The Best Pizza Near Avalon, by the Record
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Rank 1. Avalon
Marche Pizza
The crust edge here rises higher than you'd expect, which turns out to be the whole point. This is a pizza shop in Ancona where the chef has built his menu almost entirely around Marche ingredients: spreadable ciauscolo salami, cave-aged cheese, wild coastal greens, sausage made with Verdicchio. The cranci, crispy high-hydration slices cooked low and slow, are their own argument for the trip. Desserts are homemade and apparently not an afterthought.
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A cocktail bar and pizzeria in Senigallia where the drinks program is treated as seriously as the dough, which comes in three styles plus a gluten-free option. The pizza chef works with heritage grains like Ottofile corn and monococcum spelt, and the fried starters get the same careful attention. It's the kind of place where the bartender and the pizza chef are genuinely in conversation, rather than operating in separate universes on the same menu.
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Rank 3. Alto Bordo
Neapolitan Pizza
A high, cloud-soft crust is the signature move at this contemporary Neapolitan pizza spot a short walk from the main square in Civitanova Marche. The room is clean and bright with proper restaurant seating, none of that fold-up-chair energy. Classic pies sit alongside reworked versions, and the toppings lean on ingredients sourced from Southern Italy. Friendly, unhurried service rounds it out.
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A cocktail bar and Neapolitan pizzeria sharing the same room in the main piazza, which sounds like it shouldn't work but mostly does. The dough runs through a 48-hour rise, landing crispy at the edge and soft through the middle, with toppings that lean into regional Marche ingredients. Tasting menus are on offer for those who want the full tour. The room is modern and polished, and the staff seem to actually enjoy being there.
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A pizzeria steps from the Adriatic shore, named directly after the chef, which sets a certain tone. Three ovens and three cooking methods, double-baked, pan, and contemporary Neapolitan, give the menu more range than the beachside setting might suggest. The house Finarella style is its own thing. The wine list runs deeper than you'd expect, including international sparkling bottles that regulars take seriously. Spacious enough for a whole group to pile in without planning.
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Rank 6. Ristorante Cappelli & Dino Cordari Pizzeria
Neapolitan Pizza
A hilltop village in the Marche hills is a slightly unexpected place to find a pizzeria with this much ambition, but here we are. The crust splits the difference between Neapolitan and Roman, slightly raised and satisfyingly crispy, and the toppings swing from classic to creative without losing the plot. The fried pizzas hold their crunch, and the whole room runs with the kind of warmth that makes the drive up feel like a reasonable idea.
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The bread arrives unbidden, crumbly and worth the detour on its own. This is a roomy pizzeria with a veranda in the Marche hills, where the dough is the whole argument: soft and feather-light in a way that makes the standard Roman-versus-Neapolitan debate feel beside the point. Ascolana olives and other classics fill out the menu for anyone who needs more than a reason to order another pie. The owner runs a tight room.