As you’re reading this, I’m probably wandering my way through the street of Jerusalem looking for a decent slice. Although this is my ninth trip to Israel, it wasn’t until a trip in 2010 that I started to explore Israel’s surprisingly dense pizza scene.
To recap… I believe that most pizza places in Israel fall into three categories:
1) Traditional, old school “pizza” places that make you rethink how you define pizza. These people might be found in small shops in the old city of Jerusalem cooking warm pita-like bread on ovens that look like they date back to the patriarchal days. I went to one place like this last year — Yeminite Food Bar in Safed.
3) Upscale, artisinal pizza joints that make pies similar to what you might find at Co and Motorino. These are few and far between, but while the first two types of places have been abundant in Israel for decades, the third is just beginning to make it’s mark on the Israel pizza scene. It is this category of pizza places that I believe has the most potential to expand its reach throughout urban areas of Israel over the next five years. I tried one such place last year and it was the best pizza I had in Israel. It was at a modest restaurant in the heart of Tel Aviv simply known as The Pizza (or in Hebrew, HaPizza).
Below are photos from each place I tried last year. Although I don’t anticipate getting to as many places on this trip, hopefully I’ll have time to squeeze in a slice or two.