California Pizza Guide: My Favorite Pizzerias from Berkeley to Los Angeles

Pizza is, depending on your perspective, the most democratic food in the world or the most contested. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a favorite. And the gap between an ordinary pizza and a great one — though both are made from flour, water, yeast, and heat — is wider than most foods allow. California has produced some extraordinary pizza. Here are the restaurants where I have found it.

State Flour Pizza Company

First on the list is State Flour Pizza Company located in Berkeley, California's Elmwood neighborhood. State Flour Pizza was started by Chef Derek Lau who is not only an extraordinary chef, but he and his family are also my friends. I will acknowledge the personal connection upfront and let the pizza defend itself, which it does, convincingly.

Prior to opening State Flour, Chef Lau worked at award-winning, San Francisco, restaurants including Benu, Saison, PizzaHacker and Biergarten. The East Bay is fortunate to have him and his pizza prowess.

Burrata Pizza

We started with the burrata pizza which is similar to a Margherita pizza. It was made with burrata, mozzarella and grana padano cheeses, tomato sauce and fresh basil.

Gaia Pizza

Next, we shared the Gaia pizza. The combination of roasted cauliflower, garlic confit, pine nuts, aji verde sauce, mozzarella, provolone and grana padano was one I had not had before. The pizza was finished with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and it was delicious!

Hunter Pizza

The Hunter pizza was my favorite. It had a tomato sauce based, topped with old fashioned and shredded mozzarella, pepperoni, pickled onions, sausage, grana padano, and dried oregano.

Vanilla Panna Cotta

We finished our meal with the vanilla panna cotta topped with with Kensington honey, lime zest, and blueberries. If you have not yet been to State Flour Pizza, stop in for what is sure to be a great meal. And if you have, go back for more.

Pizzeria Mozza

Pizzeria Mozza opened in Los Angeles in 2006 as a creation of chefs Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali. Silverton now presides over the pizzeria solely, and it has never been better. In addition to her star, Silverton has also clinched the award for Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Awards.

Margherita Pizza

Mozzarella Di Bufala, Tomato, Basil

Silverton's talent comes through in the food at both Osteria and Pizzeria Mozza. The pizzas at Mozza are built beautifully, but what stood out to me the most was the crust. No surprise, as Nancy Silverton is also the co-founder of the famous La Brea Bakery which she launched in Los Angeles on La Brea Avenue in the 1980s.

Mozzarella di Bufala with 24-month Prosciutto di Parma, Pesto and Fried Ceci Beans

If you visit, be sure to try her burrata which makes a regular appearance on the menu with mouthwatering accompaniments like EVOO, prosciutto and more.

Angelina's Pizzeria Napoletana

Angelina's Pizzeria Napoletana was founded by Chef Sandro Nardone. Chef Nardone did not set out to invent anything new, rather he wanted to serve authentic, high-quality, Neopolitan style pizza as it was made in Italy in the 15 and 1600's. I would say he succeeded, as you can find Angelina's on the list of the top 50 pizzerias in the United States according to USA Today.

You can sample Nardone's pizzas at the original Angelina's location in Irvine, California or just down the coast in Dana Point. Chef Nardone also opened the Michelin-rated restaurant Bello, located in Newport Beach, which also serves his excellent pizza and more. I will be writing more about Bello in a future post.

Dell'orto

Our lunch at Bello began with a simple, mixed baby green salad made with avocado, red onion, Parmigiano-Reggiano and topped with a lemon vinaigrette.

Tartufo

Next we enjoyed the tartufo pizza made with mozzarella de bufala, prosciutto di Parma, truffle oil, arugula, Parmigiano-Reggiano, basil, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Tirolese

We enjoyed the prosciutto on the tartufo so much that we decided to try the tirolese pizza as well which featured speck, another dry cured ham. In addition to speck, the tirolese featured San Marzano DOP pomodoro sauce, mozzarella di bufala, cherry tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil.

From Berkeley's Elmwood neighborhood to the Amalfi-by-way-of-Irvine perfection of Angelina's, California's pizza scene rewards the traveler willing to look past the obvious chains. For more great pizza in the Bay Area, my A16 review covers one of the most authentic Neapolitan pizzerias in the country, and my Cotogna post covers another remarkable San Francisco option. Mangia.