Madrid: Pizza

I am extremely fond of pizza (and pasta); Italian food is probably something which I can eat every day and not get tired of it. However, it has to be good, and when I say good, I don't mean any Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's or Telepizza. Out of all these big pizza franchises, I think that Papa John's is one which I can bring myself to order if there's nothing else nearby. I'll only go to Domino's if I am starving and I can get the 6. 95€ all you can eat and drink deal (come y bebe sin limites).

But besides that, I'm talking about wanting to eat every day real, authentic pizza from Italy (or at least from Italian chefs). Discovering these Italian gems can be hard to find when you're not in Italy, so that's why I'm here to help you out. I've tried many pizza places in Madrid, and there are only two which have really stood out to me as gems, and I would definitely go back to them over and over again.

Sure, there's La Tagliatella and there's Gino's, but they're also chain restaurants. Out of the two, I would personally go to La Tagliatella as the better pizza chain restaurant choice of Madrid because the decor is nicer inside, and after trying both places, I somewhat enjoyed my food more at La Tagliatella. But enough of these places, which are basically pasta and pizza factories, and they don't put real love into their food.

I'm here to talk about my favourite authentic pizza places of Madrid: Il Cratere del Gusto and Il Nuraghe. For sure you will find that the food is fresh (not frozen) and that they're truly made by people who know what they are doing.

Il Cratere del Gusto

The bustling neighborhood of Arguëlles is just south of the university hub where the University of La Complutense is located, and la Calle Princesa runs right through the neighborhood, leading straight to Gran Via. There are people, shops, and restaurants everywhere on this main street. However, right off of la Calle Princesa, specifically on Calle Marques de Urquijo 27, there's a quiet little restaurant called Il Cratere del Gusto.

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From the outside it doesn't look like much, but you will be pleasantly surprised. It is a small, cozy place inside, and very casual.

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At the front counter when you first enter, you can either get ready-made food to go, or you can go in the back and sit down at the tables to order form the menu. If you want to order something that takes more time to cook, you just have to call ahead and come pick it up when it's ready.

Since the place is small with limited seating, it's better to make a reservation if you're planning to eat inside the restaurant after 8:30pm because it fills up quick. Otherwise, you'll either have to wait or you have the option to get the food as take-out.

The waiters are very friendly. Although the place inside is small, the menu is huge with so many delicious dishes to choose from, and at a very reasonable price. According to The Fork, an average two course meal here would cost 15€, not including drinks.

I used to live in Arguëlles, near Plaza de España, and I was just an 8 minute walk away from this lovely Italian place. I am so disappointed in myself for only going there twice over the course of nine months living nearby there.

Il Nuraghe

In my second year living in Madrid, I moved up to the northern part of the city, in Plaza de Castilla. While living there, one of my flatmates introduced me to my other favourite pizza place in Madrid: Il Nuraghe. It is unfortunately located far from the city center, in the town called Tres Cantos. I was lucky because my flatmate had a car and he drove me to this Italian place, but without a car, it's quite difficult to access it.

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From this map perspective shown above, you can see that Tres Cantos located is quite far from Madrid's center.

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How to get here

Right above is a close-up map, showing the Italian place Il Nuraghe in relation to the Cercanías Renfe train station, which is in the upper left hand corner. If you are really determined for the pizza and don't have a car, you can take the Renfe train from Madrid (the line C4B train which goes through Chamartín, Nuevos Ministerios, Sol, and Atocha) to Tres Cantos and walk 20 minutes to Il Nuraghe. If you have a car, though, it's much easier and faster to get there. Plus, there is not much else to do in Tres Cantos, so it's better to just go in car.

Il Nuraghe located in an area of Tres Cantos called Sector Islas, which is basically a residential area. It's quiet and calm. I loved this restaurant because I wanted the simple and basic cheese pizza, and I got the best cheese pizza I've had in a very long time. The crust was made so thin with the perfect amount of cheese and tomato sauce. It also had the perfect balance of crispyness and chewiness.

This cheese pizza was mine. I wish I could have another one right now. I was lucky that I wasn't too hungry, and it was a pretty big pizza so I felt full quickly and I got to save half of it for my breakfast the next morning.

If I remember correctly, this restaurant is even smaller and simpler inside than at Il Cratere del Gusto, but the food is just as good in quality, and maybe it's even better. There is also the option to sit at tables outside, which Il Cratere del Gusto does not have (because there is not a lot of sidewalk room). The prices here are also very reasonable, and if I remember correctly, they are quite similar prices to those of Il Cratere del Gusto.

I hope you got some useful information from my pizza restaurant recommendations of Madrid! Stay tuned for more food posts!

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