Categories > Guides and Tips
Have a slice of South Africa at the 6 best pizza restaurants in Cape Town!
When you think of South African cuisine, pizza might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, pizza is one of my favourite foods, and it’s certainly one of the most beloved dishes around the world.
The country has its fair share of great pizza restaurants, from authentic Italian pizzas to fusions of South African cuisine. Cape Town has some of them, and we’re here to try them out!
Ferdinando’s Pizza
Media from: ferdinandospizza
Website: https://ferdinandospizza.com/
Address: 205 Lower Main Rd, Observatory
Phone: +27 84 771 0485
Price: $$
Ferdinando’s Pizza is a Cape Town Pizzeria whose ethos is proudly declared by a simple, bold statement: Pizza is about love. I love this pizzeria’s sweet “love story” of a boy and a girl meeting and turning their pizza dreams into reality!
Notable for their Euro-African approach to pizza, Ferdinando’s fuses South African culinary heritage with traditional Italian pizza.
I visited the restaurant with a friend, and we really liked their menu, which was extensive, affordable, and even had vegan options. I opted for the Montanara, which had ricotta, salami, and mushrooms on it. The pizza was cooked perfectly in their wood oven, and it was an interesting mix of flavours.
My friend, on the other hand, got the Kimonster, which is noted as the head chef’s first-ever pizza recipe and had spicy Italian salami and pineapple on it. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of pineapple on pizza, but something about its sweetness cutting through the spice of the salami and the acidity of the tomato sauce really changed my mind about it!
| Pro tip: In the mood for pizza but want something smaller? Try Ferdinando’s pizza frittes, which are small deep-fried pizzas available as an appetiser. |
Nonna Lina Ristorante Pizzeria
Media from: nonnalinaalesund
Website: https://nonnalina.com/
Address: 64 Orange St, Gardens
Phone: +27 21 424 4966
Price: $$$
Named after the owner’s Italian grandmother, Nonna Lina Ristorante Pizzeria offers traditional Italian dishes. They don’t offer flights to Italy, but their food is sure to bring you a taste of “La Dolce Vita” anyway.
Nonna Lina’s menu consists of traditional Italian dishes, from pastas like spaghetti, gnocchi, and tagliatelle, to Italian starters like tagliere e carasau (cured meats) and aubergine parmigiana.
The real stars of the show here, though, are the pizzas, which take up 4 pages of their extensive menu!
Our server politely but strongly urged me to try out the pizza Nonno Vittorio, which was a harmonious blend of cheeses, tomatoes, and grilled aubergines. While I was a little confused and even intimidated at first, given that it had so many toppings on it, the flavours just worked!
| Pro tips: Nonna Lina’s cioccoblocco, a walnut chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, might be one of the best desserts I’ve ever had! If all the Italian is confusing, worry not, because the last page of their menu has common words and their translations on it! |
Pizza Warehouse at YARD
Media from: pizzawarehouseatyard
Website: https://www.yardco.co.za
Address: 6 Roodehek St, Gardens
Phone: +27 83 440 7843
Price: $$
YARD Pizza Warehouse is a pizzeria which prides itself on balancing authenticity with creativity and unpredictability.
Serving not only Italian but also American-style pizzas (specifically Californian and New York pizzas), this restaurant is unique because it actually allows you to build your own pizza!
A couple of my friends didn’t want to make their own pizzas, so they opted for their traditional Margherita and Manhattan pizzas. I got to try a few bites, and they tasted fresh and well-cooked, and the cheese they used was rich and flavourful.
I, on the other hand, excitedly got to work assembling this Manhattan-style tomato and mozzarella pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, beef, and ricotta. The ingredients were surprisingly fresh, and my pizza tasted good!
| Pro tip: YARD also serves burgers and wings from their humorously named “Dogs Bollocks” line. |
Lievita Cape Town
Media from: lievitacpt
Website: https://www.lievita.co.za/
Address: 1 Marina Rd, Green Point
Phone: +27 21 300 1514
Price: $$$
Offering luxury fine dining and authentic Italian cuisine, Lievita Cape Town is a restaurant spearheaded by its head chef, Andrea. Nicknamed “The Maestro,” Andrea is an Italian national who, after two decades of experience, decided to bring his expertise and love for Italian cuisine to South Africa.
They offer all the classic Italian dishes you know and love, such as spaghetti alla puttanesca and tiramisu.
I decided that the pizzas I would get here would be classics: the Margherita and the Neapolitan pizzas. I was thoroughly impressed by how savoury, balanced, and fresh the pizzas were.
I also ordered their frittura di calamari e zucchini (fried calamari and zucchini) and conetti fritti (fried dough cones) for my starters.
| Pro tip: Lievita has seasonal additions to its menu, which change every few months or so. Plan a visit accordingly if you want to be surprised by limited-time specials! |
Pizza Shed St. James
Media from: pizza.shed
Website: https://pizzashed.co.za/
Address: 56 Main Rd, St James
Phone: +27 71 342 5681
Price: $$
Pizza Shed, true to its name, is a quaint little restaurant in the middle of Cape Town. With its smaller menu and portions, it embodies the phrase “less is more.”
With comfy, intimate decor, al fresco seating, and the shop’s founders on the frontlines, this is a pizzeria that certainly leaves an impression.
Offering only 10 pizzas, 2 starters, and 2 desserts, Pizza Shed focuses on maintaining high quality with every pizza that leaves the oven. This is best seen in their dough, which uses a special fermentation method and requires 72 hours to be prepared.
I visited Pizza Shed when I wanted smaller slices, and I particularly loved their mortadella pizza and their pepperoni and hot honey pizza. It’s not as glamorous as other entries on this list, but man, was it good!
| Pro tip: Pizza Shed has locations all over Cape Town! They have two other branches at the Main Road Observatory and Bree Street. |
NY Slice Pizza
Media from: nyslicepizza
Website: https://nyslicepizza.com
Address: 51 Kloof St.
Phone: +27 21 426 4141
Price: $
New York pizza is, in my humble opinion, second only to Italian when it comes to the greatest pizzas in the world. On some days, it might even be tied. When I’m feeling like I want a slice of pizza from the Big Apple, NY Slice Pizza delivers.
It started as a way for its founder, Mark Francis, to have a slice of home in South Africa. Their menu consists of all the New York staples, from the iconic NYC pepperoni pizza to the more niche flavours like buffalo chicken.
I sought to try a classic and something I haven’t had yet. The New York pepperoni tasted exactly like the slices I had when I visited the Empire State, perfectly savoury, cheesy, and even slightly spicy.
The buffalo chicken, on the other hand, was unique, with the barbecue taste making it an interesting blend of smoky, tangy, and savoury.
| Pro tip: Make sure to try out NY Slice’s different dips and mix them around with your pizza to see what combos you like. I really liked the hot honey with the pepperoni and, surprisingly, barbecue chicken with basil pesto! |
