The best pizza in Delhi NCR

What is it: Named after founder Amol Kumar’s beloved late golden retriever, Leo’s is perhaps one of the most famous pizza joints in Delhi, credited with bringing the proper Neapolitan style slice to the city

Why go: What started as a small space in Ghitorni in 2017 has now become several outlets across the city, with a quality that’s refused to dip. Their signature outlet in Basant Lok market with two levels and a whole wall dedicated to pictures of Amol’s dogs still attracts long queues and waiting lists. The interiors of a Leo’s is always simple, uncluttered, with minimal furniture, and large amounts of the best chilli oil in the city.

What to order: The Truffle Salami is a pizza par excellence – a lovely sourdough crust, topped with their San Marzano tomato sauce, and then meticulously covered with large slices of thinly cut truffle salami. The vegetarians swear by the plain and simple Margherita, or the Pesto Burrata, with a chunky ball of burrata smack dab in the middle of the pizza and a spiral swirl of pesto carefully drizzled on top. Wash it off with an excellent coffee called the Dark Nut, and there’s always tiramisu for dessert. 

Address (Basant Lok): 28, Basant Lok Market, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi 110057; multiple other outlets

Timings: Daily. Noon to 11.45pm. 

Price: ₹2,000 for two without drinks 

What is it: The pandemic-era brainchild of Naples-born Susanna Di Cosimo and winner of several best pizza awards in India and Asia

Why go: Anybody who ever bothered to google the word ‘pizza’ is no doubt familiar with the story of Queen Margherita and the supposed origin of the dish in the town of Naples, Italy. And when Susanna Di Cosimo started baking Neapolitan-style pizzas during the pandemic, the locals of Gurgaon took to the pizzas like fish to water. From one tiny location in Gurgaon’s Baani Square, to a sprawling corner of the first floor of Cross Point Mall, Pizzeria Da Susy’s rise to success is beaten only by the rise they get in their pizza crusts. 

What to order: Besides the classics, which are done incredibly well, they are also among the only pizzerias to offer a variety of different sauces, including a ridiculously good pumpkin sauce, and even a spinach sauce-based pizza. Try the Diavola, where the umami-packed circles of pepperoni are sliced for a more even spread of flavour across the pizza, or get the Parma & Grana, with thin, diaphanous slices of prosciutto, topped with rocket leaves and generous shaving of grana padano cheese.

If you’re bored of the usual suspects, order the Zucotta, where pumpkin sauce, blue cheese and walnuts are some of the key players. And if you’re a finicky eater who hates getting their hands dirty, worry not – the panuozzos are there on the menu, for all the joys of eating a pizza and none of the saucy mess. End with an affogato or a tiramisu.

Address: 109-110, first floor, Cross Point Mall, Hamilton Court Road, DLF City 4, Gurugram, Haryana 122009

Timings: Mon–Fri: Noon to 10pm; Sat-Sun: Noon–11.15pm. 

Price: ₹2,200 for two, without drinks

What is it: A pizzeria and taqueria that’s managed to perfect both the Mexican and Italian staples. They’re known for doing two kinds of pizzas – the floppy Neapolitan-style, plus a large rectangular thin crust version

Why go: When they first opened doors at The Gallery on MG Road a couple of years ago, Bomba was relatively unknown. The large space, the lovely colourful cartoons and sketches on the walls, and the heady scent of warm dough and melted cheese, though, soon had people queuing up for a place, and in the years since, they’ve opened two new locations. The chief attraction is the pizzas – their tomato sauce is just a little more on the spicier side, they were the first ones to introduce the element of hot honey drizzled over a pizza, and they even let you pick whether you want a rectangular thin crust pizza, or Neapolitan style. 

What to order: The Hottie 2.0 is the one to get here – nduja, pepperoni, rocket leaves, hot honey and parmesan. It’s like an all-stars pizza, with the favourite elements of my favourite pizzas coming together in one, and tastes divine to boot. The veggie G.O.A.T. comes in at a close second, with goat’s cheese, truffle honey, caramelized onions, rocket leaves, pine nuts and some pepper. The dessert section, you’d be surprised to find out, has a lot more on offer than a tiramisu – the skillet cookie is to die for, especially when drizzled with some salted caramel on top, as is the Bomba birthday cake, which is a palm sized chocolate cake, complete with sprinkles and even a tiny lit candle. 

Time Out tip: Ask for a side of the Calabrian chilli butter to dip your crusts in, because once you smear your pizza crusts with some chilli butter, the second part of your life begins and everything from before fades into irrelevance. 

Address: Ground floor, VIIPS Centre, GK 3, Masjid Moth, New Delhi 110048 // 22,23, Ground Floor, The Gallery On Mg Mall, 21, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Rd, New Manglapuri, Sultanpur, New Delhi, Delhi, 110030

Timings: Daily. Noon–11pm.

Price: ₹1,800 for two without alcohol

What is it: By the folks of Yum Yum Cha and Pot Pot, an offering that serves ‘continental’ food that doesn’t fall under the banner of Indian or Pan-Asian cuisine, with great pizza, yes, but also some excellent pasta, sharing plates, and bakes

Why go: The whimsiness of TBSP’s half the experience itself, and the restaurant’s decked up akin to what feels like the kitchen of a giant Lego man, with bright colours, bold lettering, with the walls stacked with rows of labelled cans and tins of produce, plus steel plates and cutlery. Their pizzas are just so good that you’d be hard-pressed to find a single table without the familiar cheese-laden disc occupying the place of pride on it. 

