Best 5 pizza joints in Adelaide, delicious reveals

From classic wood-fired pizza to ethically sourced pizza toppings, Adelaide’s best pizzerias have something for every taste. Here’s our pick of the top five.

Ever since Lucia Rosella opened Australia’s first pizzeria at the Central Market in 1957, Adelaide has had a love affair with pizza of every kind.

These days you can find crispy Neapolitan pies, classic New York slices, hefty Chicago deep dish creations and everything in between.

And whether it’s specially imported ingredients, handmade dough that proves for three days before cooking or new twists on classic flavours, Adelaide’s best pizzerias have something for every taste, so forget the pineapple on pizza debate and dig in.

Here is our pick of Adelaide’s top five pizza joints right now.

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Wood Oven Gourmet

Tucked in an unassuming strip mall in the northeastern suburbs, Adelaide’s best pizza joint may also be its most exclusive. It’s only open on Friday and Saturday nights, there’s no takeaway and it’s cash only.

Wood Oven Gourmet’s seafood pizza. Picture: David Cronin

Wood Oven Gourmet offers speciality pizzas. Picture: David Cronin

It also happens to be utterly delicious, and if you nab one of the 30 seats you’re in for a treat.

The strict rules allow welcoming owners Tony and Rita to focus on what they do best: thin, slightly chewy bases laden with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and gloriously fresh toppings (including homemade spicy Italian sausage), then cooked to perfection in the handmade pizza oven.

— 6/36 Hambledon Rd, Campbelltown

Etica

The name means “ethical” and owners Melissa and Federico Pisanelli take that title seriously – all meat products are sourced from humane suppliers and the rotating menu includes several plant-led options using vegan mozzarella.

Despite that break in tradition, you can expect authentic Neapolitan pies (Etica was the first eatery in Adelaide to gain Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana approval) like the exquisitely simple margherita on a chewy, slightly blistered base slathered with San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte and fresh basil leaves.

There are also fresh pasta and antipasto options, and the well-curated wine list heroes South Australian producers and Italian varietals.

— 125 Gilles St, Adelaide; etica.pizza

Sunny’s

Sitting somewhere between a pizza parlour and a 70s nightclub, this laneway joint is always jumping thanks to puffy, slightly charred pies pulled from the wood oven alongside “not pizza” selections including gnocchi and roasted brussels sprouts.

The vibe is retro fun and the tight menu is contained in a single page. You can’t go wrong with the seven pizza options and even purists will be tempted by the Hawaiian riff laden with chunks of chargrilled pineapple, slices of gabagool and zingy green chilli.

And if you like to pair your pizza with a pet nat, the equally playful wine list will be right up your alley.

— 17 Solomon St, Adelaide; sunnys.pizza

Anchovy Bandit

Pizza purists be warned: this cocktail bar and restaurant is not afraid to break with convention.

Dough proofed for three days ensures the bases are nice and springy, but toppings might include kimchi with salsa verde and smoked scamorza or meaty mushrooms with shio koji, garlic and thyme.

Kimchi pizza at Anchovy Bandit. Picture: Supplied

Anchovy Bandit offers different pizza toppings. Picture: Supplied

The oven also gets used for vegetable dishes like cauliflower with miso butter, and cocktails that veer off the beaten path with bases like mezcal, shochu and rhubarb bitters will have you sinking back in the plush leather booths for another round.

— 96 Prospect Rd, Prospect; anchovybandit.com

Tony Tomatoes pizza makes the top five list in Adelaide.

Tony Tomatoes

Tradition and modernity live side-by-side at this happening spot where the bases come in a choice of 72-hour classic made with high-protein flour blend and light as air superleggera featuring rye, oat and wheat germ.

Pizzas fly out of the oven in the crispy Roman style and go heavy on flavour – the Mr Pig features broccoli puree and baby broccoli alongside juicy pork and fennel sausage, while the Contadino adds oomph to thick cut mushrooms with a generous dose of truffle paste.

And if you want to skip the dough altogether, the hefty slow-cooked Beef Cheek Pizzaiola will satisfy any appetite.

— 155-157 O’Connell St, North Adelaide; tonytomatoes.com.au