Antwerp's Del Popolo is in top 10 of Europe’s best pizzas

The 10th best pizza in Europe can be had in Antwerp, according to travel website Big 7 Travel. The website compiled a list of Europe’s 50 best pizza places, and Del Popolo, just down the street from the city’s Central Station, came in at number 10.

Big 7 editors compiled finalists from every country in the EU. It then opened them up to a vote among Big 7 readers and a panel of food experts. It weighed those results against online reviews both amateur and professional in order to compile the list of 50.

“This wonderful casual spot gives you pizza that is restaurant standard cooked but right in front of you while you wait,” writes the website. “It’s the sort of place that once you know about you simply won’t be able to walk past again without popping in.”

Del Popolo make Sicilian-style pizza, which means a thick crust. The pizzeria makes its own dough, which is flipped into the air as you watch, and uses only locally sourced ingredients.

It is a huge space with loads of seating inside and out on the busy Keyserlei. If you’re on your own, don’t hesitate to head to the back where a bar-style table circles a live tree. Del Popolo also does takeaway and delivery through Deliveroo.

But it’s not the only pizzeria in Flanders to make Big 7’s top 50: Amuni in Bruges came in at number 35. “Artisanal pizza made with living sourdough that they call ‘slow food pizza’,” Big 7 writes. “That means a huge focus on the raw ingredients, which gives a stunning end result. You can taste the exceptional quality in every mouthful.”

The best pizza in Europe, by the way, according to Big 7, is L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele in Naples, Italy. Naturally.

Photo courtesy Del Popolo