Spain dominates ranking of Europe’s best pizzerias in 2025

Pizza – the invention that the Italians turned into an art form and the rest of the world turned into a custom – has an increasingly Spanish flavour. The 50 Top Pizza guide, considered the bible of the sector, has published its European ranking for 2025 and the conclusion leaves no room for doubt: outside Italy, which plays its own league, Spain leads the pizza map with seven restaurants in the top 50 and 31 in the total list of 159, more than any other European country.

For the second year in a row, at the top is Michele Pascarella’s London-based Napoli on the Road. But the star of this year’s edition was Baldoria, in Madrid, which climbed from fifth to second place and became the best pizzeria in Spain. The kitchen is run by Neapolitan chef Ciro Cristiano, who has managed to blend the soul of his homeland with Madrid’s traditional style. The dough is subjected to a long fermentation process, the ingredients have a denomination of origin and the cocktails are a daring that has deserved its own award: best liquid menu of 2025.

The bronze medal – shared with the Viennese Via Toledo – goes to Sartoria Panatieri, in Barcelona. Jorge Sastre and Rafa Panatieri’s project has elevated pizza to the rank of a manifesto: they make their own sausages, use organic flour and are focused on zero-kilometre products (locally sourced ingredients). Their menu was number 1 in 2023 and number 2 in 2024, but this time the bronze comes with awards for sustainability and the best dessert menu.

The Spanish presence in the top 10 is rounded off by Madrid’s Fratelli Figurato, in eighth place. Designed by brothers Riccardo and Vittorio Figurato, the restaurant’s menu is a tribute to the street food of Naples. Tradition and technique at the service of impeccable frying: golden, crispy, not greasy at all, which has earned them the Fritturista Award. Then, in 11th place comes La Balmesina, in Barcelona, known for its organic flours, long fermentation and seasonal ingredients.

Bilbao, Alicante and Girona

Outside Madrid and Barcelona, Bilbao’s Demaio continues to climb up the rankings, coming in at number 14 in Europe, three rungs higher than in the previous two editions. Calabrian brothers Mattias and Gioel Demaio have achieved a perfect symbiosis between Neapolitan orthodoxy and Basque cuisine in their two restaurants in Bilbao La Vieja and Jardines de Albia. The list does not end there – Infraganti, in Alicante, defends proximity without renouncing the Neapolitan accent. And Gasparic, in Girona, joins the party, consolidating a scene as diverse as it is forceful.

The 2025 edition of 50 Top Pizza Europe was presented in Madrid, at a gala broadcast live from the Pablo VI Foundation and hosted by Verónica Zumalacárregui. In addition to the ranking, awards were presented for innovation, sustainability and hospitality. The lush atmosphere proves that pizza is no longer understood as fast food, but as one of the most popular and respected forms of European gastronomy.

The top 20 establishments in the European ranking – including Baldoria, Sartoria Panatieri, Fratelli Figurato, La Balmesina and Demaio – automatically enter the exclusive world ranking that will be presented in September at the Teatro Mercadante in Naples. Further proof that Spain is no longer an up-and-comer in the pizza world, but a continental powerhouse.