The best pizza places in Kuala Lumpur

From the team behind My Burger Lab comes My Pizza Lab. At any of the chain’s four outlets in the Klang Valley, find pies with creative toppings and local flavours layered on crispy crusts; the menu is chaotic in theory, but extremely delicious in reality. If you're foodie enough, you'd remember a time when, in the ultimate meeting of eastern and western cuisines, the mad lads at My Pizza Lab courted controversy with boba pizza. Note: It’s no longer on the menu to “make way for more exciting pizzas”.

Three to try: Huat The Duck, a signature featuring smoked duck slices, torched mandarin oranges and onion jam; Mary’s Lamb, for braised lamb, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella on sourdough; and Honey Truffle Bella with honey creamed mushrooms, sautéed mushrooms, and truffle. 

7-inch pizzas from RM14 to RM20; 10-inch pizzas from RM22 to RM38.

Happy Mansion’s “small pizzeria” is all grown up now with two siblings located in Bukit Bintang’s Jalan Mesui and The Five, a hip Bukit Damansara enclave. The kicker is that all three outlets work equally well for date nights and dinners with friends, but if you can’t score a table, takeout will do in a clutch. Pizzas, fired in custom-built fire brick clay ovens, boast a perfectly airy and crispy crust that stands on its own, plus hearty toppings delivering first and foremost on flavour. 

Three to try: Holy Pepperoni with cured beef, onion rings and fior di latte is a fan favourite, as is Silence of the Lambs featuring Moroccan lamb meatballs, green chillies and garlic yoghurt on a tomato-chilli base. Hey Margherita! has tomato passata, buffalo milk stracciatella and fresh basil. Keep an eye out for their specials, and whatever you do, don’t miss out on the mac and cheese. 

11-inch pizzas from RM22 to RM58.

When Proof opened back in ’17, it was an instant hit. As chosen by our critics, the pizzeria was even awarded ‘Best New Opening’ by Time Out KL’s Food & Drink Awards that November. Though it has expanded to offer pastas next door at its sister outlet Grano, pizza is still the draw. It's made with a sourdough base proofed for 24 hours and then wood-fired, framed by a crust that’s crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. 

Three to try: Carné is a meat lover’s dream on a pie with salami, pancetta and minced chicken; Umbrian Black Truffle Pizza has mixed mushrooms and black truffle paste with mozzarella, taleggio and mascarpone; and Pizza Parma con Rucola is topped with Italian dry-cured ham, olives, cherry tomatoes, rockets, and cheeses. Upon request, all pizzas can be made calzone-style.

Pizzas from RM32 to RM64.

Pizzeria Dihyang stands out for at least two reasons. First, it’s the only pizzeria in Malaysia to be certified by the Naples-based Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana; meaning it serves “true neapolitan pizza” by the organisation’s standards, and adheres to traditional pizza-making methods using approved ingredients with parameters on oven temperature, how long the pizza is allowed to cook, and what size and shape the pizza should be, etc. Second, there are rules at Pizzeria Dihyang. At the time of writing, there are 14 rules, including “We do not slice the pizza”, “We do not serve extra condiments”, “We do not serve free tap water or warm water”, and so on. It’s a touch, uh, eccentric and uncompromising, but it’s Pizzeria Dihyang’s world and we're just living in it. 

Three to try: Margherita, the classic Neapolitan with cow’s milk cheese; Bianca al Prosciutto Crudo, a white pizza topped with Parma ham; and for a meatless choice, the Funghi features Italian mixed mushrooms. 

Pizzas from RM43 to RM120.

The secret to La Risata’s success is consistency — an admirable feat considering the restaurant has been around since the early-2000s. This casual Italian restaurant isn’t the glitziest or most spectacular, but there’s hardly a weekend when it isn’t packed with diners looking for hearty Italian comfort food at reasonable prices.

Three to try: The pizza menu is divided into rosso and bianco (basically, pizzas topped with a tomato-based sauce or non-tomato-based sauce, respectively). On the rosso side, you can’t go wrong with the classic Pizza Margherita and Pizza Frutti Di Mare. Meanwhile, the bianco pizzas are more playful with Pizza Pera e Gorgonzola featuring pear shavings, rocket, and walnuts along with cheeses and Pizza D’anatra topped with smoked duck, rocket, anchovies, caramelised onions, and mozzarella.

