Innsbruck: Pizza Capital Of The Alps

Pizza Capital of the Alps? Admittedly, this advertising slogan for Innsbruck does not (yet) exist. But it could exist, because nowhere else in the Alps can you find so many good pizzerias in one place.

How did I come to say that? My passion for pizza began when there wasn't so much choice in Innsbruck. So I read up on the original Neapolitan recipe, for example, which was created by the "Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana" and is an intangible world cultural heritage site. Over time, the homemade pizza has migrated from my oven to my own, not so small pizza oven. And I too have embarked on the journey: to L'antica Pizzeria da Michele, Pepe in Grani, Bianco's in Phoenix, Arizona, various pizza stores in New York City and most recently Japan. But if I had to choose where I like to eat pizza best, then 9 times out of 10 it would be Innsbruck.

"There are many cities in Italy where the pizza is worse than in Innsbruck."

Luca Ottavani knows what he's talking about. He has been working as a pizzaiolo for 14 years and his pizzas from the trattoria on Sparkassenplatz are among the best in the city. Last year, he took first place in the Pizzaiolo Battle at the FAFGA. He is one of the five pizzaiolos I recently visited at their workplace and interviewed about their profession and vocation as a pizzaiolo.

But my first stop on this "pizza tour through Innsbruck" takes me to this year's winner of the Pizzaiolo Battle: Sicilian Fabio de Luca, who works at Tony's.

Fabio is originally from Messina in Sicily and has been working as a pizza chef for four years. His ambition in preparing the perfect pizza has earned him first place at the FAFGA. Highly concentrated at work, you can also watch him at work in the restaurant through the glass window. Every cut is perfect, every point is precisely placed.

Tony's specializes in two types of pizza: classic Neapolitan pizzas and Pizza Contemporanea, a contemporary interpretation in which the pizza is pre-baked, then cut into pieces and topped with fine gourmet ingredients when cool. Fabio does this with a mixture of wholemeal and wheat flour.

Fortunately, the pizzeria's flagship is not a swordfish pizza (the Strait of Messina is world-famous as the Spada region), but a so-called tonnara according to this author's preferences: with fresh tuna, lightly seared in a sesame crust, red caramelized onion, yellow datterino tomatoes and cream cheese.

I hear from the community that his wife is a talented pastry chef. I find that exciting, because if you watch Fabio topping a Pizza Contemporanea, you could easily draw parallels with the art of cake decorating.

Fabio, what is - currently or generally - your favorite pizza?
A Regina Margherita with Sicilian pachino tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil.

What do you like to drink with it?
A cold blond beer.

Do you have a favorite pizzeria?
Tigli in San Bonifacio, Verona.

What would your version of your own "Innsbruck Pizza" look like?
Blue cheese with walnuts as a base and on top: Bacon, white asparagus, apple-cinnamon mustard, mushroom powder, rosemary and walnuts.

Luca was the first pizza chef in Innsbruck that I got talking to. His great passion is certainly the dough and his ongoing experiments. Among other things, he also bakes panettone twice a year, which is probably the highest league a sourdough baker can master.

He originally comes from Fabriano, a town in the Marche region between Ancona and Perugia. He has been in the pizza business for 14 years, seven as a pizzaiolo. Luca is also very active on Instagram.

In addition to his pizzas, Luca's in-depth understanding of flour, proofing, heat, wholesomeness and the perfect balance of all relevant components - and his interest in openly discussing them - is a great asset to the scene of all (amateur) pizzaiolas and pizzaiolos. This includes all the jokes you can find on the Internet about Hawaiian pizza, at least if you're on the same page on the subject..

For Luca, a good, excellent pizza is a light pizza that doesn't leave you feeling like you have to drink a fountain. And who doesn't know that feeling?

Luca, what's your favorite pizza?
A pizza marinara with anchovies (preferably Cantabrian) and occasionally with a burrata.

What's your favorite thing to drink with a pizza?
Sparkling mineral water.

What would your version of your own "Innsbruck Pizza" look like?

A Neapolitan pizza with marinated sauerkraut (cabbage but with lemon, pepper and salt), beef tartare from a local farmer, spinach leaves and goat's yoghurt.

How much for a pizza with pineapple?

300 EUR. And you can bring your own drinks from home. Cash only.

Luca laughs and adds: "The main problem with pizza Hawaii is the canned pineapple. Fruit on pizza is not uncommon in Italy either... for example, there is a very good pizza with cicoria and peaches."

At 23, Dennis is the youngster of the Pizzaiolo group. Two years ago, he came to Innsbruck from his home country, Piedmont in Italy, with a few friends to go skiing. He liked it so much that he opened Google Maps and asked for a job in the pizzeria on the off chance. He stayed for the pizza, skiing and love.

