner, crisper crust than their Neopotlian counterparts, and are generously adorned with that excellent produce from the Lenzi family farm. It’s a wonderful way to finish our list of Bangkok’s best pizzas. Now, excuse us, we need a lie down for several days.
Website: nonna-nella.com
