50 Top Pizza, the popular Italian guide to pizzerias around the globe, has wrapped up 2024 with a ranking of the world’s 50 best artisan pizza chains. Topping the list: Grosso Napoletano in Spain.
Paulie Gee’s, founded by dough-tossing legend Paul Giannone in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood in 2010 and now boasting other locations in Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio, was one of two U.S. pizza chains to crack the top 20 at No. 18. Pizzana, with seven stores in Southern California and Texas, claimed the No. 19 spot. It was founded by Candace and Charles Nelson in a team-up with actor Chris O’Donnell and Chef Daniele Uditi of Naples, Italy.
Additionally, Tutta Bella, a Neapolitan pizzeria, earned the No. 50 spot on the 50 Top Pizza list
50 Top Pizza presented the awards on December 4 during the World Pizza Summit held at the European Pizza Show in London.
Related: How 50 Top Pizza selects the best pizzerias in the world
Grosso Napoletano topped the list for the second year in a row. Founded in 2017, its mission was to bring Neapolitan pizza to Spain—first to Madrid and then to Barcelona, Seville, Saragoza and other locales in the Iberian Peninsula.
According to 50 Top Pizza, “Grosso Napoletano’s strengths are the vast selection of raw materials and the meticulous study of the dough of the most famous pizza in Spanish territory, made only with Italian flours: It undergoes up to 48 hours of leavening to obtain a thin and elastic pizza….On the menu, you can find everything from the classic calzone to traditional Campanian pizzas, with vegan options, special edition pizzas and classic must-haves such as Grandma’s Meatballs or Eggplant Parmesan.”
Second place went to L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, which has been operating for 150 years in the heart of Forcella in Naples. Known for its “wagon wheel” pizza (“a ruota di carro” in Italian), Da Michele has grown to more than 60 locations spread out over several continents, including New York City and Hollywood, Long Beach and Santa Barbara, California, in the U.S.
“Still today, at all hours of the day, hundreds of Neapolitans and tourists wait their turn to eat the famous pizza a ruota di carro from Michele,” 50 Top Pizza notes.
In third place was Big Mamma Group, founded by Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux, a pair of French pizzaioli. It now has numerous locations in France, Spain, England and Germany. “By using the codes of Italian tradition from the beginning and combining them with Parisian ones, they manage to win over customers from all cultures,” 50 Top Pizza said.
Brazilian chain Bráz Pizzaria took fourth place and has become “synonymous with pizza” from Sao Paulo to Rio De Janeiro, while Luigia, with outlets in Switzerland and Dubai, claimed the fifth spot, offering “authentic Italian cuisine with pizza at the center of attention.”
As for Paulie Gee’s, 50 Top Pizza wrote that the experience “is always pleasant, characterized by venues that adhere to the spirit of the place, where the bar is always clearly visible. Here you can enjoy pizza in an intimate and rustic setting, with a simple and well-kept style, pampered by quick and warm service.” The pizza guide called out Paulie Gee’s specialty pies like the Hellboy (pepperoni, spicy soppressata and honey) and the Cherry Jones (mozzarella, gorgonzola, prosciutto di Parma, cherries and honey).
Pizzana, meanwhile, “has amazed customers with its forward-thinking style: a hybrid version of Neapolitan pizza with a sweet bake and a hearty bite,” 50 Top Pizza said. “The dough is made with Uditi’s sourdough starter, which gives the crust flavor and strength, allowing for experimentation and the creation of new types of pizzas, all starting from the unmistakable pizza maker’s dough.”
Here’s a look at the world’s top 10 artisan pizza chains according to 50 Top Pizza:
1. Grosso Napoletano
2. Antica Pizzeri di Michele
3. Big Mamma Group
4. Bráz Pizzaria
5. Luigia
6. Berberè
7. Pizza Pilgrims
8. 400 Gradi
9. Eataly
10. Pizzium
Click here to view the full list of the top 50 artisan pizza chains.
