This is One of the Best Pizzeria in the World

Last updated on November 12th, 2023 at 07:15 pm

Da Michele, this is the name one of the best pizzeria in the world. If you go there without some instructions you can be super stressed by the experience. Therefore I decided to share with you a few tips and instructions to enjoy one of the best pizza in the world.

Before we go in depth, let me clarify that I am referring to the pizzeria Da Michele in Naples, Italy. I know that “da Michele” is a brand now available also in other cities. They seem to have a kind of a pizzeria franchise now. However I am not sure how pizza is made anywhere else in the world. Maybe is the same, maybe not entirely.

For sure I am going to write about my experience in Naples. And let me share also that I studied at University in Naples. I know the city pretty well. Moreover it is not the very first time I visit pizzeria Da Michele. Even though I was not going there for more than 10 years. Luckily the pizza is the same 😀

Let me introduce the topics you are going to read about:

Where is and how to arrive to the Pizzeria da Michele?
What pizza flavors can you get?
Pizza take away or Pizza at a table
Why Pizza is different at Antica Pizzeria da Michele
This is one of the best pizzeria in the world.. or not?

Where is and how to arrive to the Pizzeria da Michele?

As I wrote before, we are talking about Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples, Italy. The address is Via Cesare Sersale, 1 – 80139 – Naples. That means not that much by itself. This is the historical Pizzeria, the first and authentic one. All others are replica and much more recent.

Following is a screenshot of the map:

In the red circle is the Pizzeria. To get there you can use the Metro and drop off to the “Duomo” stop (blue circle). Otherwise you can take as a reference the Main Train Station (blue circle in the top right corner).

If you are already in the city center you can go there just by walking. The area around pizzeria is very safe and you don’t need to be afraid of anything. This is definitely my favorite way to get there. You are in city center, so I believe that walking around is an amazing experience. More about this point in few more lines.

What pizza flavors can you get?

This is a very different pizzeria than what you are probably used to. Forget about gourmet toppings, here you taste the traditional pizza. That means only a few options, actually three.

Forget about gourmet toppings, here you taste the traditional pizza

The first option is as always the Margherita: tomato sauce (from San Marzano tomatoes in can), Mozzarella (fior di latte), parmesan, basil and of course oil.

The second pizza in the menu is another classic: Marinara. The original marinara uses the same tomato sauce of Margherita and adds on it garlic and oregano. No cheese on this one, but still a bit of oil before going into the oven.

Third pizza is Cosacca. This is also a very traditional Italian pizza, yet not always known abroad. Once again it uses the same tomato sauce as the others put then you also have Parmesan.

Actually there is a fourth pizza. But it’s simply half Margherita and half Marinara, in case you are not sure what pizza you want to try. My recommendation, if you go in couple is to take two full pizza with different toppings and then share.

Marked in **red** where you ask for the number for the table – in **blue** where you do the queue for the take away pizza

Pizza take away or Pizza at a table

At Antica Pizzeria da Michele in Naples you can’t book a table. It means that you need to go there and wait for a table to be free. Notice that to get a table you normally need to wait for a couple of hours!

You need to go to the pizzeria, take your number from the guy who is in front of the entrance and then wait for your number to be called. Remember that you get a number on a pierce of paper that has a color… ask the guy what color they are currently calling, you may be confused by the number they are calling 😀

If you want to be a bit faster you can follow the queue that is for the take away pizza. It takes not so long to complete the queue and then waiting for the pizza. I believe that within 1 hour you should be able to get your pizza. It is very common to have people laying around with a box of Michele’s pizza enjoying the taste of this traditional neapolitan pizza.

My recommendation is to go to the pizzeria about 2 hours before you intend to have your lunch or dinner, take the number and then go for a walk. You can visit the famous Naples Cathedral, where the famous San Gennaro miracle (on 19 September and 16 December) is happening. Or you can walk through the famous Spaccanapoli street and reach some beautiful places. Once again, you are in Naples, one of the most beautiful city in the world!

Why pizza is different at Antica Pizzeria da Michele

It’s not just me saying that this is one of the best pizzeria in the world. This affirmation comes for a reason. One being that this pizza is quite different than other pizza around the globe.

The one of Da Michele is different than any other traditional pizza, here is why

First of all, you are going to taste a traditional Neapolitan Pizza. I introduced my readers to this concept of traditional VS modern Neapolitan Pizza in my previous article. However, I would say that the one of Michele is even different than a traditional that you can taste anywhere else.

For sure the first special difference than other pizzas is the pizza dough. How they do it is not really an information publicly available. Or better, you can find them explaining the process but I highly doubt they are sharing it precisely. What we can confirm for sure is that this is a low hydration pizza dough. I am also pretty sure that they use a certain percentage of carry-over dough, that for sure influences the final taste as well as the extensibility of the dough.

The other very important difference than other traditional pizzas is that they don’t use olive oil. They use seed oil instead. The reason is linked to the taste. According to the owners of this pizzeria, olive oil has a too strong taste. Therefore they prefer to use a less aggressive oil. Let alone that the seed oil is more adapt to the high temperatures of the oven.

In fact one more aspects of this pizza is that it is baked in a very aggressive way! Oven is super hot, I believe very close to 500 Celsius. So ingredients are getting a thermal shock! This is also the reason why sometimes you will get some borders a bit overcooked.