What to order: Get the double pepperoni, which arrives table-side sighing under the weight of pork chorizo and sliced pepperoni, daintily scattered over some vodka sauce base and baked till the cheese above has blisters on it. The spicy honey margherita is excellent, with hot honey and paprika delivering the perfect amount of oomph to cut through the cheese. Brownie points for giving two dips for the crust, a marinara and a creamy garlic one. Wash it up with their in-house root beer or cherry cola, and end your meal with their most excellent version of a Snickers bar. 

Address: Second floor, Select Citywalk Mall, Sector 6 Saket, New Delhi 110017

Timings: Daily. Noon–11pm.

Price: ₹1,800 for two

What is it: Leo's Pizzeria owner's foray into the giant New York slice, operating out of a neon-lit corner of Hauz Khas market

Why go: You know you're in good hands when you've entered any pizzeria by Amol Gupta, and while yes, their Neapolitan pies at Leo's ARE the shit, their NY-style ones aren't far behind. Come here for a mercifully concise menu, super quick service, and some of the most flavourful marinara sauce you may ever had had.

What to order: The sausage and bacon pizza’s particularly excellent, with generous toppings of italian fennel sausage and perfectly crisp bacon atop a cheese slice. The stracciatella, however, was a revelation: creamy goo atop blistered mozzarella and tomato sauce, making for a fantastic bite.

Address:15, G-Block, Hauz Khas Market, New Delhi, 110016

Timings: Daily. Noon to 12.30am.

Price: ₹1,500 for two without drinks

What is it: One of the most difficult tables to bag a reservation for in the city, with top-notch pizzas and perhaps, even better pastas

Why go: A tiny restaurant that sprung into existence in the leafy lanes of Shivalik almost eight years ago, EVOO quietly emulates an Italian restaurant frequented only by locks, what with the dark leather seats, marble-topped tables, and a gigantic copper-covered pizza oven.  A big reason behind the superbly high quality of food is the presence of the owners, who are always at the joint, ensuring things run smoothly. 

What to order: Meat lovers, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t get the Pork Calabrian, with crumbled spicy Italian fennel sausage, pancetta, and tomato sauce, garnished with some parsley. Vegetarians swear by the Exotic Mushroom, the Pistachio & Pesto and the Truffle Burrata. The crust has the exact amount of bounce and chew that you’d be looking for in a great Neapolitan-style pizza. They were also among the very first in the city to offer panuozzos, and their lamb meatball panuozzo remains among the better italian dishes I’ve sampled in the city. They offer a selection of coffees, and a panna cotta topped with seasonal fruit is the dessert I’d recommend.

Address: Ground floor, B-2, Shivalik Road, Block B, Shivalik Colony, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi 110017

Timings: Daily. Mon–Thurs: Noon–10.30pm. Fri-Sun: Noon–11pm. 

Price: ₹2,100 for two

What is it: A pizzeria that excels in the massive New York style pizza, sold by the slice

Why go: Having broken away from the Neapolitan fever that’s caught the fancy of every pizzaiolo in town, Galaxy’s earned a long line of regulars with their massive NY-style pizzas. Hidden on a first floor above Priya Market, with an entrance that’s more difficult to locate than the average Delhi speakeasy bar, Galaxy’s slice shop (not to be confused with their main pizza outlet in East of Kailash) also serves up some of the best stuffed garlic bread in town. 

What to order: Folks mainly come here for the Angry Bird, with its garlic crispy chilli oil, chicken, mozzarella and San Marzano tomato sauce, and the Angry Margherita, where the humble margherita has been jazzed up with dollops of the garlic crispy chilli oil. Do not miss their garlic bread, and be sure to get the hot honey ranch dip on the side. This is carb heaven, so calorie-counting sinners don't make it past these pearly gates. 

Time Out tip: Don’t skimp out on the dips – which is another concept Galaxy seems to have introduced to us condiment-loving Indians. 

Address: First floor, Building No. 8, Community Centre, Basant Lok Market, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi 110057

Timings: Daily. 11am–2am. 

Price: ₹1,100 for two

What is it: Located smack dab in the middle of the now bustling Kailash Colony market, Paparizza is an incredibly popular pizzeria, almost always spilling over with gaggles of students from nearby colleges and couples on first dates.

Why go: They do all kinds of pizza here – Neapolitan, New York, and an incredible Detroit style, unlike most pizzerias in the city – plus some pastas and stuffed garlic breads. The haunt’s darkly intimate, with kitschy art and pop-culture references. The beers are served ice cold and pizzas are piping hot – what more could one ask for?

What to order: The GOAT remains my go-to order here, with minced lamb and parsley over tomato sauce on a Neapolitan crust, while my vegetarian pals go for the Veg Diavola, which comes with veggies and fermented chilli on top. The tiramisu is on the drier side, but worth a try to end your meal with. 

Address: Ground floor, Kailash Colony Market, GK1, Greater Kailash, New Delhi 110048

Timings: Daily. 8am–1am.

Price: ₹1,500 for two without drinks

What is it: A vinyl bar with a wide menu, great coffee, and cool cocktails in Defence Colony

Why go: At first glance, you’d be forgiven for wondering what on earth Genre is doing here on this list. What business does a record bar, known for its clarified cocktails, have, being on a list of the best pizzas in the city? I say you head right over, open the menu to the flatbread section and place an order of the first one that catches your fancy. 

What to order: The bacon and onion, true to its name, served with an almost crispy base, streaky bacon, blistered tomatoes and caramelized onions, with a generous share of oozy cheese, is nothing short of absolutely divine. There’s a non-zero chance that it’ll be hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth, but so good is the taste that you won’t even care. On the bright side, you can always get a nice cold cocktail to ease the pain. 

Address: Shop No 7, Ground floor, Defence Colony Market, Block A, Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024

Timings: Daily. 9am–midnight. 

Price: ₹1,800 for two without drinks