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Issue 32
Five foods and drinks that people only pretend to like
From natural wine to IPAs, five fashionable favourites that taste suspiciously like soil, moth wings, gastroenteritis and a weekday hangover.
By Gentleman's Journal
The five best pizza places in London
- Bar Etna — Ed Cumming, Telegraph food writer
- Crisp Pizza — George Williams, Head Chef at the Fat Badger
- Dough Hands — Dom Hamdy, Bistro Freddie (et al)
- Theos Pizzeria — Guillaume Glipa, The Twenty Two (et al)
- Pizza Express, if we really must — Giles Coren, Times restaurant critic
Words By Joseph Bullmore
Earlier this month, the SEO-friendly ‘50 Top Pizza World 2026 Awards’ announced it had a new winner — Napoli on the Road, in Chiswick, which jumped to the top spot ahead of entrants from New York, Milan, Caserta, Rome, and Naples. The column inches devoted to this news are perhaps an indicator of where London’s food culture lies at the moment — caught between a list-loving, big-eating, fast-scrolling social media habit on the one hand; and on the other, a brutal economic climate where the one foodstuff cheap enough to have a 95% gross profit margin becomes an attractive option for both owners and customers. Or perhaps pizza’s just pretty delicious.
And so, in celebration that London is now sort of officially the best pizza city in the world, we asked five knowledgeable pals for their favourite spots in the capital.
1. Bar Etna — Ed Cumming, Telegraph food writer
“I don’t think anyone is better than Ed McIlroy at breathing life into familiar concepts. At the Plimsoll he put a thrilling kitchen into a shabby Irish pub. With Tollington’s he saw the potential for a run-down chippie to become a pintxos bar. Now at Bar Etna he has brought onboard Joe Beddia, a Philadelphia pizza guru, and given him the run of the kitchen at a chic Milan-esque space in Newington Green, where the design has been overseen by his genius-eyed girlfriend Anja Maye. The pizzas have imagination and bite. So do the drinks.”
2. Crisp Pizza — George Williams, Head Chef at the Fat Badger
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Crisp Pizza is better than any I’ve personally had in New York. Carl’s incredibly crisp bases are topped with genuine high quality ingredients and you can have it alongside one of London’s best Guinnesses”
3. Dough Hands — Dom Hamdy, Bistro Freddie (et al)
“I love Dough Hands. Partly because the pizza is everything you want — crisp and balanced — but it’s also in The Spurstowe, a pub which I love and used to live next to.”
4. Theos Pizzeria — Guillaume Glipa, The Twenty Two (et al)
“Theos Pizzeria in Camberwell is the best in town. I always order the Napoli with an extra side of gorgonzola. It is all in the dough — and simple and great ingredients. Long lasting flavours. Order a side of their gem lettuce salad and rocket and radish and fennel in a lemony vinaigrette. They have an outstanding pistachio ice cream and tiramisu, and a top notch espresso, too.”
5. Pizza Express, if we really must — Giles Coren, Times restaurant critic
“My public Pizza opinions reduce to ‘it’s all a lot of fuss about nothing.’ I find the whole pizza thing insanely annoying. It’s just food for fat morons and children. In truth I quite like having a slice occasionally with a glass of cheap red wine but I don’t consider it interesting. I went to Crisp and it was fine. Otherwise, I’ve not been to the hyped ones. Not fussed. Nothing wrong with a Pizza Express American Hot, extra cheese, well done, and a bottle of valpolicella, if you ask me.”
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