From traditional to adventurous toppings, to fold-and-scoff New York slices, these Melbourne pizzas are a guaranteed good time, all the time.

48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar

48 hours is the minimum time required for pizza dough to rise, a common wisdom that lent its name to this award-winning pizzeria. With two southside outposts and one in the inner west, 48h won Best Pizzeria in the Asia Pacific in the 2022 50 Top Pizza awards. Exposed brick and framed vintage Italian posters are the backdrop to the restaurant’s dual focus – all pizzas can be made with hemp flour, mirroring the completely gluten-free gnocchi menu.

Nicest slice: Di parma (tomato sauce, mozzarella, fior di latte, prosciutto di Parma, Italian buffalo mozzarella, rocket, grana padano)

373 Malvern Road, South Yarra; 15 Gordon Street, Elsternwick; 20 Booker Street, Spotswood, 48h.com.au

Di Stasio Pizzeria

Tucked away behind the King and Godfrey complex in the heart of Carlton is an oasis away from the cacophony of Lygon Street – Di Stasio Pizzeria. They serve nine different Napoli-style pies with blousy crusts that have been properly scorched in a wood-fired gas rotary Marana Forni oven. The quality ingredients used – durum wheat flour specially milled in Tamworth, house-made jersey milk fior di latte – mean it’s definitely on the pricey side, but that lobster pizza alone is worth it.

The nicest slice: Mastunicola All’aragosta (fior di latte, lobster, lard, herbs) $53, or the classic margherita regina (tomato, fior di latte, basil) for more modest budgets ($33).

224 Faraday Street, Carlton, distasio.com.au/carlton

Figlia

Figlia may be a newcomer in name, but the pedigree of belonging to the same family as Tipo 00 and Osteria Ilaria means there were crowds at the ready as soon as the large and airy industrial 80-seater opened its doors. With pizzas made of dough hand-stretched from organic wheat flour creating the kind of char you’d only get in a hybrid gas-woodburning oven, Figlia marries the basic goodness of Italian thin-crust pies with modern Australiana toppings.

Nicest slice: Lingua (ox tongue, roasted garlic, pecorino, endive)

335 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, figlia.com.au

Harley and Rose

Pizzeria, natural wine bar and neighbourhood diner in one, the warm and inviting Harley and Rose is a gem of the west. Make a beeline for the puffy pizzas emerging from the glowing wood-fired oven – pipis flecked with parsley, lemon and cream, and salami laced with jalapenos and scamorza are some of the tantalisingly good toppings. You can also zhuzh up your pizza with add-ons like anchovies and stretched curds or enliven your crusts with cod dip (do it).

Nicest slice: Broccoli (smoked garlic, parmesan, chilli and lemon)

572 Barkly Street, West Footscray, harleyandrose.net.au

Noi Pizzeria

Noi Pizzeria was born out of Naples-born-and-bred Stefano Maffei’s desire to eat a real Neapolitan slice when he arrived in Melbourne in 2014. Chefs who can stretch a pizza in 10 seconds, dress it in 30 seconds and cook it in 2.5 minutes are the gold standard for Neapolitan pizzas and the three imported pizzaiolos at Noi nail the brief. It’s a secret for now, but ask for Naples speciality pizza fritta, which is fried first, then finished off in the oven.

Nicest slice: Sofia (white base, potatoes, friarielli, mushrooms, zucchini, chilli and garlic)

3072/60 High Street, Preston, noipizzeria.com.au

Pizza d’Asporto

Pizza bianca – white pizzas topped with simply olive oil, salt and/or cheese – is criminally underrated compared to its pizza rossa counterpart, but Pizza d’Asporto has an entire section devoted to it. The westside institution – with three outposts in Williamstown, Essendon and Yarraville – has gained a cult following for its traditional Neapolitan pizzas with crisp, almost flaky bases and generous toppings that run the gamut from pork sausage and broccoli rabe to sopressa salami, artichoke hearts, grilled peppers and olives.

