London’s pizza scene is unrecognisable from five years ago, and Shoreditch is at its epicentre. Where Neapolitan pizza (characterised by its soft, airy crust) once ruled, pandemic-era experimentation heralded an age dominated by American styles, with thin East Coast varieties leading the charge. That has birthed what some are beginning to call the pizza mile, which begins in Shoreditch with the likes of Vincenzo’s and ends in Bethnal Green. But it’s not all crispy New York pies – in Shoreditch you’ll find Roman slices, chunky Detroit varieties and spots not abandoning the puffy Neapolitan. Here are the best pizzerias to visit.
Vincenzo’s Shoreditch
Tom Vincent is one of the founding fathers of the East Coast-inspired pizza boom, opening his diminutive first shop in Bushey, just north of London, in 2022. Where the Hertfordshire branch specialises in 18-inch pizzas, it’s all about the slice in his Shoreditch spot, which opened in late 2025. Here, you’ll find some usual favourites of the slice shop scene: tomato, vodka, pepperoni, each brilliantly crisp and moreish. But the standout is the spanakopita, featuring an emerald-green slathering of creamed spinach, feta and hot honey.
Paulie’s
From the team behind nearby Detroit Pizza comes Paulie’s, inspired by ’70s New York pizzerias. Walk-ins only and primarily slice-based, it’s a casual joint ideal for popping in for a quick snack. The slices are great – crisp, charred – and a particular hit is the Paulie Pie, featuring red sauce, aged mozzarella, pepperoni, jalapenos and, yes, hot honey. The thicker Sicilian-style squares are great, too, particularly the rich cacio e pepe number.
Detroit Pizza
In 2021, before Ria’s matched chunky pizzas from the Motor City with natural wine, Detroit Pizza in Spitalfields brought the thick, bready, decadently cheesy version of pizza to the city. It’s pure American maximalism, with each pie stacked with fillings and crisp on the edges; think a bacon double cheeseburger pizza, for example. The sweet-savoury Maui Wowee, with ham, pineapple, bacon and jalapenos may sound like a Domino’s order c.2000, but it is superb.
Eataly
It may be a globe-spanning, Italian-themed Disneyland with far less charm than your local independent Italian deli, but Eataly works for one simple reason: its Italian food and produce is very good. That extends to its ground-floor pizza spot flogging Roman-style pizza alla palla, primarily for takeaway. The dough is crisp, somewhere between New York and focaccia in thickness, and the combinations are classic – margherita, funghi. The hit? A mortadella and stracciatella number, its filling stuffed between two slices of the pizza, turning it into a sandwich.
Pizza Pilgrims
The modern, American-inspired invasion has been wonderful and welcome, but shouldn’t detract from the fact that Neapolitan pizza, with puffy crusts and soupy toppings, are delicious, too. Pizza Pilgrims still makes some of the best in the city and, unlike a certain well-known competitor, remains good despite expansion. It is mostly faithful to the Neapolitan repertoire but nods to modern trends, too, with hot honey on a pepperoni pizza. The Americana, topped with hot dogs and french fries, is worth a taste.
Rudy’s
Rudy’s was founded in 2015 in Manchester, and achieved the rare feat of subsequently cracking London, with eight sites in the capital. Like Pizza Pilgrims, it is a flagbearer for the Neapolitan style, using traditional ingredients and techniques to create beautifully light, airy-crusted pizzas. The pies are largely canonical, although the slightly more unusual Capuana, with a smoked provola base, Tuscan sausage and rosemary roasted potatoes, is excellent.
Lauretta’s
Lauretta’s on Columbia Road – not Shoreditch, strictly speaking, but a short walk away – ticks many of the new-gen, East Coast-inspired boxes. There are the characteristically crisp bases with zero flop, drizzled with liberal amounts of hot honey; plus a name that sounds like a Sopranos character and pizzas served on metal trays. And when it comes to the taste, Lauretta’s is up there with the best in town. The ingredients are so high quality a simple margherita is enough, but toppings are also generous, and take inspiration from further afield than the US, such as the zingy Amalfi Pizza with anchovies, chillies, lemon zest, parsley and garlic breadcrumbs. Beautiful interiors (wood, terracotta tiles) and a disco soundtrack make it the east London pizzeria you’ll want to spend a whole evening in.
