Back in the dark ages, people used to come to London, eat the pizza and go ‘Che diavolo e’ questo?’. Luckily for us, over the last few years, some of those same people came back to London to save us from pizza abominations like ‘BBQ chicken’ or ‘ham and pineapple’, that we had come to know and mildly tolerate. Santa Maria is one of said saviours.

Santa Maria has been a beloved local pizzeria in a place far, far away called Ealing, for a few years now. Recognising that people in Zone 2 also had a right to simple and delicious Neapolitan-style pizza, they recently set up their second shop in Chelsea / Fulham, which also delivers, adding to a growing mountain of reasons why we have a mild dislike of Chelsea (it’s also known as jealousy).

Santa Maria is a solid all-rounder; delivering great pizza topped with simple ingredients from both Italy and here in the UK, great for chilled dates, catching up with mates, and for creatures who have small creatures attached to them (we think they’re called “parents” and “children”). It also has enough variation on the menu to keep everyone happy, or “contento”, for those in the know.

photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch