Il Pizzaiuolo - Florence, Italy

Via de'Macci 113/R
Firenze, Italy
Tel. 055.24.11.71
(cash only, reservations required, closed Sundays and August. )

Many had recommended to us that Il Pizzaiuolo serves the best and most genuine Neapolitan pizza in town. It's located near the Santa Croce church and a 10 minute walk to the Duomo. The pizzeria is a small place, yet is informal and unpretentious. Having no reservations, we arrived 15 minutes before opening and found a waitress guarding the door so that the waiting patrons won't come in before the opening at 7:30pm. Luckily, we were led right in at 7:40pm. And the place quickly got crowded by locals, students and tourists.

The wood burning oven.
Pizza Margherita (6 €) - fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil
The thin-crust pizza had a light, nicely charred edge and a good balance of tomato sauce and mozzarella. I wish they could have added a few more basil leaves though. Italians usually eat their pizzas with a fork and knife, so I tried following suit, but found it more satisfying just picking it up and taking a huge bit.. of course modestly.
Pasta con funghi porcini (9 €) - Ever since I ate the Sophia Loren pizza at Osteria La Buca in Los Angeles, I fell in love with porcini mushrooms. There's something about its rich and meaty flavor that is so distinct from the other mushrooms. At Il Pizzaiuolo, the mushrooms were much bigger, meatier, and more on the soft side - almost slimy I would say, but the flavors were intense and incredible. The portion here was very generous, lots of mushrooms and lots of pasta.
This pizzeria is quite popular with tourists and locals, so come early if you don't have reservations. There is a cover charge (coperte), as with most restaurants, for 2 € per person.