Pizza – that ubiquitous Italian cuisine that can be found anywhere from cheap street cafes to pricey specialty Italian restaurants. In New York, the best place for pizza is, hand’s down, in a cheap street cafe – the rule is usually "the cheaper, the better." In Moscow, it seems that rule doesn’t fly. That tasty, scrumptious, cheesy, greasy, spicy, saucy slice of precious pizza pie is harder to come by in this city than you might think. After months of research, LifeStyle’s found the following places to get an acceptable slice:

1. Da Cicco Trattoria Italiana

This place offers over 50 different types of pizza and the prices range from about 100-400 rubles, depending on what you order. We don’t have any specific recommendations on what to order because everything any LifeStyle employee’s ever had there has been good. It’s kind of far out there, but you won’t remember the long metro ride when you’re slurping up that last bit of sauce off your plate.

2. Verona

Trust us, this is a real find in Moscow. Not only is the pizza edible, but it’s also cheap! Cheap and tasty – it doesn’t get any better than that! Here you can order the pizza the way you like it and it’s always served fresh out of the oven and piping hot.

3. La Grotta

It’s as if the oregano, tomato sauce and mozzarella have all been beckoned by a higher force to join together and make one satisfying, not-to-pricey pizza pie. This stuff is tasty! And the location’s even sweeter.

4. Maxima Pizza

Boy, are we lucky here at LifeStyle! Not only are we all supremely intelligent and attractive, but our offices are located just around the corner from this eatery, which, as is evident from its name, specializes in pizza. Don’t be scared by all the BMWs parked outside, either – it’s not that expensive!

5. Patio Pizza

Patio Pizza’s been around a while, which means the quality should have slipped and the prices should of sky-rocketed, but they haven’t! That’s the magic of this place. Try one of their pizzas with eggplant if you want a guaranteed tasty pie.

6. Jack’s

Every expat in Moscow has heard of Jack’s, and there’s probably a reason why. Their pizzas are excellent! They offer quite the array of choices and if you buy five, you’ll get one free! However, by "free," they mean you have to buy $15 worth of other stuff for delivery. And, well, you have no choice but to get it delivered. But at least it’ll be good!

7. San Marco

Tucked away on historic Stary Arbat, San Marco is Italian to the utmost. In this tasty restaurant, you’ll find some of downtown Moscow’s best pizzas, and it won’t cost you a month’s salary. Take a date here and share a pie.

8. Truffaldino

The pizzas here are all made gourmet. The ingredients go from simple to exquisite, but the taste is always divine. However, for this level of quality, you’ll have to pay – but not as much as you might expect, so come down and grab a bite.

9. Sbarro

Some may curse the existence of American restaurant chains, but why? America is home to some of the best pizza places on Earth! One LifeStyle employee used to work in a Sbarro in a food court in an American mall during high school and the fact that she still eats there once in a while says a lot! Sbarro may not be gourmet, but, think about it, is pizza really meant to be? No! Which is why you should check out one of their many outlets around town.

10. Venetsia

"Yum, yum, give me some" is what you’ll be saying when the fresh smells of oven-baked pizza hit your nose when you’re descending the stairs into this courtyard eatery located just across the alley from the Last Drop at Pushkinskaya. However, you’ll also ask yourself why you forgot to bring a sun visor. Really, is all that fluorescent light necessary? Don’t worry, you’ll forget about it when you get your food.

Locations:

Da Cicco Trattoria Italiana
13/12 Profsouznaya Ul.
Tel: 125-1196

Verona
32/36 Vorontsovskaya Ul.
Metro: Proletarskaya
Tel: 276-4150

La Grotta
27 Bol. Bronnaya Ul., Bldg. 4
Metro: Pushkinskaya
Tel: 200-3057

Pizza Maxima
2 Zasepsky Val
Metro: Paveletskaya
Tel: 953-7282

Patio Pizza
13 Ul. Volkhonka
Metro: Kropotkinskaya
Tel: 298-2530

Jack’s
Delivery only.
Tel: 956-6196
www.jacks.ru

San Marco
25 Stary Arbat
Metro: Arbatskaya
Tel: 203-1770

Truffaldino
20 Marksistskaya Ul., Bldg. 1
Metro: Marksistskaya
Tel: 363-3861

Sbarro
1 Manezhnaya Pl.
Metro: Okhotny Ryad
Tel: 737-8390
www.sbarro.ru

Venetsia
4/3 Strastnoi Bulvar, Bldg. 3
Metro Pushkinskaya
Tel: 209-6009