Visiting Europe's Best Pizzeria, In London
Napoli on the Road in Chiswick lives up to expectations
Greetings from Minnesota! Here’s my 2025 schedule so far:
25 Jan - 29 Jan: Chicago, IL
01 Feb - 01 Mar: Philadelphia, PA
01 Mar - 13 May: Belmont, MA
30 Aug - 09 Oct: Cheltenham, UK
If you’re going to be around any of those places, let me know! I’d love to grab pizza with you. Seriously, reach out! I also have a big gap after my time in the Boston area, so if you have any suggestions as to where I should plant myself for a bit, I’m all ears!
Napoli on the Road
At the end of 2024, I went on a road trip through England and Wales, with a list of close to a dozen pizzerias. Included on this list was Napoli on the Road, which was highlighted in The Times’ list of top pizzerias in 2024, as well as scoring the title of the best pizzeria in Europe by 50 Top Pizza.1
I got the “Cheesewick,” cheekily named after the West London district it’s in, Chiswick. The Neapolitan-style crust has a crisp edge with a soft, airy interior with bubbling, lightly charred bits on the edges. The melody of ingredients were all individually strong: buffalo ricotta, fior di latte, stracciatella, Parmigiano Reggiano chips, Blue Stilton, and house-made Piennolo cherry tomato jam. Each bite earned a pause to examine the richness of flavours and the diversity of textures. The sweetness of the cherry tomato jam after a crunch of Parmigiano Reggiano in the form of a crispy chip was one of the pairings of tastes I’ve never had before. It’s a bold pizza, but never felt overpowered or out of balance.
Best pizza in Europe? I am certainly not qualified enough to say. But I will claim it’s one of the top ten pizzas I’ve ever had.
My friend who I brought there got a pie with slow-cooked beef and onion ragu, fior di latte, 24 months Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, and olive oil. He was so impressed that he got another reservation for the next week. For me, I had to continue on with my travels.
Cats in England
No visit anywhere is complete without cats, and I am lucky to have friends who had me meet theirs while I was in their town. Persia, for example, was a fast friend and loved playing with a purple straw.
Olive was cautiously curious of me, but was far more interested in the flying bug that snuck into the house.
I was also spied on by a tuxedo cat in Oundle.
Stile Napoletano
I visited a number of cities this trip that I had not been to before, including Chester. I arrived early to hike atop of the Chester city walls that form a perimeter around the city centre, which have existed in some form over two millennia. There are idyllic pedestrian roads lined with shops and restaurants, and in the middle of it all is my final destination for the day, Stile Napoletano.
I got the Provola e Pepe, with San Marzano tomato, Parmesan, smoked mozzarella, black pepper, chili oil, and basil.
The crust here rises high, and reminds me of Canotto style (Italian for “dinghy,” like a small inflatable vessel). It was airy and chewy, and beautifully charred like a delicate leopard print. The bit of heat and pepper added to what’s otherwise a pizza Margherita served as a welcome warm-up on the otherwise rainy day. While large, it’s easy to tackle, and I left feeling a spring in my step.
Ffwrnes
I spent a day wandering around Cardiff, the capital of Wales. My lunch destination was Ffwrnes (Welsh for “furnace” or “oven”), in the upper floor of the bustling Cardiff Market.
I got the “Hey Pesto” with basil pesto, mozzarella, Grana Padano, chopped cherry tomatoes, basil, cracked black pepper, and olive oil. Very juicy tomatoes, as if they were just sourced from another part of the market I was in, with notably creamy mozzarella. The slices folded easily into handheld sandwiches, while I watched pigeons supervising the area. Ffwrnes be a regular stop for me if I lived in Cardiff.
Tomorrow I’m off towards Chicago to enjoy some thin crust stalwarts I haven’t had yet, and to visit the latest Paulie Gee’s outpost in Wheeling, Illinois. If you have any pizza tips, or want to get together for a slice, reach out!
Yours in cats and pizza,
Aaron
P.S. If you’d like to see more photos, including cats and pizzas from my trip in England and Wales, I put together a gallery.
50 Top Pizza has some of the more reliable pizzeria rankings in the world, with a huge caveat that is through the narrow vantage point of Italian standards. Their list of best pizzerias in “Europe” includes post-Brexit United Kingdom, but does not include Italy, as 50 Top Pizza has separate lists for Italy. The rankings are for the pizzerias, including service, wine menu, and other aspects, with the pizzas themselves being just the first part of the overall score. The list leans egregiously, almost alarmingly, towards Italian men or men who studied from Italian pizzaioli, and the pizzas served are almost always Neapolitan style. Some have argued 50 Top Pizza (and their sister organisations) exist to preserve and promote Italian cuisine. While it does highlight excellent pizzerias, it is not a useful or reliable guide inclusive of the wide and diverse breadth of pizzas and chefs outside of the view of their lens.
I loved all the pictures!!