Best Pizza in Perugia: Where to Eat, by Style

What Perugia's pizza scene looks like

Perugia's pizzerias have moved on from a single template. Alongside classic Neapolitan-style bases you'll find contemporary doughs with high hydration, long rising times and toppings that borrow from the region, such as pecorino and ciauscolo, the soft spiced salami from the Marche.

The Umbria guide published by 50 Top Pizza for 2023 listed nine pizzerias across the region, five of them in or around Perugia: Da Andrea Pizza Contemporanea, Marghereat, Meunier Champagne & Pizza in Corciano, Officine Bartolini and Re Cornicione. Read that as a snapshot of the 2023 selection rather than a live ranking.

Local coverage of the city's pizzerias also flagged Pizzeria Mediterranea, Pizzeria Piacere Totò and Maramao Pane e Vin on Via dei Priori, an area where the wider restaurant scene is covered in our guide to the best restaurants in Perugia.

Marghereat: Neapolitan style in the student quarter

Marghereat sits on Via Annibale Vecchi in one of Perugia's liveliest neighbourhoods, with a large room and an outside veranda. The base is inspired by Naples, deliberately light so the toppings do the talking, and the offer changes about every six months with the seasons.

Order the Margherita si fa bionda, which swaps red tomato for a yellow tomato passata with fior di latte (cow's milk mozzarella), yellow cherry tomatoes and olive oil; the menu lists it at 8 euro. It is a good measure of the kitchen, since a yellow-tomato Margherita leaves nowhere to hide.

The antipasti, including fried items, get a share of the attention here, so consider starting with one between two if you are ordering a pizza each.

Da Andrea Pizza Contemporanea: a small room, modern toppings

Da Andrea Pizza Contemporanea appears on the 2023 50 Top Pizza Umbria list and in local round-ups of the city's best pizzerias. The name is the point: this is contemporary pizza, with dough and toppings treated as a modern craft rather than a folk tradition.

Look for seasonal and less obvious toppings rather than a straight Margherita, and expect a smaller, more focused room than the big veranda places. If you want a classic Neapolitan base instead, choose Marghereat.

Officine Bartolini: a neighbourhood pizzeria built on dough

Officine Bartolini also features in the 2023 50 Top Pizza Umbria selection, which placed five Perugia-area pizzerias on its regional list. The kitchen's reputation rests on fermentation and the quality of its ingredients rather than novelty toppings.

Local coverage singles out the digestibility of the dough, which makes this a sensible pick if heavy, fast-risen bases usually leave you uncomfortable. Order simply to taste the crust: a marinara or a margherita tells you more than a loaded pizza.

Meunier Pizza & Champagne in Corciano

Meunier Pizza & Champagne is in Corciano, a short drive west of Perugia, and comes from three friends with a wine background. The dough uses stone-milled flours, liquid sourdough and high hydration, which gives a fragrant, crisp result rather than a soft Neapolitan crumb.

The pizza to order is the Sibilla, topped with pecorino, ciauscolo, fried artichoke hearts and pepper. It is a distinctly central-Italian set of flavours, and a useful contrast to the tomato-and-mozzarella school elsewhere in this guide.

Because it sits outside the city, Corciano works best as a destination for a dedicated evening rather than a stop on a walk through the centre.

Verace: a 48-hour dough and the Perugina Bionda

Verace on Via Cartolari uses type 0 and type 1 flours milled from a selection of Emilian grains, with a dough at 72 to 74 per cent hydration left to rise for 48 hours. The menu covers pizzas al padellino, the small pan-baked style, pizza a ruota di carro, a large round format, and contemporary pizzas.

Try the Perugina Bionda, a white pizza with fior di latte, yellow tomato passata, sausage and burrata; the menu gives it as 12 euro. The burrata is added for creaminess, so eat it while the base is still hot.

If you want one pizza across several styles in a single sitting, Verace's three formats make it the most flexible choice in the centre.

TwinsLab: Molini Fagioli flours from Magione

TwinsLab is run by brothers Marco and Luca Marino, who work closely with Molini Fagioli, the mill in Magione that supplies artisan flours from a certified Umbrian wheat chain with zero pesticide residue. That supply relationship is the identity of the place, so order a plain base to taste the flour.

The brothers trained abroad, in Australia, Sweden, Spain and Norway, which shows in a tidy, modern approach to toppings. It suits a group where some want classics and others want something newer.

Pizzeria Mediterranea: central, small and often full

Pizzeria Mediterranea is the central option in the local coverage, praised for pizzas that hold their own against the best in Naples. The trade-off is size: the room is small, so waits are common, and prices are described as honest rather than cheap.

Given the size, plan to arrive early or accept a wait, and use the time for a drink nearby; our guide to aperitivo in Perugia has options for that.

If a guaranteed table matters more than location, the out-of-town pizzerias in Corciano and the wider Perugino are the safer bet.

Pizza al metro and pizza al padellino: the other styles

Beyond the Neapolitan and contemporary bases, Perugia has a strong tradition of pizza al metro, sold by length and cut at the table, and of pizza al padellino, baked in small individual pans. Pizzeria La Romantica Centro was singled out in local coverage for the metro style, while Verace lists pan pizzas on its menu.

Pizza al metro suits groups: you order by the metre and pay for the length you eat, so it is easy to share across a table. Pan pizza is denser and richer, and pairs better with a lighter starter.

Whichever style you choose, finish the evening with gelato; our picks for the best gelato in Perugia include addresses near the centre.

How to order and pay

The coperto is a per-person cover charge added to the bill in most seated restaurants, covering bread, service and table linen. It is normal and legal in Perugia, so Don't treat it as a mistake.

Order a pizza each unless you are having starters; a Neapolitan base is light enough that sharing is rarely necessary. Many pizzerias in the centre expect table service, while pan-pizza and slice counters are often counter-service with payment at the till.

In most restaurants you pay at the table or at the till on the way out, and card is widely accepted. Keep a little cash for small counters and for the tabacchi.

Booking, queueing and central versus out-of-town

The main decision in Perugia is whether you want to walk to dinner or drive. Small central rooms like Mediterranea fill quickly and involve a wait, while the pizzerias in Corciano and the wider Perugino are easier to seat but need a car or taxi.

Book ahead for groups and weekend evenings. If you are combining pizza with a day in the centre, remember that Perugia is also known for chocolate and Baci Perugina, and our guide to Perugia chocolate maps where to buy it.

For a broad picture of where to eat around the city, including trattorias and osterie, start with the best restaurants in Perugia.

If you want a non-pizza dinner, our guide to the best pasta in Perugia covers the city's other great strength.

Which pizzeria should you book?

Choose Marghereat for a Neapolitan base in a lively neighbourhood, Verace for the widest range of dough formats in one sitting, and Meunier or TwinsLab if flour and fermentation are what you came for. Pizzeria Mediterranea earns its reputation, so accept the wait or eat early.