Best Pizza in Zagreb: 10 Pizzerias Worth the Trip

Why Zagreb takes pizza seriously

The baseline in Zagreb is Neapolitan: a thin base, a fast bake at high heat, a wet centre of tomato and proper mozzarella. Time Out's Zagreb pizza coverage notes that the city has hundreds of pizzerias but that only a handful bake this way, with too many others leaning on sour cream and gouda as toppings. Use that as your filter when choosing: a leopard-spotted, blistered crust and a loose tomato sauce are the signs you are in the right place.

Geography matters more than you might expect. The centre around Branimirova, Savska and the cathedral holds most of the reliable options, while Public and O'Hara sit in the western suburbs and need a deliberate trip. If you would rather stay central, the Karijola branch at Vlaška 63 puts you one floor above the Mali Bar bistro and a short walk from the main square.

Franko's Pizza & Bar (Branimirova and Charles Darwin Street)

Franko's is the headline name and the one to book around. Its 79th place on the 50 Top Pizza world list, announced on 8 September 2025, followed a 14th-place showing on the list of Europe's 50 best pizzerias, and it runs two Zagreb locations, on Branimirova and Charles Darwin Street. The Branimirova site is the practical one for a central stay.

The kitchen works in a high-end Neapolitan register, with ingredients sourced from Italian suppliers and visible care in the dough. Named pies worth knowing include the Sweet Sky, with mozzarella, pear, walnut and pomegranate, the Wild Wild Boar, topped with wild boar sausage and truffles, and Il Respire del Mare, which combines prawns, pomegranate and lime. If you want the traditional register instead, the margherita is the test.

Public (western suburbs)

Public is the project of a pizzaiolo who learned the oven at O'Hara, and it is the western-suburb trip most worth making. It operates as a smart trattoria rather than a pure pizzeria, with oven-speckled crusts, loose tomato sauce and real mozzarella, and the wider menu runs to a good carpaccio and inventive pasta. Pizzas arrive squidgy in the middle and crisp at the edge, which is exactly the balance to look for.

Two practical notes. Public is not central, so budget a tram ride each way rather than squeezing it between sights. Its Croatian wine list is one of the better ones attached to a Zagreb pizzeria, so it also suits a sit-down evening rather than a quick slice. If you want a proper sit-down dinner of another kind instead, our steak Zagreb picks cover the grill side of the city.

Pizzeria Karijola (near Savska and Vlaška 63)

Karijola started on Vis, named after the barrow porters who once ferried visitors' luggage, and built its reputation on a dough with less salt and yeast and on fresh ingredients, rocket most of all. The Zagreb branch just off Savska, near the Student Centre, carries the same approach with a stronger wine list, and there is a second address at Vlaška 63, one floor above Mali Bar. It is the most convenient of the serious options if you are staying in the centre.

O'Hara (western suburbs)

O'Hara is a pub and trattoria hybrid in the western suburbs, and the setting is part of the appeal rather than a compromise. The beer side is substantial, with more than a hundred bottled varieties and stout and craft beer on tap, which makes it the pick for a group that wants pizza with a drink rather than a quick meal. Treat the beer list as an option, not a challenge: a bottle or two alongside a pizza is the sensible order.

L'oro di Napoli (basement north of the cathedral)

L'oro di Napoli is Italian-run and sits in a basement just north of Zagreb Cathedral, which makes it the easiest of the ten to reach on foot from the upper town. Pizzas come out of a dome-topped oven with leopard-spotted crusts and a slightly sloppy, traditional topping spread. Because it is central and small, it is the one to have a backup address for when the tables are full.

Duksa and the rest of the central list

Duksa is one of the established Zagreb pizza names and appears alongside Franko's, Public, Karijola, O'Hara, L'oro di Napoli, Plavo Sunce, Fianona, Basta and Capuciner on Time Out's ten-strong Zagreb pizza list. Read those remaining names as options rather than a ranking: Plavo Sunce, Fianona, Basta and Capuciner each give you a central fallback when the headline places are full. Arrange any evening by area first, then by pizza, and you will spend less time crossing the city.

How to choose: centre versus suburbs

Draw a line at the railway. Everything on Branimirova, Savska, Vlaška and around the cathedral can be walked between; Public and O'Hara cannot, and each needs a tram ride in both directions. If you have one evening for pizza, stay central and pick from Franko's, Karijola, L'oro di Napoli and the smaller central names. If you have two, spend the second out west, where the room is calmer and the beer list at O'Hara longer.

Match the place to the occasion. Franko's and L'oro di Napoli suit a short, focused pizza meal; Public and O'Hara suit a longer evening with starters and a bottle. For a family or a group with mixed appetites, the trattoria-style addresses are easier because the menu reaches beyond pizza. If the group would rather split across cuisines, our sushi Zagreb guide and best burger in Zagreb guide give two alternatives that sit in the same central eating zone.

Pizza prices in Zagreb: what to expect

Menus in Zagreb are quoted in euros. Time Out's 2019 review gives a useful historical benchmark in the old currency: the Calabrian Red at Franko's was 88 kuna and most pizzas at Public were around 50 to 60 kuna, which shows the margin between a simple margherita and a heavily topped pie. Croatia adopted the euro in 2023, so the kuna figures are 2019 history only; today's menu boards are where the real numbers sit.

Read the menu by topping rather than by headline price. Truffle, wild boar sausage, prawns and cured meat push a pizza into a higher band than tomato and mozzarella, so the cheapest way to eat well is usually a margherita plus one well-chosen topped pie to share. For a wider spread of low-cost eating, including bakeries and konobas, see our cheap eats in Zagreb guide.

Which Zagreb pizzeria should you book?

Book Franko's first. It carries a 50 Top Pizza world ranking, its Branimirova site is easy to reach from the centre, and its pies give you the full range from a clean margherita to the pear and walnut Sweet Sky. For a central backup, take Karijola at Vlaška 63 or L'oro di Napoli by the cathedral; for a longer western-suburb evening, choose Public or O'Hara and plan the tram.

If pizza is one meal among several, fold it into a broader plan: one pizza evening, a grill night, and the rest from bakeries, markets and konobas. Our steak in Zagreb guide and our late night food Zagreb round-up cover the meals on either side of it. Check the pizzeria's own page before you set out, particularly for a weekend evening.