L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Story That Starts in 1870

The Condurro family began making pizza in Naples in 1870, and the philosophy they established has not wavered since. Michele Condurro, son of Salvatore, learned his craft from the masters of Torre Annunziata — artisans renowned for the preparation and kneading of dough. He opened his first pizzeria in 1906, and after a forced relocation due to hospital construction, the original Naples address on Via Cesare Sersale has stood since 1930. Specialists and journalists have called it "the sacred temple of pizza." That is the lineage behind the Baker Street address in Marylebone.

Two Pizzas. No Exceptions.

Michele's guiding instruction, passed down through five generations, was unambiguous: there are only two types of Neapolitan pizza — the Marinara and the Margherita. No additions, no variations, nothing that might compromise what he called the "world-famous genuineness and taste." The secret, as the family describes it, lies in natural ingredients and a traditional, time-tested method of leavening the dough. That discipline is precisely what earned the London outpost recognition from Gambero Rosso, Italy's most authoritative food guide, which awarded the pizzeria 2 Slices — a mark of genuine Neapolitan quality rarely given outside Italy.

The Eat Pray Love Moment

Elizabeth Gilbert's account of eating at Da Michele in Naples became one of the most quoted passages in food writing: "He gave me the name of a Pizzeria in Naples that I had to try... the best pizza in Naples. I found this a wildly exciting prospect, given that the best pizza in Italy is from Naples and the best pizza in the world is from Italy." Her description of ordering the margherita with double mozzarella — and the near-spiritual experience that followed — has sent countless visitors through Da Michele's doors ever since.

Walk In, Sit Down, Eat

The London location keeps the same no-reservations rule that has defined the original. Walk-in only. There are no shortcuts past the queue, no special arrangements. That democratic straightforwardness is part of what makes the Neapolitan pizza experience here feel authentic rather than performed. Whether you come for lunch, dinner, or to take a box away, the offer is the same as it has always been: honest dough, honest toppings, made the way Michele Condurro intended.