Food doesn’t come much simpler and comforting than a pizza, and yet some places have managed to take the basics of dough, tomato sauce and cheese and make something quite spectacular.
Whether you like your pizza straight from a wood-fired oven, made from sourdough, served alongside a flight of cider or made with vegan cheese, Bristol has something for every preference and persuasion.
So without further ado, here are Bristol’s most perfect purveyors of all thing pizza….
The Mavericks
Sourdough pizza with crusts which are chewy, puffy and light as a feather all at once, and that’s before you even get me started on the sauce and toppings. And their gelato. And the wine. Don’t miss their Pizza Giro nights, where you can eat bottomless pizza!
The Stable
Not content with offering a ridiculous number of ciders, this lot also lay on some tasty pies and pizzas to soak up all that fermented apple juice. I’d recommend the Lamb Roast pizza with sweet potato & goats cheese, but the Avonmouth Angler (salmon, spinach & mackerel), or the West Country Porker (chorizo & rocket) are also spot on.
Pepe Nero
Italian fast food and a fine choice of pizzas (including some 20inch beasts) now based out of the Beer Emporium on King St and The Full Moon on Stokes Croft to help you soak up all of the beer you’ll be consuming – hurrah! These guys do an excellent selection of vegetarian and vegan pizzas and it’s all organic too, so your conscience will feel just as satisfied as your tastebuds.
Planet Pizza is an old favourite among Bristolians, with lots of funky toppings to choose from, including harissa chicken and halloumi. They also do pizza parties – can you imagine??
Pizzarova is making waves on Gloucester Road, Park Street & at their harbourside crate for their create-you-own approach – we’re also desperate to get our hands on one of their pink cards which entitle you to UNLIMITED PIZZA.
The Italian Jobs
Bosco Pizzeria
Bringing a slice (heh) of Italian glamour to Whiteladies Road, you can sit in a cosy booth or up by their pizza ovens to watch the action. The veal meatball pizza is especially epic, but then everything I’ve tried so far has been lovely.
A Capella
A cute little deli cafe on Wells Road in Totterdown, by day you can fill up on cake and antipasti, and in the evening choose from a selection of yummy pizzas. They’ve won lots of awards for their pizza, so definitely give them a try!
Napolita
A new addition to the list due to the overwhelming amount of people telling me that this little Italian cafe in St Werburghs does the best pizza in Bristol by a country mile. I’m yet to visit (I’ll be rectifying this asap), but on word of mouth alone I’d say you’re on to a winner here.
The arrival of Pizza Workshop on North St and Whiteladies Rd means that you no longer have to trek north of the river for excellent pizza. The menu is short and sweet, and the ingredients are first rate. Pay them a visit!
La Grotta (another pizza award winner) and Renato’s are all central and reliably good trattorias with a loyal following and family feel – I’d say any of them are worth the visit, peruse their menus and pick your favourite! Sergio’s just off Park Street is still great value and known citywide for fantastic Italian food – plus it’s BYO!
Pub Pizza
Beerd
A quirky interior, one of the best selections of beer in town and tasty pizzas; I had a chorizo, cauliflower and blue cheese one recently which made me want to slap the table with joy. It’s totally worth the trek up St Michael’s Hill.
Beer fans should also look in on Zero Degrees – their pizzas and home-brewed beers are especially good when enjoyed on their balcony on sunnier days.
No. 51 Stokes Croft
More than just funky music and a spacious beer garden, No. 51 also offer up a short and sweet pizza menu which will do more than just line your stomach before a night out on Stokes Croft.
Bocabar
Head along to Paintworks for a surprisingly extensive and adventurous pizza menu – are you curious enough to sample their pepperoni and prawn combo?
Other pubby options include The Hen & Chickens in Bedminster, they do some great 2 for 1 deals during the week, and have a comedy club upstairs – The Greenbank in Easton also do tasty pizza with a monthly dose of comedy upstairs.
Or you could try Ray’s Pizza at The Lanes where you can eat your pizza whilst bowling, then wash it down with a boozy milkshake; what could be better? Ray also cooks up a pizza storm at The Crofter’s Rights, if you want to wash down that dough with some chilli & ginger cider or one of their 10+ beers on tap.
Well, that’s my pizza recommendations almost exhausted, the only other tips I can give you is that if you can’t be bothered to leave the house, try ordering from The Grecian on Gloucester Road (how they’re still doing their £5 pizza + chips deal is beyond me), or The Red Pizza Company – their Bristol Bad Boy is an especially tasty spicy number.
If you like this, you’ll also like:
- Bristol’s Best Steak Deals
- The 10 Best Brunches in Bristol
- Bristol’s Best Roast Dinners
- Bristol’s Best Pub Gardens
- The Craftiest Bristol Beer Bars
A Life Less Organised 
How could you miss out La Campagnuola?! The best pizza I’ve had in Bristol http://lacampagnuola.co.uk/
Good one for me to add to my to-try list, thanks!
Not sure I can get behind planet pizza.
When I went there my pizza was dissapointingly mushy, and for a thin base, very bready.
It reminded me very much of that late night pizza palace place on the centre, it tasted just like it had come out of one of those quick cook ovens
I haven’t been in a couple of years to be fair, but know that some people still rave about it.
Ah I need to try Flour and Ash. I keep hearing such good things!
Definitely make the trip, the pizzas and ice cream are gorgeous!
I went to ‘Flour and Ash’ and although pleasant enough it lacked atmosphere – the lighting was too cold. I did enjoy the pizza but not enough. Also had to wait ages for it – seemed to only have one oven and they couldn’t cope with a full restaurant. Went to ‘The Stable’ though and loved it – very noisy, not a place I thought I’d like, but the pizzas were fab. Some Italians I had staying with me also rated it highly and they’d been sniffy about all the other places we’d been! Still love the cosy ‘Pizza Provencale’!
I agree that the atmopshere at Flour&Ash might not be for everyone – I definitely love cosier places, but my pizza and ice cream were good enough to win me over! – Think The Stable, Bosco and Bertha’s might be my faves 🙂
An interesting list! The Lamb Roast pizza with sweet potato & goats cheese sounds amazing, considering I live in Cardiff, I’ve only been to Bristol twice, will definitely be using this guide when I hopefully visit more in the summer time!
The lamb roast one is so tasty and unusual, they have some seriously good specials too so check those out when you next make it across 🙂