The Best Pizza Near Centrale, by the Record
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Rank 1. Osteria Ticino da Ketty & Tommy
Contemporary Pizza
A 48-hour fermented dough is the quiet brag at this contemporary pizza spot a short walk from Lake Maggiore in Ascona. The menu runs from straightforward classics to more inventive combinations, with options in charcoal or gluten-free. A terrace out front fills up fast when the weather cooperates. The craft beer list is short and well chosen, which is really all you need.
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Rank 2. Acqua e Farina
Neapolitan Pizza
The dough at this Neapolitan pizzeria in lakeside Lugano ferments for up to three days, which goes some way toward explaining the lightness of what arrives at the table. The menu runs from the classics through gourmet pies built around seasonal ingredients, with Neapolitan fried snacks filling out the edges. The space is bright and minimalist, the kitchen open, and the whole thing lands on 50 Top Pizza Europe.
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Rank 3. Autentiko
Neapolitan Pizza
A Neapolitan pizzeria on the edge of Lake Lugano, where the covered terrace puts the Gulf practically in your lap while you wait for your pie. The menu runs from faithful classics to the kitchen's own originals, with a fried food selection that nods hard to Naples and a pasta or two for anyone who insists. Ingredients trace back to Italian DOP sources, so the San Marzano tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella are the non-negotiable kind.
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Rank 4. Fiore di Latte
Neapolitan Pizza
Neapolitan pizza on the shores of Lake Maggiore sounds like a punchline, but the room fills on weeknights anyway. This is a proper pizza spot doing fried pies and Margherita variations alongside Campanian desserts that suggest someone's nonna has opinions. The dough is the point, the ingredients are taken seriously, and the setting, tucked into a small village between beaches, makes the whole thing feel like a slightly improbable discovery.
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A Puglia-sourced pizzeria in central Varese where the dough is only the starting point. The chef builds tasting menus that move through sushi, pasta, and hot dogs, all anchored to pizza in ways that sound chaotic on paper and apparently work in practice. Burrata and stracciatella from Andria appear regularly, and the wine list leans Champagne. It landed on 50 Top Pizza Italy, which tracks.
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A pizza spot in Busto Arsizio where the menu includes a short story behind each pie, which is either charming or a lot, depending on your mood. The move here is the double-cooked pizzas, fried then baked, a technique that earns its own sentence. The room is modern and tidy, the staff walks you through daily specials, and a solid wine list and craft beers round things out. Named among Italy's excellent pizzerias by 50 Top Pizza.
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Outdoor tables face a lively summer square in Brianza, which tells you something about how seriously this pizzeria takes the whole experience. The menu leans into the region, with PDO products and small-producer ingredients, and the kitchen is transparent about what's cooked versus finished raw. Beyond the pizzas, there are focaccias, snacks, and a wine and beer list that fits the room without showing off.