Dublin pizza restaurant ranked 15th in top 20 European pizzerias

Dublin pizza restaurant Little Pyg was named as Europe’s 15th-best pizzeria and won two prizes at the Pizza Europa Awards in Madrid on Monday night.

Little Pyg in Dublin’s Powerscourt Townhouse Centre was awarded the accolade by 50 Top Pizza, a food publication and guide that celebrates the highest culinary achievements in the world of pizza.

Little Pyg was the only Irish eatery named in the Top 50, featuring among other renowned pizzerias across the continent.

It was also named as Ireland’s best pizza restaurant for the second year in a row.

Armenian chicken with sumac onions

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Andy Noonan’s chimichurri

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Andy Noonan’s salsa criolla

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Andy Noonan’s baba ganoush

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The restaurant was opened just before the Covid-19 outbreak by Paul McGlade jnr. All its chefs are sent to Italy to train under pizza maestro Enzo Coccia, who was the first pizzaiolo to be listed in the Michelin guide.

Little Pyg also won an award for best authentic Italian produce in Europe on the night, which had the owner questioning whether it had even made it into the top 50 restaurants in a competition “mainly dominated by Italians”.

We got it last year, and we didn’t have a clue what it was. We googled it and 50 Top is like a religion for pizza makers

—  Paul McGlade

“We weren’t expecting [it], and then when we got that award we were like, maybe we’re not even in the top 50, and they only invited us for that award,” McGlade laughed.

He added that the award is “great for the whole Irish food scene”.

50 Top Pizza is known as the biggest pizza organisation in the world, with more than 2,000 inspectors.

“We got it last year, and we didn’t have a clue what it was. We googled it and 50 Top is like a religion for pizza makers,” McGlade said. “They send inspectors, they don’t tell you who they are, and they pay for the meal themselves. So you only know when you get a letter. We got a letter two months, or a month and a half ago that we’re invited to Madrid and that we’re in the top 50,” he explained.

The pizzeria came 27th out of 50 in the ceremony in 2023, but McGlade had promised his pizzaiolo team that if they came in the top 15, he would take them to Ibiza – something he was reminded of immediately after the placing was announced.

Next, however, the team will be heading to Naples in September, having received a “golden ticket” to the Pizza World Championship on foot of ranking in the top 20 at the Pizza Europa Awards.

“That’s 100 of the top pizzas in the world, so then we get recognised as one of the best pizza places globally,” McGlade said.

“It’s good, the guys deserve that because over the couple of years with Covid it wasn’t easy for anyone, and we get all the Italians – all the Italians come to eat in our place on Sundays,” he said.

Little Pyg is a sister restaurant of Dublin’s well-known Pygmalion and serves cocktails alongside its food menu.