Best Pizza in Pula: Two Places Worth Your Evening

Fabbrica: Neapolitan pizza in a converted boiler house on Kandlerova

Fabbrica opened in Kandlerova ulica as a restaurant and pizzeria in an industrial style, fitted into the old boiler house of the former Arenatrikotaža textile firm. The building comes with a 30-metre chimney that the owners kept, and the interior preserves original steel windows, roof beams and concrete floors, with old boiler beds reused as bases for large tables. It is a room with a story rather than a generic dining space, which makes it the more memorable of the two for a single evening out.

The restaurant was reported in 2022 as busy from opening, full from morning onwards, so treat a table at peak dinner time as something to arrange rather than assume. There is seating inside, on a terrace in front and in a courtyard terrace under large paulownia trees, which gives you a choice between the industrial interior and an outdoor table. In high season, ring ahead rather than turning up and hoping.

Kandlerova sits in the centre of Pula, close enough to the old town that Fabbrica is an easy walk from the centre's core. Each named market and konoba has its own short guide, collected under Pula food landmarks.

What to order at Fabbrica: pizza, focaccia and the house approach to dough

Order the Neapolitan pizza first, since that is the reason to come, and add focaccia if you want something to share while the pies come out of the oven. The kitchen also serves Istrian dishes and, in the style of the owners' other venues, specialities from Mexican, American, Asian and Lebanese cooking. That range is unusual for a pizzeria and gives a group with mixed appetites an easy way out, though the pizza remains the strongest argument for booking here.

The dough is fermented for at least 24 to 48 hours before shaping, which gives a proper Neapolitan base its lightness and slight chew. Toppings follow the southern Italian playbook, with San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala named among the ingredients. If you have only eaten Croatian-style pizza before, this is the place to taste the difference.

Pizzas are baked for roughly a minute to a minute and a half at about 420°C in a wood-fired oven built in Naples, which is why the crust blisters fast while the centre stays soft. That heat is also why a Neapolitan pie is best eaten immediately rather than saved for later, so plan to eat in rather than take away. A cold beer or a glass of wine alongside is the sensible pairing.

How the pizza is made at Fabbrica: wood-fired oven and long fermentation

The pizzaioli behind the oven came from southern Italy to Pula specifically to make this style of pizza, and the article names Bruno and Davide as the men running it. Their method is strict about time and temperature: long fermentation, original ingredients and a very hot oven. That is the practical difference from the pizza served in most Croatian pizzerias, even if you cannot see the process from the table.

The oven itself was built in Naples, and the restaurant describes its ingredients as coming from that part of Italy, including the tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. For a visitor deciding where to spend a pizza night, this level of detail is the practical difference between Fabbrica and a place that simply lists pizza on the menu. It also means the pizza is the point of the meal.

Bistro-Pizzeria Caruso: pizza alongside Istrian dishes near Gortanova bay

Bistro-Pizzeria Caruso sits at Ulica Vladimira Gortana 4, about five minutes from Gortanova uvala, one of Pula's better-known bathing bays. That position makes it a natural lunch or early dinner after time by the water, in a quieter part of the city rather than the old-town centre. The restaurant advertises 30 seats indoors and 56 on the terrace.

The menu is broad: pizza and pasta sit next to Istrian specialities, seafood, burgers, schnitzels, salads, soups and desserts including ice cream and pancakes. It also advertises vegetarian and gluten-free options, which is useful if one person in your party needs them. Come here when you want pizza but not everyone at the table does.

Caruso publishes opening times of 10:00 to 23:00 Monday to Saturday and 12:00 to 23:00 on Sunday, and says it opens seven days a week. Treat those as the hours the restaurant advertises rather than a permanent guarantee. It lists cash, Mastercard, Visa and debit cards as accepted.

Caruso for families and groups: terrace, indoor seating and takeaway

Caruso pitches itself at families and groups: there is a children's corner, outdoor seating, air conditioning inside, free parking for diners, a barrier-free entrance and pets allowed. The choice between indoor and terrace seating means you can eat there in poor weather without cancelling. For a mixed group where some want fish and others want pizza, this is the easier booking.

The restaurant offers takeaway and delivery as well as eating in, so it works if you are staying nearby and would rather eat at your accommodation. It also takes reservations by phone on 098 372 616 and hosts private events and weddings. Outside high season, a phone call is the quickest way to confirm a table for a larger group.

Choosing between the two: Neapolitan focus versus a broad menu

Choose Fabbrica if pizza is the reason you are going out: the wood-fired oven, the long-fermented dough and the Neapolitan ingredients give you a version of the dish you will not find everywhere in Istria. Choose Caruso if you want a relaxed, all-round meal near the water where pizza is one choice on a long menu and children are properly catered for. Neither is a compromise; they simply serve different evenings.

If you are in Pula for several nights, do both: Fabbrica for the pizza night and Caruso for a bay-side lunch when the group cannot agree. For a different kind of sit-down meal, the steak Pula guide covers where to eat beef in the city. A pizza lunch and a steak dinner is a reasonable way to spend two days.

Practical notes: booking a table in high season and eating out in Pula

Book ahead in July and August. Fabbrica was reported as consistently full, and Caruso's combination of a terrace, family facilities and a location five minutes from Gortanova bay makes it a sensible booking for summer groups. Outside peak season, a phone call on the day is the reliable check rather than a website listing.

Caruso explicitly accepts cash and major cards, so you do not need to hunt for an ATM before eating there. Bring a card anyway for smaller places elsewhere in the city. For budget planning, check the menu at the door before committing.

Which Pula pizza night should you book?

Book Fabbrica for the pizza itself: a Neapolitan pie from a wood-fired oven in a converted boiler house on Kandlerova, with focaccia and Istrian dishes alongside. Book Caruso if you want pizza within a broader menu, a terrace near Gortanova bay and facilities that suit children and groups. In high season, reserve ahead for either.