Pizzas from RM28 to RM55.

What began as a pandemic hobby is now a full-fledged pizzeria with a permanent home at Bamboo Hills. The duo behind Pizza Duo, Aina Ghani and Mark Lee, are obsessed with pizza — so much so that for one of Aina’s birthdays, Mark surprised his wife with a pizza road trip to Piedmont, where they ate at pizzerias rated 90 and above on the Gambero Rosso guide. Today, they serve up some of the best Neapolitan-style pizzas in the city; dough is double-fermented for more than 72 hours, then hand-scratched into a pizza topped with fior di latte and tomatoes from Naples. 

Three to try: Margherita 2.0 features San Marzano tomatoes, semi-dried cherry tomatoes, fior di latte, parmigiano reggiano, and basil oil; Spicy Pep has spicy beef pepperoni, San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte, parmigiano reggiano, plus red onions and chili honey; and the all-time best-seller Shroomami is made with Parmigiano fondue, truffle salsa, portobello mushrooms, ricotta, and truffle oil.

Pizzas from RM28 to 72.

Happy Mansion has not one, but two ’za joints. In the Neapolitan style, Alan Goh’s Round Pizza Napoletana boasts airy, fluffy crusts on pizzas that arrive unsliced — you can cut your pizzas with scissors, a technique rooted in pizza tradition. The atmosphere is impeccable for a casual night out in the Klang Valley; the menu is rounded up with craft beers and wines, plus equally excellent starters and desserts. 

Three to try: If it’s your first time, order the Margherita, available with your choice of cow’s milk cheese or Italian D.O.P. bufala cheese. Diavola is a best-seller featuring beef or pork pepperoni, fior di latte, parmesan, and habanero chili and fermented habanero salsa. Alan’s favourite is the pesto-based Mortadella e Burrata topped with mortadella and a ball of burrata. 

Pizzas from RM40 to 119.

In an overly-saturated dough market, choosing the perfect ’za is harder than you think, but at Alta Pizza, you’re in good hands – the same hands behind sister projects Alta Café and Studio Restaurant. At the heart of the kitchen is a Stefano Ferrara brick oven imported from Italy; it reaches 400 degrees Celsius, resulting in perfect pizzas in just 80 to 90 seconds. Alta Pizza celebrates all things “Italian-ish”; beyond pizza, the restaurant serves a focused snack menu alongside snacks, small plates, pastas, and classic aperitifs and natural wines. 

Three to try: The house chorizo, fig and pecorino pizza is perhaps the most eaten in Alta Pizza, finished with hot honey; the mushroom, fontina truffle cream and hot sauce pizza is a meatless option boasting big flavours; and the escargot pizza with garlic butter, fior di latte, lemon, and chives is a can’t-miss. 

Pizzas from RM48 to RM52.

Mokky’s is on a mission to be Malaysia’s go-to pizza shop. Its founder, Mohd. Shahmi, a.k.a. Mokky, fell head over heels for pizza while studying engineering in the U.S. of A. During the pandemic, he taught himself to make pizzas by watching YouTube videos and tutorials; today, he operates four Mokky’s shops in the Klang Valley, offering New York-style pizza. 

Three to try: Holy Pep! has beef pepperoni, mozzarella, and basil on Italian tomato sauce base; Alfredo Chicken is a best-seller featuring baked chicken and spinach with house-made alfredo sauce; and Fake Margherita is a classic crowd-pleaser. If you’re spoilt for choice, opt for a half-and-half. 

12-inch pizzas from RM32 to RM48; 16-inch pizzas from RM58 to RM86.

In Chow Kit, Heritage Pizza is the spot for pizza, though you wouldn’t know it from its raw aesthetics; all brick and metal, lightened with white tables inside. Antonio ‘Tony’ Delachi is proudly Italian, dishing out pizzas like mama used to make. Here, dough is left to proof for 48 hours, then into the Veronese stone oven it goes. 

Three to try: Pay homage to the quintessential Italian pizza with Margherita; Calabrese is a spicy chef’s signature featuring nduja, smoked pancetta, broccoli, and chillies; and the salty, peppery Bresaola e Rucola has air-dried salted beef with rucola and whole burrata.

Pizzas from RM30 to RM88.