concettina ai tre santi - napoli, italy

Rating:  9 / 10

Once in a blue moon, just when you think nobody could make a better pizza, someone goes ahead and smashes the ball so far out the park that you can never find it again. This neighborhood pizza restaurant, blocks outside the main tourist thoroughfares, is a diamond in the rough. Another local favourite, Starita, is a brisk ten minute walk away, and manages to garner more hype despite serving a slightly inferior pizza.

At Eur 3.50 for a take-away Margherita, served immaculately blackened and charred in a bright box for you to run around the corner and unleash your appetite for destruction on this defenseless pie, you're hardly breaking the bank. ​

Never have I eaten a crust that was so light but still had bite, a sauce not bitter not too sweet, a smattering of mozzarella that didn't flood the pizza but added it's elastic creaminess. Not forgetting the scattered basil leaves that suffered the hiss of the oven, bringing a herbacious note to cut through the decadence.

I give you the greatest pizza I have ever tasted in my life (thus far). No more, no less. It was sheer perfection, and if I ever find another that matches (or dare I say surpasses) this one, then I might spontaneously combust.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.