This Milan pizza guide showcases six pizzerias not to miss when you travel to Italy’s second largest city.
Milan is famous for its fashion, its art and its risotto. But Milanese pizza – not so much. And, yet, Milan now has one of the most exciting pizza scenes in all of Italy. Part of the excitement can be attributed to pizzaiolos who learned their pizza skills in Campania, pizza’s original home. But Milan’s pizza influences aren’t just from that region. Instead, Milan’s pizzerias serve a range of styles that span the boot from Sicily in the south all the way up to the Italian Alps.
It wasn’t always this way. As recently as a decade ago, Milan’s pizza reputation was mediocre at best. In fact, many pizza historians cite American cities like New York and New Haven as having more significant roles in pizza’s evolution.
But things have changed. With the growth of air and rail travel within Italy and beyond, previously staid food scenes like Milan’s have evolved and diversified. The city’s pizza scene reflects this culinary transformation.
Our Favorite Milan Pizzerias
We didn’t expect to love the pizza in Milan but things changed after we ate our first pies at Da Zero and experienced pizza bliss at Confine. Now, eating pizza is a top priority every time our travels bring us to Italy’s second biggest city.
These are our favorite Milan pizzerias and the ones you shouldn’t miss:
1. Confine – World Class Pizzeria
If you only eat one pizza in Milan, you should eat it at Confine. Opened in 2023 and operated by Francesco Capece and Mario Ventura, both from Salerno, the pizzeria has quickly moved its way to the top of the worldwide pizza class.
The not-so-humble pizzeria has two upscale dining rooms, a sophisticated wine cellar and an open kitchen. The kitchen is where Capece makes pizza magic using – gasp – an electric oven. Confine is one of a number of new pizza joints that have proven that you don’t need wood fires to create great pizza.
We began our Confine meal with a “Salerno Milano” – a luxurious croquette filled with ossobucco meat and bone marrow and served over a colorful, foamy potato puree inflected with saffron. The fancified fried treat is a Milanese take on the traditionally Neapolitan frittatina.
We continued with two pizzas. We especially enjoyed a yellow tomato and sausage pie creatively titled “Once Upon a Time There was a Yellow Cherry Tomato.” With deeply spiced homemade sausage harmonizing with sweet yellow cherry tomatoes, it may be the best sausage pie we’ve ever eaten. We also enjoyed a Diavola pie topped with paper thin spicy salumi, tomato sauce and a prodigious number of basil leaves. Next time we’ll give the tasting menu a shot. (We’re typically ‘one whole pizza at a time’ people.)
Pro Tip
You must make an advance reservation if you want to dine at Confine. When you do, speicify if you wan to do a tasting menu or order a la carte pizzas. Current tasting menus prices range from €55 to €70 and a la carte pizza prices range from €12 to €25. These prices are subject to change at any time wihout advance warning.
Confine is located at Piazza Cardinal Massaia, 20123 Milano, Italy.
This pizzeria is featured in the 50 Best Pizzas in the World guide.
2. Dry Milano – Pizzeria with an Upscale Bar
Depending on your perspective, Dry Milano is either a pizzeria with an upscale bar OR an upscale bar that serves pizza. Either way, it’s destination dining for pizza lovers (like us) who also appreciate mixology.
Dry Milano is far from a bar/pizza gimmick. Its current pizzaiolo, Lorenzo Sirabella, learned impressive pizza skills from Enzo Coccia, the acclaimed pizzaiolo at Naples’ Pizzaria la Notizia. Sirabella’s classic Neapolitan pies are both solid and creative. They also pair well with Edris Al Malat’ cocktail menu.
To get the full Dry Milano experience, we started our meal with two signature cocktails (a Dry Penicillin and a Hibiscus Margarita) plus a focaccia with two different toppings (Prosciutto and Vitello Tonnato). But those were just warm-ups to the main event.
Not messing around, we skipped our typical Margherita and Diavola pies and instead ordered a Piennolo Giallo pizza topped with crushed yellow cherry tomatoes, crunchy pancetta and vivid green basil oil. The beautifully constructed white pie was topped with two different cheeses – fior di latte and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Pro Tip
Don’t skip Dry Milano if you’re a teetotaller – its cocktail program includes creative mocktails.
Dry Milano is located at Via Solferino, 33, 20121 Milano, Italy.
This pizzeria is featured in the 50 Best Pizzas in the World guide.
3. Denis – Mountain Pizza
Named after its owner, Denis Lovatel, Denis serves airy mountain pizza to a fashionable Milanese crowd. Lovatel, a second-generation pizzaiolo who grew up in the Dolomites, is resposible for popularizing the unique pizza style in Milan.
Lovatel and his team source many key ingredients, including water from a karst mountain spring, from the Dolomites. They use some of those ingredients to create a special mix of mountain herbs and spices which gets sprinkled into the pizza dough. Afther fermenting that dough for 52 hours, the team creates a crust that’s super thin and crispy.
Reserverations are a must at Denis. After arriving with the requisite reservation in tow, we started our meal with focaccia and salted mountain butter. The starter, with airy triangles of bubbly bread surrounding a big fluffy mountain of mountain butter, seemed to be on every table during our visit. It made sense – the salted butter may have been the best thing we ate during our meal.