At 15, he dropped out of school and went to work for a friend of his uncle's in the pizzeria. He caught up on his school-leaving certificate, but his passion for pizza remained and with it the opportunity to travel. He financed his stays abroad by working as a pizzaiolo, for example in Salerno, Sicily and Rotterdam.

Dennis, what is your favorite pizza?
A bufala pizza with nduja.

What's your favorite thing to drink with it?
Coke.

What would your version of your own "Innsbruck Pizza" look like?
It would definitely be a white pizza: with mozzarella, sausages, cocktail tomatoes and porcini mushrooms.

If you like pizza in Innsbruck, you may have seen Marco at one pizzeria or another over the years. He originally comes from a small, very friendly town in Apulia: Galatone. Marco has been a pizzaiolo since 2012 and before opening his own pizzeria, he was responsible for vegan and vegetarian creations at Paninothek.

As a vegan, he knows the needs and wishes of vegans particularly well. Attention, meat eaters: you don't have to be vegan to love Marco's pizzas!

At Pizzeria Verde, it's not just cats and cheeky sayings that people love, organic products and homemade cheeses (meowzarella, meowcotta, parmeowgiano) are also very popular. They bake in an old wood-fired oven that was installed back in 1977 when Bruno Faieila opened what was probably one of the first or even the first pizzeria in Innsbruck, as you can read in the official gazette from 1977*. The wood-fired oven from "La Bella Italia" has certainly made many people happy and now, after years of disuse, it can do just that again.

Marco, what is your favorite pizza? At the moment it's the Kimchi Munchy: roasted carrot cream with miso and thyme, homemade kimchi, basil, meowzarella, meow bacon, pink beet mayonnaise and red Tropea onions.

What drink do you recommend to go with it? A glass of Primitivo di Manduria from Feudi di Guagnano. (red wine)

What would your version of your own "Innsbruck Pizza" look like?
I would make a pizza in the style of a Tiroler Gröstl, with a white herb béchamel sauce as the base: chives, marjoram, parsley, garlic, plus meow bacon, meowzarella, ruhtofu, fried onions. In fact, I'm almost going to put it on the menu as a specialty..

The male-dominated pizzaiolo pattern is broken at Pizzeria Verde, where women also bake pizzas. One of them is Maggie, who helps out and immediately pops a pizza into the oven when I try.

At the Pizzaiolo Battle at FAFGA in September 2024, Damiano caught my eye with his particularly well thought-out dough and topping combinations, such as a rustic vegetable topping with a crispy base. The native Sicilian from Taormina has only been working as a pizzaiolo for nine months, having previously worked as a hairdresser for 14 years. Perhaps that's where his eye for detail comes from?

Damiano stands behind the oven at Due Sicilie. As the same owner also owns Tony's in Anichstraße, I also meet him there for the photos.

Damiano, what's your favorite pizza?
A white pizza with baked Parmesan flakes; freshly topped with: Rocket, Parma ham, cherry tomatoes, basil reduction, oregano and grana padano flakes.

Goeswell with?
A gin and tonic.

What would your version of your own "Innsbruck Pizza" look like?
A pumpkin cream with mushrooms, freshly topped with thin slices of bacon.

Here you can find the pizzerias in Innsbruck:

• Tony's: Maximilianstraße 9, 6020 Innsbruck, open daily for lunch and dinner
• Trattoria: Sparkassenplatz 5, 6020 Innsbruck, closed on Sundays and public holidays
• Pizzeria: Boznerplatz 6, 6020 Innsbruck, open daily for lunch and dinner
• Pizzeria Verde Meow: Fürstenweg 7, 6020 Innsbruck, open daily from 17:00, Friday-Sunday from 12:00 noon
• Due Sicile: Höttingergasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck, open daily from 17:00, Sundays also open for lunch.

Thanks to all the pizzaiolos for taking the time to do these in-depth interviews. There are certainly other pizzaiolos who enrich Innsbruck and whose art will perhaps be featured elsewhere on the blog. Rumor has it that a new pizza store is due to open in the premises of the former "CasoinN da Giorgio" next to the Ferdiandeum at the beginning of next year. The taste explosion of the collaboration between Mösinger Pizza and the Fuchs&Hase team is already something to look forward to.

Thanks also to Nikolaus Hofinger from the city archives for his research on Pizzeria La Bella Italia!

Experience has shown that the question of the best pizza in town can trigger heated discussions. The nice thing about it is that you have to go out together and try them all for a comparison.

So let's hear your recommendations for the best pizza in Innsbruck! However, if you prefer soggy pizza slices from the kebab stand with cheese on top, this is not the place for you. Serious recommendations should include the name of the pizzeria and your favorite pizza. Additional information is very welcome.