These are the top five restaurants to get authentic Italian pizza in London

One of the most difficult aspects of being an Italian living abroad is surviving without Italian pizza. Some days you feel a very specific emptiness in your stomach, a void that can be filled only by a tasty, tomato- and mozzarella-topped pizza.

Finding a good pizzeria in London can be tough, but fear no more. I scouted around London and hand-picked five of the best restaurants where you can enjoy authentic, beautiful pizza, and you won’t have to set foot in Pizza Hut or Domino's ever again.

Crust Bros

Did you know that a Margherita in Italy can cost as little as five euros? Well, here you can find a good deal: a pretty decent basic pizza costs a fair six quid, and their Portobello, topped with mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, is a nice alternative to the evergreen Margherita. With Crust Bros, you can easily get pizza delivered right to your door with Deliveroo, or you can visit their restaurant in Waterloo.

Pizza Pilgrims

Their Covent Garden branch is only a 10-minute walk away from Strand campus, the crust in their pizza is soft and chewy, and they have a Calzone Ripieno that features ricotta – a triple treat if you ask me. Not to mention the fact that they have tablecloths, a very Italian convention that I truly miss in London.

L'antica Pizzeria Da Michele

Their restaurant in London is located in Baker Street, but Da Michele originally opened in Naples in 1907 where they serve only two kinds of pizza. Here, the menu offers a wider choice, but I still recommend choosing a classic, delicious Margherita or a simple Marinara: less is more!

Fratelli La Bufala

A name reminiscent of the superb Neapolitan mozzarella can only mean that it's good, right? Fratelli La Bufala have a restaurant near Piccadilly Circus, and they offer a selection of the Italian classics: Marinara, Margherita, Diavola (a Margherita with hot salami) and Quattro Formaggi, on which tomato sauce is swapped for a rich combination of four kinds of cheese.

50 Kalo

This recently opened restaurant near Trafalgar Square boasts a branch in Naples. If that isn’t promising enough, the wonderful smell will definitely lure you in. Everything about this place is inherently Italian, from the waiters to the décor and the pizza is just fantastic. Their Margherita has an interesting twist of Parmesan cheese, the centre is as mellow and difficult to bring to your mouth as it should be, and the crust is just heavenly.