A restaurant in Vari, a suburb south of Athens, just took home one of the most coveted titles in the pizza world. France...

A restaurant in Vari, a suburb south of Athens, just took home one of the most coveted titles in the pizza world. Francesco Granata, the chef and owner of Napul'e, won the top Margherita award at The Best Pizza Awards 2026, beating out pizzerias across Italy and the rest of the world. The story behind the win is as good as the pizza. Granata was born and raised in Naples, the city where the Margherita was invented, but he trained as a doctor, not a chef. He moved to Greece after falling in love, left medicine behind, and in 2019 opened Napul'e in Vari. Demand was strong enough that by 2021 the restaurant had already outgrown its original space and moved to a larger location. The rise in the rankings has been fast. Last year Granata appeared for the first time on the list of the world's 100 best pizzaiolos, landing at number 61. This year he jumped to 16th globally, and his Margherita now sits at the very top of the category. The menu goes well beyond pizza. The restaurant serves appetizers like burrata bruschetta with Cetara anchovies and vitello tonnato, along with pasta dishes that include a saffron arancini stuffed with ossobuco, a classic carbonara made with Pecorino Romano, and a slow-cooked Genovese con candele. A new addition, pasta al limone made with linguine and Italian goat cheese cream, has already become a standout. According to the writer who visited, the kitchen does not try to adapt Neapolitan food for a tourist audience. Every dish is made to taste the way it does in Naples, relying on quality ingredients and traditional technique rather than creative shortcuts. #Greece #Food #BestPizza