Taste Authentic Italian Style Food At This Florida Pizzeria Named One Of The World's Best

If you're looking for the best budget-friendly places to eat in Italy, pizzerias are a good bet. But pizza is also a serious food, as Italy's Top 50 Pizza ranking list proves. The Top 50 Pizza rankings have guided palates passionate about pizza since 2017, when the organization first came out with Italian rankings. A year later, they followed suit with categories worldwide. The Miami pizzeria 'O Munaciello, which ranks #55 worldwide and #11 for the U.S. category in 2024, is located in the city's MiMo district at 6425 Biscayne Boulevard, with an additional location in Coral Gables at 2250 Coral Way. Besides the Top 50 Pizza ranking, it rates "3 Spicchi," (excellent) with the Italian food and wine consultancy Gambero Rosso, and its pizza chef won 2022's Pizza Maker of the Year at the Pizza Expo Las Vegas.

Founded by Italians from Florence who fell in love with Neapolitan pizza, they brought it to their city in 2005; Miami followed in 2017, with entrepreneur Valentina Borgognoni and pizza chef Carmine Candito joining forces. The pizzeria uses 100% Italian ingredients and makes authentic Neapolitan-style dough, which rises for 48 hours and is cooked in a wood-fired brick oven imported from Naples. Pizzas cost between $20 – $30 on average.

In a neighborhood pizzeria atmosphere with bright walls, colorful chairs, and hanging football jerseys, guests are made to feel immediately at home while chowing down on rich, authentic flavors. The best way to enjoy their pizza is steaming hot, fresh from the oven. No cold leftovers or pepperoni slices (which isn't quintessentially Italian) here — just flavorful, regional products with local designations from some of Italy's best food cities. One of those regionally-designated ingredients is the tomato sauce, salsa di pomodoro San Marzano, which lines the base for classic red pies, including the Napoli, which is topped up with mozzarella, capers, anchovies, and oregano — just like they do it in Naples. Gourmet pizzas include exciting ingredients like creamy balls of regionally-designated buffalo cheese (Margherita DOP) and a regional Genovese sauce (Genovese). You can request gluten free or black dough for any pizza for an extra fee.

Unlike an iconic Philadelphia pizzeria that also made the Top 50 Pizza list, 'O Munaciello has made its name highlighting flavors and dishes from Naples that go beyond pizza. Spaghetti alle vongole veraci, a pasta and clam dish seasoned with garlic and white wine, is a particular favorite; calzones, the folded-over, stuffed cousin to pizza, are another specialty.

The criteria for the Top 50 Pizza rankings are pleasantly diverse. It takes into consideration the pizza itself, as well as genuine, kind staff, an authentic ambiance, reasonable wait times, and a good choice of wine, beer, and other beverages that pair well with pizza. The pizza inspectors appear like normal customers, visiting anonymously so they can observe what happens on an average day at all inspected pizzerias.

In Italy, the 150 inspectors, who cannot have any private affiliation with a pizzeria, recommend pizzerias in their region, which are then assigned to other inspectors to visit. Then, inspectors complete a survey to explain their visit and choose the final rankings. Pizza inspectors change year over year to promote continued fairness and diversity in the judging. This process has resulted in a complex, and now worldwide, ranking system with regional, national, and international awards. It is sponsored by a number of Italian food and beverage companies.