The Best Wood-fired Pizza in Rome?

Entering bustling, multi-platformed Termini railway station in the busy heart of Rome, it’s easy to become side-tracked by a plethora of shops, temptingly selling everything from books to designer football gear. It’s similarly tempting to become over pre-occupied by the helpful warnings relating to pickpockets and thieves, provided by fellow metro users.  Put all of that aside, and have a determination to fathom where the Mercato Centrale is to found, however, and you can make your way towards some of the best pizza in the Italian capital.  Even better – it’s rustled up in commercial Valoriani pizza ovens!

Mercato Centrale can be entered from the busy street outside, after heading past the taxi rank for a few hundred yards, or via a store (if you can resist the handbags, perfumes and clothing, as you make your way out of the station and towards the market).  The department store route provides some welcome relief from what can be 38-degree temperatures outside in the summer months, with delightfully refreshing air-conditioning with which to cool down in preparation for a sensational food experience that is just one push of a door away.

What to find in Mercato Centrale, Roma

Mercato Centrale has been a food haven in Rome for 10 years now and has the ethos of bringing food artisans together under one roof.  Here, you will find an A to Z of mouthwatering foodie treats, starting with the Artichoke Shop and the Argentinian Empanadas Shop.  As you enter this food hall, your eyes will dart from one amazing food outlet to the next, whether you focus on T-bone steaks Florentine-style or delightful patisserie cakes.

There’s almost every type of cuisine you could want here, from ramen and gyōza to smash burgers.  But, if you are a pizza devotee, there’s only one place to head – to the very furthest corner of the ground floor, where you will discover one of the Rome-based pizza outlets of the acclaimed Marco Quintili.

As you study the menu board, you will no doubt find it difficult to keep your eyes off the two commercial Valoriani ovens, firing on all cylinders, cooking gourmet pizzas with real and mesmerising flames.  Here, the fire is built as it should be – to the side of the oven, in true wood-burning oven style, rather than at the back of the oven, as British oven brands suggest, simply to overcome issues with the operation and heating up of their ovens.

This is not necessary with a Valoriani oven, constructed using the finest materials and with generations of Valoriani family experience built into the design, all of which optimises the cooking experience.  In this instance, this artisan approach to commercial wood fired ovens matches the artisan genius of the name behind the Mercato Centrale pizza experience – Marco Quintili.

For Marco Quintili – whose name adorns the Valoriani ovens in this pizzeria – pizza is an experimentation.  His pizzas are full of taste, sometimes with extraordinary topping choices, and based on a light dough, to his own secret recipe. ‘La Pizza’ in the Mercato Centrale serves both classic and signature Quintili wood-fired pizzas in true Neapolitan style, (capable of being easily folded, ‘libretto’ style).  The pizzas grace the menu alongside perfectly golden, crisp-fried delicacies also emanating from the Naples region.  Think crochette and frittatine, in a number of tempting varieties, whether that is a frittatina cacio e pepe or amatriciana, or a crochetta gricia or classica. There are then dessert choices besides.

The La Pizza Neapolitan pizza menu

But the pizza is the main event and its flavours here embody the traditional flavours of Italian regions, especially Campania.  Raw materials used for toppings are influenced by seasonality but include the finest ingredients expected of Neapolitan pizza tradition.  Sitting atop the light and airy crust, these artisanal toppings can be simply delicious or true talking points.

In the ‘simply delicious’ category, you have your well-known pizza varieties – Marinara, Margherita and a scrumptious Diavola that encompasses pomodoro (tomato), fior di latte dei Monti Lattari, salame picante (spicy) and Olio Evo.

Move towards the lesser-known varieties and true taste explosions can result. Lovers of vegetables might be tempted by the Capricciosa, with its combination of fior di latte dei Monti Lattari, mushrooms, artichokes and olives. But what about the extraordinary Gricia in Fiamme, a true signature pizza from Quintili, which is a cacio e pepe pizza, with pecorino cheese, pepper and smoked buffalo mozzarella, on which are laid slices of raw guanciale (pork cheek similar to bacon) sourced from a smoke house in Viterbo.   These strips are set alight, with the assistance of a flammable black pepper liquid, to melt the fat and create a taste and texture sensation, as well as a pizza flambé experience!

There are ‘pizze a ruoti di carro’ (or wagon wheel pizzas to you and I), on offer too, for a true touch of Neapolitan tradition. One of these, Cosacca (e mastunicola) embodies one of the most ancient pizzas known to man; another is Provola and Pepe.  Then there are rustic choices that bring fabulous regional delicacies to the plate, such as the porchetta di Ariccia that graces the Ariccia pizza.

The Sei Formaggi pizza is the cheese lover’s delight, full of the respective flavours of fior di latte, parmigiano, provola, gorgonzola, pecorino and formaggio di Castagno di Beppino Occelli, but unbelievably light despite all of these cheese varieties that come together in one taste explosion.  There’s no chomping through a stodgy base with these Neapolitan pizzas, allowing every mouthful to be enjoyed without that heavy feeling that can accompany pizza eating.

Marco Quintili’s background

Quintili, who was born in the province of Caserta just outside of Naples, is truly passionate about baking and has perfected the art of pizza delivery in Rome, ever since his arrival in 2017. An instant award-winning track record allowed him to expand beyond his original pizzeria in via San Biagio Platani and he now has four outlets in Rome, including the Mercato Central eatery powered by his Valoriani commercial wood fired ovens.  Alongside this, sits another restaurant in Naples.

This true artisan, who teaches the advance techniques of the pizzaiolo and chef to students Europe-wide, has also, interestingly, opened a second ‘Mercato Centrale’ pizzeria – this time in Turin’s Mercato Centrale. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the publicity images also show that one to also be driven by Valoriani pizza ovens – true experts in helping chefs produce perfect pizza, whether Neapolitan or classic.

Great pizza in Rome

The Rome ‘Quintili’ pizza experience may sound expensive and out of your league, in terms of budget, but think again.  A Margherita will cost you just €10, a Diavolo €11 and a Sei Formaggi, €12. Even a Goloso with a cheese-stuffed (ricotta) crust is only €15. It makes the Mercato Centrale a must-do stop-off during your visit to Rome and also a very easy to arrange one, given the fact that Termini is at the centre of the city’s transportation system.

Just remember to look out for the pickpockets around the station and do retain your till receipt once you’ve ordered your food. It will actually give you access to the nearby toilets!

Follow the guidance, sit back and enjoy some of the best – if not the best – pizza in Rome, in a truly relaxed and convenient setting.  As the board says, the pizza is ‘calda, buonissima e fatta con tecnica napoletana.’   Hot, truly scrumptious and made the Neapolitan way. What more could you want?

The La Pizza eatery in Mercato Centrale is in Via Giovanni Giolitti, 36, 5 minutes’ walk from Termini train, bus stop and metro station (lines A and B). Mercato Centrale is open every day, from 7.30am to midnight.

To talk to us at Orchard Ovens about the Valoriani commercial pizza ovens that power it, call us on 07743 847647.

Ends

Editors notes

Orchard Ovens is the domestic and commercial pizza oven supplier in the UK of Valoriani, based in Reggello, Tuscany - the manufacturer of Italy's hugely respected Valoriani pizza ovens, known as the Maserati of pizza ovens and the kings of clay. These ovens are made from superb refractory clay - cotto clay - found in the family's quarry and unique, thanks to having just the right alumina. This allows Valoriani ovens to heat up quickly and retain heat superbly, bring huge advantages to homeowners, as well as restaurant owners, hotels, pubs, mobile caterers, pizzerias, takeaways and more.

Orchard Ovens supplies some of Britain's best-known restaurants and chefs, whilst it is also a specialist creator of outdoor kitchens and wood-fired oven builds for the rich and famous, as well as everyday homeowners wishing to add value to their home and enjoy an outdoor lifestyle to the full.