The Best Pizza Near Norms, by the Record
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Rank 1. Gemello
Vegan Pizza
The "mozzarella" here is made from tapioca starch and coconut oil, which tells you everything about Gemello's approach. It's a vegan pizza shop in Prenzlauer Berg where the chef, a trained chemical engineer, makes every substitute from scratch: almond ricotta, miso-tofu feta, eggplant anchovy. The crust runs thin with a wide, airy edge and toppings that hold their shape. Carnivores reportedly stop asking questions after the first slice. Book ahead.
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Rank 2. Mamida
Sourdough Pizza
The sourdough here is the work of a trained baker who minds his fermentations closely, and you can taste it in a crust that stays soft without going slack. Mamida is a casual pizza spot in Prenzlauer Berg where the toppings lean into odd, good combinations: fruit with cold cuts, seeds with cheese, sweet against heat. Natural wines and local craft beers round things out. The room is basic, unfussy, and loud in the way that suggests nobody came here to be impressed.
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Rank 3. Partenope 081
Neapolitan Pizza
The name nods to the siren of Greek myth said to have wept the Gulf of Naples into existence, and the 081 is Naples' own area code, so the allegiance is spelled out before you even sit down. This Friedrichshain pizzeria makes straightforward Neapolitan pies, no experiments, with a wide disc, a proper puffy crust from a long ferment, and toppings sourced directly from Campania. Order it folded to eat standing, the way Naples does.
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The founder traded a television career in Naples for a wood-fired oven in Friedenau, and the room feels like the trade worked out. This Neapolitan pizzeria has been around for a while now, and the dough still gets a long, slow rise before hitting the oven fast, producing a wide-crusted pie that leans hard into San Marzano tomatoes and Campanian fior di latte. It holds a spot on 50 Top Pizza Europe's Excellent Pizzerias list.