Nicest slice: Zucchine e gambretti (mozzarella, zucchini, king prawn, mint and chilli)

Rifle Range Shopping Centre, Shop 11/71 Kororoit Creek Road, Williamstown; 2-6 Ballarat Street, Yarraville; 72 Napier Street, Essendon; pizzadasporto.com.au

Red Sparrow Pizza

Red Sparrow in Collingwood and Prahran are havens for Melbourne vegans all over. While vegan pizzas are hardly a novelty these days, Red Sparrow is one of the few pizzerias where everything is vegan. A pizza oven imported from Italy is where the magic happens – bestsellers BBQ chick’n, cheeseburger and G.O.A.T (a medley of thyme mushrooms, tomatoes and caramelised onions) sit alongside the more traditional classic pizza, pepperoni and Hawaiian – albeit all with dairy-free cheeses and meat substitutes.

Nicest slice: Cheeseburger (tomato base, dairy-free mozzarella, crumbled burger, red onion, pickles, special sauce and sesame seeds)

406 Smith Street, Collingwood; 260 Chapel Street, Prahran; redsparrowpizza.com

Slice Shop Pizza

Large New York-style pizzas sold by the slice – so thin and pliant you can fold them any which way before stuffing them into your gob – is what this Footscray corner-side pizzeria is known for. Started by the same duo behind Burn City Smokers, the shop boasts house-made pepperoni, tipo 00 dough fermented for three days, and toppings ranging from spicy Italian sausage to truffle oil-slicked field mushrooms. Order your slices to go, or order in from Mr West or Baby Snakes Bar.

Nicest slice: Mushroom (field mushrooms, parmesan, mozzarella, porcini and truffle oil)

101 Nicholson Street Mall, Footscray, sliceshoppizza.com.au

Small Print Pizza Bar

Sustainability is the focus at Small Print, a quaint Windsor pizzeria intent on being a zero-waste venue, which is not to say it’s the only focus. A mostly plant-focused menu (with optional add-ons like anchovies, slow-cooked lamb and prosciutto), recycled pizza boxes and a closed-loop recycling system are matched by the care devoted to 48-hour fermented bases which are hand-stretched and cooked in stone wood-fired ovens. The result is pizzas that are thin in the centre, puffy around the edges, and delicious everywhere.

Nicest slice: Potato (white base, potato, red onion, rosemary, goat’s cheese, mozzarella)

388 High Street, Windsor, smallprintpizza.com.au

Takeaway Pizza

Go hard or go home should be the motto of Preston hole-in-the-wall Takeaway Pizza. From the same people behind barbecue spot Dexter, there’s no holding back on what their three-day fermented dough is topped with. You’re as likely to encounter salami and honey together as you are to find spiced cauliflower with craisins, and chorizo with poached rockling (on three separate pizzas, to be clear). The vibe is cool and cosy – think black-and-white chequered floors, floral wallpaper and an intimate outdoor space.

Nicest slice: Pastrami and marrow (house-cured pastrami, bone marrow made from O’Connor premium beef brisket, spring onions, Dexter’s signature meat sauce, red sauce, That’s Amore mozzarella)

535 High Street, Preston, takeawaypizza.melbourne

Thin Slizzy Pizzeria

What’s more Melbourne than a restaurant in a space that still has its old signage? Thin Slizzy concentrates its efforts on what goes on inside – specifically Neapolitan-style pizzas with 48-hour fermented bases. The name gives the game away – thin, crisp pizzas with punny names ranging from Prawn of the Dead to Pork on the Wild Side. Scott Penberthy, formerly of Rita’s (just down the road), has created a loud, convivial and rambunctious space that’s slinging pizzas with pleasingly charred crusts and excellent toppings.

Nicest slice: Blue Meanie (garlic base, mozzarella, mushrooms, blue cheese, parsley)

115 Johnston Street, Collingwood, thinslizzy.com