AT THE TABLE WITH MICHELE PASCARELLA

“In Italy, it’s cultural,” says Napoli on the Road founder Michele Pascarella.

“Are you happy? You get a pizza. Are you sad? You get a pizza. Want to watch a movie? You get a pizza. Want to spend time with friends? Let’s go for pizza. You almost don’t even need to explain why. You feel it, it’s just always there."

For Michele, taste is deeply connected to emotions. It’s not just about the moment someone takes a bite, either. It’s about how they feel after they’ve left the restaurant.

“If later they remember that pizza – that flavour, that ingredient – then it means we did a good job. I hope they close their eyes for a moment and remember the harmony between the ingredients and the dough.”

After visiting his Wardour Street pizzeria, we had no trouble remembering the meal long after the last bite. A big, billowy-soft dough, bright with semi-dried cherry tomatoes, Taggiasche olives, capers, Cetara anchovy fillets, and finished with dollops of Piennolo cherry tomato jam and a homemade Wild Garlic pesto. The Wild Marinara pizza has all the makings of a blissful, perfect food coma.

Crowned Best Pizza Maker in the World at the 50 Top Pizza Awards in 2023, Michele’s pizzeria has since been named Europe’s Best Pizzeria for two consecutive years at the 50 Top Pizza Europa awards.

As with many great success stories, his began with a series of small steps – natural, meaningful and entirely heartfelt. In a little town near Napoli, he started working in a pizzeria at just 11 years old. “At first, I was helping to assemble pizza boxes. Then, almost by chance, one evening I found myself at the oven and made a pizza for my dinner.”

This proved to be a defining moment for Michele. He realised how much he loved it, and before long, he was being asked to work the oven more and more often.

After finishing school, he moved to Cornwall and then on to London, where he continued working in pizzerias. Over time, he felt ready to take the leap into something of his own. He bought his first Piaggio Ape truck, shipped straight from Sicily, and began making pizza around London at farmers’ markets, outside universities, and beyond office blocks. It was here that the journey that would become Napoli on the Road began.

“I was just doing what felt natural to me and what I wanted to do. I started making my own style of pizza because I liked it. I was doing it for people, but also for myself, because it made me feel good,” he recalls.

It’s this feeling that continues to drive him today.

“I just wanted to make pizzas and that’s exactly what I still do.”

So, what’s the secret to a great pizza, according to one of the world’s most celebrated pizzaiolos? How does seasonality shape the way he thinks about toppings? And what inspired the Wild Marinara from our latest Off The Pass? We speak to Michele to find out.

Napoli on the Road has gained huge international recognition, including being named Europe’s No.1 Pizzeria in 2024 and 2025 and the World’s 5th Best Pizzeria in 2025 by the 50 Top Pizza Awards. What did receiving those honours mean to you personally and professionally?

It’s always a great satisfaction to see that the work my team and I have done together receives such important and tangible recognition as the 50 Top Pizza awards. For us, they have meant a lot, and it’s beautiful to see our work recognised.

That said, for me, the most important thing is that our customers are happy. Happy that they ate a great pizza, happy that they felt good in our restaurants with the team, happy that they spent a nice evening with their loved ones. I often see people coming in for a bit of “me time”, just them and their pizza. For me, that’s a beautiful thing: having a date with a pizza.

What are the essential elements that make a truly great pizza?

The dough is fundamental, especially the lightness of the dough and the ability to create the right balance in it. Then there’s the quality of the ingredients: knowing how to recognise great ingredients, how to use them, and how to transform them with respect while enhancing their natural simplicity.

You don’t need strange or complicated additions to make a great pizza. If the base is perfect, the pizza is perfect. And the people who work with you are a fundamental ingredient, their skills and the care with which they handle everything.

When someone takes a bite of one of your pizzas, what do you hope they feel or experience?

When something you eat is truly good, it can make your whole day a little better. For me, taste is deeply connected to emotions. It’s not just about the moment someone takes a bite; it’s about when they leave the restaurant. If later they remember that pizza – that flavour, that ingredient – then it means we did a good job. I hope they close their eyes for a moment and just taste and remember the harmony between the ingredients and the dough.

Could you tell us a bit about the pizza you’ve made for us today. What inspired the ingredients?

We are always experimenting in the kitchen. We already have our classic Marinara, but I wanted to add something green to it. I didn’t want to use pieces of garlic like you normally would, so wild garlic felt like the best solution.

One day, while testing different combinations, I accidentally added the tomato jam, and when I tasted it, I realised that the contrast between the anchovies, oregano, and the sweetness of the jam worked really well together.

Your menu often changes with the seasons. What role does seasonality play in your cooking, and how does it influence the way you think about pizza toppings?

When an ingredient is in season, you truly get the product's full flavour and character. When you follow the seasons, the ingredients naturally guide the toppings you create. For me, seasonality is a natural guide in the kitchen. Instead of forcing combinations, I like to let the ingredients lead the way. When you work with what nature gives you at the right moment, the ideas for toppings come more naturally. It also allows you to keep the pizza simple and respectful of the ingredients.

For you, what makes an ingredient special? What are you looking for when you’re choosing produce?

I always look for seasonal ingredients, because when something is in season, it expresses itself at its best. I love simplicity and versatility in ingredients. I like products that can speak for themselves and that don’t need too much manipulation. Tomatoes are a perfect example: they are incredibly simple, but at the same time they can be used in so many different ways.

Why do you think pizza has this universal ability to bring people together?

In Italy, it’s cultural. Pizza brings people together. Are you happy? You get a pizza. Are you sad? You get a pizza. Want to watch a movie? You get a pizza. Want to spend time with friends? Let’s go for pizza. You almost don’t even need to explain why. You feel it,  it’s just always there.

Do you have a childhood food memory that still influences the way you cook today?

I remember spending days with my family, my mother, my aunts, and my grandmother, all cooking together to prepare big tables full of food.

What’s the most underrated pizza topping in your opinion?

A simple Marinara. It’s the best way to really taste the dough and the quality of the tomato, instead of putting a thousand things on top of a pizza.

If you had to eat only one pizza for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Margherita.