L'antica Pizzeria da Michele, Naples

Tucked on a side street just off the Corso Umberto in one of Naples’ busiest central districts, Forcella, is the Antica Pizzeria da Michele, one of the oldest and most famous pizzerias in the world.

First opened in 1870, by Salvatore Condurro, the restaurant takes its name from his son Michele, who mastered the art of pizza cooking and made the place renowned both locally and internationally for offering what many regard as the definitive wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza. Today, the Antica Pizzeria is run by the fifth generation of the Condurro family.

There are only two pizzas on their menu: “Marinara” and “Margherita”. The latter comes with tomatoes, garlic, and oregano (and is a good choice for vegans), while the former (Marinara) represents a bit of a deviation from the standards set by the local association of pizza makers. It includes tomatoes, but then – instead of buffalo mozzarella – they put the fiore di latte cheese (a regional cow’s milk variety), fresh basil and, in lieu of cold-pressed olive oil, apply a drizzling of soybean oil. Despite some flouting of the rules and, or perhaps thanks to their menu simplicity (the choice of drinks here is equally barebones and includes the Italian lager Peroni, sparkling water, and house wines), the place has enjoyed a timeless success.

Indeed, this historic temple of Neapolitan pizza has had its army of fans outside Italy for decades. Still, it gained enormous popularity most recently thanks to the “Eat, Pray, Love” movie based on the eponymous bestselling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, in which Julia Roberts (playing Gilbert) visited the iconic restaurant and famously had a go at its pie. Coupled with the Antica Pizzeria chefs' conviction of being the best, such star power has resulted in long lines, especially around lunch and dinnertime.

Even outside the peak hours, the patrons have to queue up at least for a few minutes to grab a table. The whole process of getting in may appear somewhat confusing, at the beginning. First, you need to approach a staff member at the door to get a ticket and then wait for your number to be called-in Italian. If in doubt, you can always ask someone in line to tell you how to pronounce it in Italian, so as not to miss the call.

If the service at Da Michele is admittedly a bit chaotic, their pizza – of remarkable complexity, with an unctuous, melting quality – is well worth the wait and will leave you craving more almost immediately.