Best of the Balkans: Our Top 10 Favorite Pizzas
[Editor’s Note (September 2024): This list has been updated for 2024 with some new pizza picks!]
So we’re on the move again this week. We don’t call ourselves Epicurean Vagabonds for nothing! This week we’re leaving Skopje and heading back to our beloved Tirana, Albania. And as one can imagine, there’s plenty to prepare for when you’ve unpacked and settled in somewhere for three months. Next week we’ll be telling you all about our current journey, including a little preview of our upcoming series for paid subscribers: How to Vagabond!
But for this week, in honor of our extensive time in the Balkans over the last five years (and also due to popular demand following our recent pizza-centric podcast), we thought we’d leave you with a fun little list of our top 10 favorite Balkan pizzerias . . . so far!
[Listed in alphabetical order by city].
Athens, Greece: Meno Male, Veikou 10, Athina 117 42, Greece +30 21 0923 1350
We've spent a lot of time in Athens over the years, but it was only on our most recent visit (in August 2024) that we discovered Meno Male, conveniently located in Koukaki (our favorite Athenian neighborhood). Their precariously thin, flatbread-like crackling crust just shatters on impact with your mouth. And the zesty arugula provides an herbaceous, oh-so-slightly bitter balance to the acidic burst of fresh cherry tomatoes and creamy mozzarella di bufula . . . . . . a perfect little crispy circle of heaven! And thanks to their efficient and reliable delivery (especially on the nights when it was just too hot to go outside), Meno Male quickly became our new favorite pizza in Athens. Our go-to delivery order:
Bufalina (tomato sauce, mozzarella bufala, cherry tomatoes and rocket) and Quattro Formaggi (mozzarella, pecorino, gorgonzola, parmesan).
To read more about our time in Koukaki with some other great recommendations, check out our article, Going Krasí for Koukaki!
Belgrade, Serbia: Majstor i Margarita, Vuka Karadžića 12, Beograd, Serbia, +381 60 48 08 621
In January of 2020, we found ourselves in Belgrade just before the first complete Covid lockdown, which then meant we were unable to leave for the next six months. Luckily we had a fantastic apartment with an unobstructed view of Kalemegdan Park (home of the historic Belgrade Fortress). We also enjoyed some amazing delivery food, including the phenomenal Majstor i Margarita (named after the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov). [In 2024, Majstor i Margarita was ranked one of the Top 50 Pizzerias in Europe (#37)!]
A couple pizzas we highly recommend: Pizza Bianca (mozzarella, brie, gorgonzola, grana padano, rosemary and olive oil) and Pizza Proscuitto (mozzarella, arugula, thin-sliced aged prosciutto and olive oil).
Bucharest, Romania: Animaletto Pizza Bar, Strada I.C. Visarion 10 Parter, București 010424, Romania, 40 755 019 098
In 2018 and 2019, we spent almost three months living in Bucharest in the middle of winter, which was magically frozen and spectacularly beautiful. That said, the icy streets often made it treacherous to leave the apartment. So once again, we had the pleasure of having some of the best pizza we’ve ever eaten - brought piping hot to our door. Aminaletto Pizza Bar has not only been ranked as one of the top 50 pizzas in Europe, they were even rated as one of Europe’s top 5 pizzas! Two pizzas we particularly recommend:
Pizza Prosciutto Cotto (mozzarella, ricotta, prosciutto cotto, parmesan and olive oil) and Pizza Buffula (tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, zucchini, parmesan and fresh basil).
Pristina, Kosovo: Proper Pizza, 1 Robert Doll, Pristina 10000
Our go-to pizza in Pristina, where we spent three months in the summer of 2020, was Proper Pizza. Okay, is it a chain that’s found across Europe? Yes, but here in Pristina it has a style unlike any other pizza we’ve had anywhere else. It’s a swirly joy of fresh ingredients on a wafer-thin sesame crust, cooked to perfection in their wood oven. One of their locations was just around the corner from our apartment and it was too hot to turn on the oven that summer, so we properly devoured a plethora of Proper Pizzas. Two that never fail to please:
Proper Pizza (tomato sauce, cheese, ham, sausage and mushrooms) and the Four Cheese Pizza (tomato sauce with mozzarella and a selection of local cheeses).
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzgovina: Piccolo Mondo Sarajevo, Kotromanića 5, Sarajevo 71000, Bosnia & Herzegovina, +387 33 213-903
We loved the time we lived in Sarajevo and the food is spectacular (the Bosnian ćevapi served with kajmak, onion and a traditional flatbread called somun is arguably the best ćevapi we’ve ever eaten). That said, one cannot go to Sarajevo without trying the pizza at Piccolo Mondo, an institution established in 1999 right after the war. Their pizza is completely unique. We called it “upside down pizza,” because the toppings (meat, mushrooms, onions, etc.) are placed directly on top of the pizza dough and then covered with the cheese and baked in the oven. Once delivered to your table, you can then slather a trio of sauces (a hot chili sauce that’s completely addictive, a garlicky parsley and olive oil sauce or a tangy tomato sauce) all over the top of of the gooey melted cheese. Divine! Here are the two we ordered most:
Pizza Regina (turkey ham, salami and mushrooms covered with cheese) and Pizza Rita (ham covered with four types of cheese).
