Melbourne’s pizza scene has always been strong, especially in the inner-city but now there are restaurants doing decent pizze all over the city – and there’s something for every pizza-lover. Here are some of the best.
As with most pizza chains, the original 400 Gradi (99 Lygon St, Brunswick East, 03 9380 2320, 400gradi.com.au) still burns brightest, though sibling shops A Boy Named Sue (87 Burns St, St Andrews, 03 9710 1023, aboynamedsue.com.au) and Lazerpig (9-11 Peel St, Collingwood, 03 9417 1177, lazerpig.com.au) maintain standards in their distinctive semi-rural and urban settings.
Kaprica (19 Lincoln Sq Sth, Carlton, 03 9639 6222), Mr Wolf (9-15 Inkerman St, St Kilda, 03 9534 0255, mrwolf.com.au) and Supermaxi (305 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North, 03 9482 2828, supermaxi.com.au) continue to provide the benchmarks while Moor’s Head (rear 774 High St, Thornbury, 03 9484 0173; rear 350 Drummond St, Carlton, 03 9977 5893, themoorshead.com) mixes it up with its “inauthentic” Lebanese-style pizza.
SPQR (26 Liverpool St, Melbourne, 03 9671 3326, spqrpizzeria.com) mixes turntable-driven tunes with the best pizza in the CBD. Bar Liberty’s Italo-American joint, Capitano (421 Rathdowne St, Carlton, 03 9134 8555, capitano.com.au), adds another feather to Carlton’s cap, with classic cheese pizze that leave plenty of room for customisation.
Looking for late-night slices? Make a beeline for Lygon St icon Bar Romantica (52 Lygon St, Brunswick East, 03 9191 9410, barromantica.com.au). Newcomer to the neighbourhood, Sig. Enzo (1d Michael St, Brunswick, 03 9388 8718) nails the brief and rounds it out with a strong Negroni line-up.
Postino (97 Whitehorse Rd, Deepdene, 03 9817 1000, postino.com.au) and Cucina & Co (325 New St, Brighton, 03 9530 5324) make great pizze moves outside the inner-city bubble and in the west, Harley & Rose (572 Barkly St, West Footscray, 03 8320 0325, harleyandrose.net.au) does New York-style with an impressive wood-fired crust.
This round-up was taken from the 2019 Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide, published in August 2018.