Yes, xiaolongbao, hairy crab and Shanghai noodles are amazing; but every once in a while, a break from the MSG is needed. And by break, we mean a cheesy, saucy, meaty, hot slab of delicious pizza. If you’re in the Pearl of the Orient and are craving a slice of Italy, we’ve got options for you. Here are the best places for a slice or two in the city.

Goodfellas

Goodfellas

It’s hard to go wrong with Goodfellas. It’s above par in every arena: taste, atmosphere, service, quality to price ratio, location, whisky and wine list… the list goes on. The Italian chef (who also makes his own sauces) ensures that everything you taste is authentic, and the imported ingredients back that up. All of their crispy thin crust pizzas are good, but we recommend the speck tirolese as the best.

Goodfellas2

Address: 7 Yan’an Dong Lu, near Zhongshan Dong Er Lu
Phone: 021 6323 2188
Price: 100 – 200 RMB

Pizza Express

Pizza Express2

Pizza Express sounds like the hole in the wall dig that you gained 15 lbs at in college, but (for better or worse) this is not the same place. Fair enough, the Pizza Express chains in Shanghai are good, and less greasy, so hear me out before you kick and shout and click out of the screen. It’s a classic American-Italian diner with all the favorites: bruschetta, garlic bread, prosciutto and melon, Caesar salad, lasagna, spaghetti carbonara, Bolognese, and, as the name suggests, pizza. I absolutely have to recommend the Peking Duck pizza – trust me on this one people, you won’t be disappointed. It’s also worth mentioning they have a vegetarian menu.

Address: 570 Yongjia Lu, Surpass Court, Room 111, near Yueyang Lu
Tel: 021 6467 8898
Price: 110 – 200 RMB

Una’s Pizza

Una's Pizza

There’s nothing spectacular about Una’s, but for some reason this ordinary place is always satisfying. Perhaps it’s the location with pleasant outdoor seating right on the edge of a large promenade on Changshu Lu – perfect for people watching and an even better place for enjoying their two-for-one happy hour deals. And for the pizza, well, they get the job done. They’re massive and juicy, and the meat lovers is easily my favorite. They even do a nice Sunday brunch that starts at 11am – be expecting more items like eggs benedict rather than pizza though.

Address: 77 Changshu Lu, near Julu Lu
Tel: 021 5403 4767
Price: about 100 RMB

Bella Napoli

Bella Napoli

Bella Napoli is one of the expat’s favorites. And with Italian owners, a good wine selection, and top shelf ingredients, why wouldn’t it be? Bella Napoli has an open kitchen so you can check out all the dough flopping around (a pepperoni might even come saucer-ing your way), and the pizzas get major brownie points for passing through the stone-fire oven. Try one of their seafood pizzas, rest assured whatever’s on top was swimming a day or two ago. FYI they also have excellent buffalo mozzarella, so anything topped with it will do nothing less than satisfy.

Address: 73 Nanhui Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu
Tel: 021 5289 0806
Price: 100 – 200 RMB

DOC Gastronomia Italia

DOC Gastronomia Italia

DOC’s interior decoration and atmosphere gets a blue ribbon (this actually might be a reason that jacks the prices up though). All their pizzas are made from imported Italian flour and water, and roasted in a wood-fire oven. The tiger prawn pizza is hard to beat, but you also can’t go wrong with a simple classic like their margherita. For pasta, try their hand crafted raviolis. It’s a great place for a first date.

Address: 5 Dongping Lu, near Yueyang Lu
Tel: 021 6473 9394
Price: 200 – 300 RMB

La Strada

This no frills, simple joint presents a nice selection of standard pizzas. The wine list is below par (stick with one of their imported beers), and some of the other items on the menu aren’t anything to call home about, but the pizza is tasty enough to make this list. It’s good for a casual/relaxed evening with friends, or even for lunch. The funghi pizza gets rave reviews from diners.

Address: 195 Anfu Lu, near Wulumuqi Zhong Lu
Tel: 021 5404 0100
Price: 100 – 200 RMB

Il Giardino

Il Giardino

Il Giardino offers a variety of authentic Italian-style pizzas, breaking down its pizza menu to authentic subsections such as Pizze Classiche, Pizze Con Affettati, and Le Pizze Speciali — each offering its own selection of 12-inch wheels of paper-thin goodness. We preferred the basic formaggi pie, which is mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and gorgonzola cheese (cheese anyone?) all melted atop a lovely skinny dough. But herein lies the secret of a good wood-fired slice with superior ingredients to boot: the thin crust never falters under the weight of its toppings, retaining its crusty, ever-so-delicately crispy exterior throughout. Il Giardino proved that its crust can take on the power of three robust Italian cheeses and still maintain its base function. Now consider the fact that Il Giardino’s ingredients are fresh, its wine list robust, its prices affordable and its outdoor portico charming for warm-weather feasting… well, this New Yorker is sold.

Address: 607 Beijing Xi Lu, Jing’an District
Tel: 021 6253 3399

Pane e Vino

Pane e Vino

For the most traditional thin crust, why not go straight to the source? The owners of Pane e Vino, husband and wife team Echo Zheng and Antonio Sciaraffa, do just that by importing all of their major ingredients straight from Italian distributors. The most important? “Definitely the Italian flour,” states Zheng. The combination of authentic ingredients and their in-house wood-fired oven creates a thin-crust experience that can’t be beaten. Zheng states: “Our slices are so thin that you must eat the pizza within the restaurant. Once you take it outside, it changes its taste.” This thin-crust lover agrees, as there’s nothing like a hot Margherita pie straight from the oven at Pane to make you want to stick to that seat. Try the ultra-fresh arugula salad as a starter or a side to your slender slice.

Address: 47 Sinan Lu, Huangpu District
Tel: 021 5465 2177

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