Skopje, North Macedonia: Matto Napoletano, Debarca 2a, Skopje 1000, +389 71 343 063
It’s our last week in Skopje after a hot three months this summer. On a cooler evening a couple of weeks ago we ventured over to Matto Napoletano for one of the top 50-rated pizzas in all of Europe and the #1 pizza in North Macedonia. We were blown away. And their extensive wine list is first-rate. [In 2024, Matto Napoletano was once again ranked one of the top 20 pizzas in Europe (#16) and one of the top 100 pizzas in the world (#81)!]
Here’s what we gobbled down:
Pizza Hot ‘Nduja (caputo pizza dough, cherry tomatoes, double fresh mozzarella, montagne ‘nduja Calabrese, organic Italian olive oil, shaved grana padano, locally farmed cream, fresh basil and Himalayan sea salt) and Pizza Cinque Formaggi (caputo pizza dough, fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola Danish blue, smoked provolone, locally farmed cream, ricotta, organic summer truffle honey and walnuts).
Split, Croatia: Bokamorra - Haute Couture Pizza & Cocktails, Trumbićeva obala 16, 21000, Split, Croatia, +385 99 417 7191
Pizzeria Bokamorra is arguably the best pizza we've ever tasted. In 2021 they were listed as one of the best 50 pizzas in all of Europe and we couldn't agree more. Their Pizza Porco Mio is pork perfection, complete with a side dish of lardo to melt over the top. And their Pizza Cheezus is literally the cheesiest thing we've ever tasted. Also, their artisanal cocktails are exquisite. And the waiters are super-friendly and super-cute to boot!
Our favorites: Pizza Porco Mio (homemade tomato sauce, oregano, Fior di latte, cooked ham, rolled pancetta, Parma prosciutto, bresaola, lardo on the side) and Pizza Cheezus (mozzarella Fior di latte, fontina, gorgonzola piccante, stracciatella, parmigiano reggiano, basil).
Thessaloniki, Greece: Pites tis Polis, Dim. Gounari 50, Thessaloniki 546 35, Greece, +30 231 020 9955
Is it pizza? Technically it’s called peinirli, a delicious little pizza boat that originated in Turkey (peinirli actually means “with cheese” in Turkish) but is sold across the Balkans and is especially popular in Thessaloniki. Pites tis Polis may just serve the best pizza boats in the city. Order one with eggs and minced meat, pastirma, or just a giant mound of melted cheese, whatever floats your boat (pun intended). Walk around the corner and sit under the fourth-century Arch of Galerius with a can of Mythos beer and . . . lunch is served!
Tirana, Albania: Next Pizza, Rruga Myslym Shyri, Tiranë, 1001, Albania, +355 69 444 4096
Probably not on very many people’s radar, but Next Pizza is everything we want in a neighborhood pizza joint: high-quality ingredients, inexpensive, friendly staff, lightning-speed pickup and delivery, consistently reliable and addictively delicious. The portions are also enormous for the very reasonable price (their jumbo, family-size pizza just barely fits in our building’s elevator). Never knew halal pizza would be this good!
Our regular order: La Crema (a thin, almost sweet crust covered with sesame seeds and topped with crispy Albanian bacon, a mix of local hard and soft cheeses, and baked to perfection in their wood oven) & 4 Cheese (mozzarella, gouda, gorgonzola & mouthwatering local feta on that savory sesame seed crust).
Zagreb, Croatia: Franko’s Pizza & Bar, Ulica Kneza Branimira 71A, Zagreb, Croatia 10000, +385 1 6530 884
There's actually a slew of great options for pizza in Zagreb, and one of our favorites is Franko’s Pizza & Bar, which has won just about every award in the realm of gourmet pizza (a subject most dear to our Epicurean, pizza-loving hearts). Maybe it’s the perfect crust. Or the fact that they use the highest quality ingredients. And whether you order something traditional or try one of their innovative flavor combinations, we promise their heavenly pizza will not disappoint. [In 2024, Franko’s Pizza & Bar was once again ranked one of the Top 50 Pizzerias in Europe (#14) and one of the Top 100 pizzas in the world (#78)!]
Our top picks: Calabrian Red (San Marzano DOP, fior di latte, salsiccia, ‘Nduja, dried chilli seeds, cipollini, olive oil, fresh basil) and Sei Formaggi (Fior di latte, taleggio, ricotta, Grana Padano, Kolan cheese, Bra Duro DOP, fresh basil, olive oil).
And that’s ten of our favorites! But we love eating pizza all over the world, so if you have any pizza recommendations you’d like to share with us, from wherever you’ve been or wherever you are, please tell us in the comments below!
Omg what a fabulous list! I am dying over the white pizzas. Theo and I took a half-day pizza tour on his first trip to NYC and we ate the yummiest white pizza in a pizzeria in Brooklyn called Best Pizza. Caramelized onion, sesame crust, ricotta. I’m still trying to recapture that high. 😆 sending this list to him. We may have to go on a pizza tour of the balkans!
Now I'm hungry. The pizza boat sounds so yummy. Since I've never heard of this in the US, I will try to make my own.