The World’s Best Pizzeria Is Now in London—and It Started in a Three-Wheeled Truck

The next restaurant worth planning an evening around might be considerably closer than Naples. London’s Napoli on the Road has been named the world’s best pizzeria in the 50 Top Pizza World 2026 ranking, putting Michele Pascarella’s business at the top of an international field.

For British diners, it is an unusually accessible headline: a global culinary accolade attached to a restaurant with addresses in Chiswick, Richmond and Soho. The award is the guide’s judgement, rather than a universal verdict, but it gives London’s pizza scene a substantial new talking point.

From a London food truck to the world’s top spot

Pascarella founded Napoli on the Road in 2016, starting with an Ape Piaggio three-wheeler fitted with a wood-fired oven. He took it to London’s streets and farmers’ markets, building a business whose name was once quite literal.

According to the restaurant’s own account, those market days helped shape his emphasis on seasonal produce and careful sourcing. A decade later, the journey from mobile oven to international recognition supplies a rather good reminder that ambitious cooking need not begin in a grand dining room.

The latest result follows European number-one placings in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Pascarella also received the guide’s world pizza-maker accolade in 2023, while the restaurant lists its Ricordi d’Infanzia pizza among its award-winning creations.

A British first in an international ranking

The Times reports that this is the first British pizzeria to take the competition’s global top spot. The awards, announced in Naples, also recognised 50 Kalò in London at number 23 and Chester’s Stile Napoletano at number 74.

The guide uses anonymous visits and considers the wider dining experience alongside the food. That matters: a ranking like this recognises a restaurant, rather than simply an isolated recipe or topping.

Where to find Napoli on the Road

The business currently lists three London venues: 9A Devonshire Road in Chiswick, 12 Red Lion Street in Richmond and 140 Wardour Street in Soho. Menus and reservations are available through Napoli on the Road’s official website, with separate booking links for each address.

For those building an autumn dining diary, this is a story with a pleasingly straightforward next step. There is no need to turn it into an overseas pilgrimage: the newly crowned name is on London’s doorstep.

Explore more restaurant news and reviews in The Life of Luxury’s Food & Drink section.