Madenitaly

If you’re as into Roman pizza—the light, rectangular pizza slices served “to go” in the Italian capital—as I am, then you’ll want to pay a visit to Madenitaly. Eva De Masi, the head chef and owner is half Danish, half Italian and she and her cooking embody the best of both cultures.

She learnt to make pizza from the best in Rome, and she works with farmers in Denmark to source the best local ingredients. Her toppings are unconventional and experimental—never boring—and everything she serves is vegan, although this isn’t something she advertises, and you probably wouldn’t notice unless you read about it somewhere (oops, too late)! Eva is also one of the only people in Denmark importing and making vegan cheese.

Holbergsgade 22

Bæst

Bæst is undoubtedly the city’s Nordic-Italian restaurant. First and foremost, it’s a pizzeria, but it’s also a dairy where they make their own mozzarella, burrata and stracciatella (using milk from their own Danish cows) and a charcuterie where they prepare their own meat. Many of the pizza toppings and other dishes on the menu also bear relation to their farm (where the cows live), so the restaurant has a strong connection to Danish nature and ingredients.

Christian Puglisi, Bæst’s founder is half Italian and grew up in Sicily. As a teenager, he spent plenty of time with his father, who worked as a pizzaiolo. So it’s fair to say that the pizza know-how at Bæst stems very much from Italy.

All dishes are served sharing style, and you’re not supposed to use cutlery to eat your pizza, Italian style!

Guldbergsgade 29

Da Gallo

For some of the best Neapolitan pizza outside of Naples itself, you need only head a couple of kilometres out of central Copenhagen. Salvatore Gallo set up shop in Brønshøj—a suburb just west of Copenhagen. His namesake pizzeria is an unpretentious little thing, with a tiny kitchen space and a makeshift extended restaurant outside, constructed from wooden walls and sheets of plastic for windows, with some heaters to keep warm in the winter.

It’s absolutely worth the trip though, because his pizza is phenomenal. The dough is a soft, airy sourdough that has risen for several days, the ingredients quality and the centre sloppy and piping hot from the 400°C oven (where your pizza cooks for about a minute). Although there are many delicious pizze on Salvatore’s menu, I particularly recommend the Margherita—his signature. What’s more, you can always tell how good a pizzeria is by its Margherita and Da Gallo’s does not disappoint. 

Glumsøvej 44

Pizzeria Luca

Last, but absolutely not least, of the pizzerie in Copenhagen, is Luca. If you’re not quite committed enough to make the trip to Da Gallo, but still need your pizza fix, Luca is your answer. Nestled right in the city centre, this unpretentious little restaurant makes some of the best pizza around. Luca Platanias, whose pizza dough has won numerous awards, upped Rome to come to Copenhagen and head up the restaurant, and we’re very lucky to have him!

Gammel Strand 42