Deciding which pizzas to order was a bit of a challenge After much negotiation, we settled on two. The Vitello Tonnato pizza was a fun take on the Milan food favorite which pairs thinly sliced veal with creamy tuna sauce. The Spicy Summer pizza was a seasonal pie that lived up to its name thanks to its spicy salami and a picante side of chimichurri.
While we enjoyed both pies, Denis’ pizza is for people who enjoy pizza’s that’s a little airier, with a cracker crunch. It’s almost like a bubblier version of pizza romana. Don’t look for big hearty pies here. Denis’ light pies are a reflection of Milan with a nod to its mountainous north.
Pro Tip
Pace your drinking at Denis. The mountain-style pizzeria has an exclectic beverage selection that includes craft beer, natural wines and flavored liqueurs (think schnapps).
Denis has multiple Milan locations. We ate at the original Porta Venezia pizzeria located at Via Melzo, 16, 20129 Milano, Italy
This pizzeria is featured in the 50 Best Pizzas in the World guide.
4. Gino Sorbillo – Neapolitan Pizza Icon
It’s official – travelers to Milan can eat authentic Neapolitan pizza wthout leaving the city. Gino Sorbillo, L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele and Starita have all opened Milan locations. They’re all solid. However, if you just eat at just one of these Neapolitan pizza imports, Gino Sorbillo’s Duomo location is probably your best bet.
Architecturally different from Gino Sorbillo’s original location on Naples’ Via dei Tribunali, the bi-level pizzeria near Milan’s Duomo is a colorful showstopper with avant-garde art that comically places its founder Gino’s face in a number of famous portraits. It’s also a superb respite for tourists seeking an affordable lunch between sites. And, while it’s not technically a Milan business, it’s one of the city’s most popular pizzerias.
The downside of eating at Gino Sorbillo’s Duomo location is its inevitable queue. During our visit, we stood in the rain for about 30 minutes before we were seated. It was worth the wait once we spotted the pizza oven and quickly ordered two pizzas. After perusing more than 20 pizza options including one with topped with pineapple, we stayed true to our pizza passions and ordered a classic Margherita and a spicy Diavola. They were floppy, cheesy and a tad bit messy. In other words, they were perfect.
Pro Tip
Your friends can order pasta and other Italian dishes at Gino Sorbillo’s Duomo location if they’re not in the mood for pizza.
Gino Sorbillo has multiple Milan locations. We ate at the pizzeria near the Duomo which is located at Via Agnello, 18, 20121 Milano, Italy.
This pizzeria is featured in the 50 Best Artisan Pizza Chains in the World guide.
5. Crosta – Pizzeria with a Bakery
Crosta, with a name that literally translates to crust, focuses on two of our crusty faves – artisan bread and pizza. While Giovanni Mineo handles the bread side of the business, Simone Lombardi is Crosta’s pizzaiolo. The passionate partners opened the original Crosta in Porta Venezia back in 2018 and have since opened Crosta Lab plus a Crosta outpost in Milan’s Certosa District.
Lombardi’s pizza journey took him from Padua to Mexico City and finally to Milan where he ran the kitchen at Dry Milano before creating tasty pizza at Crosta. During the day, his sourdough pizzas are sold ‘alla pala’, a Roman by-the-slice style that’s similar to al taglio. At night, his pizzas are round pies.
Crosta’s pizza toppings range from seemingly simple Margherita and Marinara to more creative combinations like pesto and potato. Since we visited Crosta during the day, we opted for a Margherita slice topped with peeled tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil, and olive oil.
Pro Tip
Crosta is a great option if you’re in the mood for pizza but not in the mood to go out for dinner. If this is the case, you can get either pick up a pizza to take away or arrange for delivery using a service like deliveroo.
Crosta has multiple Milan locations. We ate pizza at the original cafe located at Via Felice Bellotti, 13, 20129 Milano, Italy.
6. Da Zero – Cilento Pizzeria
Da Zero has opened pizzerias in Bologna, Florence and Turin since opening its first Milan pizzeria in 2017. But Da Zero’s roots aren’t in any of these cities. Instead, its ‘ground zero’ is in Vallo della Lucania. It’s the Cilento town in Salerno where Giuseppe Boccia, Paolo de Simone and Carmine Mainenti opened the original Da Zero pizzeria.
Champions of the slow food movement, the team at Da Zero serves their pizza in the rustic Cilento style. They do this by sourcing ingredients from vetted producers, many of which are in Cilentro. One of those ingredients, oregano, is grown on Campania’s tallest mountain.
We tried two different pizzas during our meal at Da Zero’s original Milan pizzeria. One was a Margherita and the other was a Primavera Cilentana. While the Margherita was solid, the Primavera Cilentana was the standout thanks to its exotic Cilento toppings – mozzarella in myrtle, zucchini flowers, yellow tomatoes, Menaica anchovies and fresh basil.
Pro Tip
Da Zero’s Via dell’Orso location is a short walk from the Duomo, La Scala and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Da Zero has multiple locations. We ate pizzas at the original Milan pizzeria located at Via Bernardino Luini, 9, 20123 Milano, Italy.
This pizzeria is featured in the 50 Best Artisan Pizza Chains in the World guide.
Additional Milan Pizzerias
If you’re hungry for more pizza, continue your Milan pizza exploration at the following spots:
