Europe's Best Pizza Outside Of Italy Is Not Where You'd Expect It To Be

As modern-day pizza was invented in Italy (specifically in the Campania region), it's no surprise that the motherland boasts some of the best pies around. And yet, Italy isn't the only country to make pizza in 2023. According to 50 Top Pizza, an Italian organization that rounds up the best pies in Europe every year, the continent's best pizza outside of Italy is in Spain — specifically, in Barcelona.

Not only did 50 Top Pizza award Sartoria Panatieri the top pizzeria in Spain for 2023, but also the esteemed honor of the top pizza establishment in Europe for the same year. The runner-up is a shop in Copenhagen, and third place goes to a restaurant in London. In particular, 50 Top Pizza granted one dish from Sartoria Panatieri the Latteria Sorrentina Award: The establishment's roasted cherry tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil hollandaise pie, made with local organic flour and heated on a wood fire. An entire pizza will set you back just 12.90 euros. According to 50 Top Pizza, "It is a product full of personality and the pizza toppings are always balanced."

Rafa Panatieri and Jorge Sastre, co-owners of Sartoria Panatieri, accepted the award for top pizzeria in Europe (sans Italy) on May 3, 2023 in Barcelona. While the rest of the esteemed list included pizzerias from all over the continent, 17 establishments from Spain made the cut, making it the country with the highest representation. Yet while Sartoria Panatieri lies in Barcelona, its pizza has Spanish, Italian, and South American influence. Sastre was born in Madrid and has worked in Catalonia, while Panatieri grew up in an Italian family in Brazil and gained prior experience throughout South America and Italy.

In addition to the award-winning pie featuring basil hollandaise, Sartoria Panatieri's menu includes delicacies like a roasted carrot cream, pickled carrots, ricotta, pork rind, and mozzarella pizza; and a 'za topped with cured pork belly, mozzarella, roasted potatoes, egg yolk, and tuna bottarga. Sartoria Panatieri's slogan is "from farm to pizza," as it focuses on high-quality and sustainable ingredients. It sometimes makes its own sausage and cheese in-house — but for all the other ingredients, Panatieri and Sastra know exactly where they come from and how they were made (or grown). "Pizza is the maximum expression of our work as chefs, of our philosophy and the respect we have for our ingredients, and the time it has taken us to understand this timeless recipe and improve it," the owners said.