Our 6 favourite Adelaide pizzerias

Posted 16 March, 2022 Jeremy Rochow

How do you like your pizza? Do you look for ooey-gooey melted formaggio that gives you that perfect cheese pull?

Maybe you prefer a crispy wood-oven baked pizza with those trademark bubbles of char on the crust, or a simple Margherita topped with fresh basil.

Whether you’re a ham and pineapple lover or a funghi aficionado, everyone has a favourite pizzeria. It could be the local takeaway shop near your house or a trendy pizza bar in the city.

Tasked with the daunting mission of finding SA’s best place for a slice of ‘pie’, we’ve whittled the list down to six. Don’t see your favourite on this list? Let us know where to find your preferred pizzeria.

1. Pizza Meccanica, Bowden

Located in a transformed old service station and garage in the emerging neighbourhood of Bowden, the waft of wood-oven pizza welcomes Pizza Meccanica diners as they enter the restaurant.

Here you’ll find authentic Napolitan pizzas baked in a wood oven imported from Italy. Pizza Meccanica isn’t shy about its ambition to create traditional pizzas, believing quality over quantity is best.

You won’t find a super supreme with 20 toppings or ham and pineapple pizza on their menu. Instead, high-quality pizzas using the freshest ingredients on the market are served up to diners.

A personal favourite is the Salsiccia e Friarielli. The wood-fired base is topped with house-made pork sausage, Friarelli (a tasty Italian leafy green), mozzarella, and white sauce.

2. Russell’s Pizza, Willunga

Set in a cosy cottage, at Russell’s Pizza you can sit by the fire on a winter evening or spend summer nights in the courtyard.

This rustic restaurant, with its casual vibe, delivers delicious pizzas made from scratch each weekend from seasonal ingredients. Whatever produce is available dictates the weekly menu.

Russell’s Pizza is also BYO friendly and it’s common to see people on bus tours lugging Eskies through the restaurant.

Open on Friday and Saturday evenings only, the popularity of Russell’s wood-oven pizzas means you should book early.

3. Antica Pizzeria, Hyde Park and Morphett St

Antica Pizzeria offers traditional Italian pizzas with a bit of a twist. There’s a focus on communal eating, with antipasto entrees and the famous one-metre pizza on offer. Choose from three different toppings and share it with your dining companions – you won’t be disappointed.

You’ll find the usual toppings like Margherita and salami, as well as a variety of pizzas made with white sauce. Try the quattro formaggi (four cheeses) or their funghi pizza – a mix of porcini mushrooms, sauteed mushrooms and truffle paste.

If you have room for dessert, there’s a tiramisu or Nutella calzone, available in a one-metre serve if you’re feeling adventurous.

4. Etica, Gilles St

There might not be a true way to serve pizza, but Naples is the spiritual home of pizza. Etica creates Naples-style pizza and even has the AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana) tick of approval.

There’s also a focus on ethical food consumption at Etica, with meat sourced from farms that give animals healthy and respectful lives.

Not only are the pizzas delicious, but you can also enjoy them knowing that the ingredients are ethically sourced.

The menu is traditional and includes a marinara pizza (not the seafood variety you’ll find at other pizzerias) consisting of tomato sauce, olive oil, oregano and garlic.

You’ll also find the usual fare like margherita, pepperoni and funghi pizzas.

5. Amalfi Pizzeria Ristorante, Frome St

This Adelaide institution has been around for more than 40 years and constantly delivers fresh, tasty pizzas filled with toppings.

The capricciosa – with salami, ham, olives and mushroom – is a favourite among diners. For those people looking for a more of a plant-based option, try the Ortolana pizza. It’s filled with an abundance of garlic, spinach, artichokes and mushrooms.

If you don’t feel like pizza, Amalfi’s has pasta with an array of sauces like puttanesca, calabrese or ragu. The pasta is tasty and portion sizes are generous.

If you have room left, don’t forget the garlic bread. It’s a pillow of golden, garlicky goodness.

6. Goodslice Pizza, Glenelg

With a focus on organic produce, Goodslice Pizza Natural (formerly known as Goodlife Pizza) is a little bit different from the other pizzerias on this list.

Goodslice uses local produce to create pizzas with a multi-cultural influence. Think laucke flour from Strathalbyn, La Casa cheese from the Fleurieu and meats from Marino in the Central Market.

On the menu you’ll find, among other dishes, a Chinese roasted duck pizza with shitake mushrooms and ginger jam, as well as a free-range butter chicken offering with sweet potato and coriander cashew pesto.