I tested the best pizza in the world – and I had to queue for two hours

This summer I traveled by train to the Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence, Rome and Naples. Besides the sights, I was especially looking forward to the culinary experiences.

“In Naples you drink the best coffee in the world and eat the best pizza there is,” even my Airbnb host in Rome told me.

Everyone I met during my Interrail trip raved about the food in the south of the country. So I had high expectations when I went to Naples.

First for coffee

Coffee is good everywhere in Italy anyway, I think. Especially at motorway service stations, as my colleague Oliver Baroni aptly describes here.

I experienced my personal coffee highlight in the Centrale del Caffè in the old center of Naples. And honestly, the coffee was legendary.

The first sip of the cappuccino felt like a flavor bomb. The intensive espresso base, which is perfectly balanced by the slightly sweet milk foam crown. A dream. It’s amazing how good coffee tastes when you consciously enjoy it.

Now for the pizza

I had a harder time choosing a pizza place in Naples. But on many websites it was said that the best pizza in the world is at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele. Even Julia Roberts sat in “Eat, Pray, Love” at the famous little joint eating a slice of Pizza Margherita.

Another plus was that the restaurant was only a five minute walk from my accommodation.

Shortly after 2 pm I stood in front of the legendary restaurant. But the queue was long. Very long. For the restaurant and also to pick up the pizza.

After queuing for 20 minutes and only making progress as some before me had lost their nerve, I decided to come back in the evening. Shortly before closing time at 11pm.

So at 10:30 PM I was back at the same pizzeria. But I was disappointed to discover that I had already missed the last round.

All good things come in threes

It just had to work on my last night in Naples. I left my accommodation a little after 9pm to get to Pizzeria da Michele on time this time.

When I arrived there weren’t that many people. Full of anticipation, I got in line when the man in front of me held up a sign that read “Last in Line”. He had the thankless job of turning away all new guests. Because they were late.

Not with me. Not after three tries. I decided to just keep waiting in line. One way or another I’ll be alright, I told myself as I dreamed of the best pizza in the world.

Eventually things got serious and it was the man’s turn for me. After ordering, the restaurant clerk looked at me and said he was the last.

The crucial moment

At that moment I had a brilliant idea: I simply said that I belonged to the man in front of me, but that I would pay for it myself. As simple as that excuse was, it worked. I was allowed to choose between a pizza margherita and a pizza marinara, as they are used to. I opted for the former and paid just over five euros.

Another 50 minutes later I finally got my hands on my Pizza Margherita from the world famous L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele. I was relieved: never in my life had I experienced so much emotional stress and waited two hours to eat a margherita pizza.

Unfortunately the pizza was not for me. It tasted watery, the dough was not crispy and the tomato sauce was bland. It felt like I had just lost two hours of my life.

At the same time, for the five euros it cost, it was quite okay. And I got the last pizza of the night, maybe that played a role too.

However, I am sure there are better pizzas in Naples. Do you have a tip?