Real pizzerias versus tourist pizza in Naples

What real Neapolitan pizza is

The rules: 24 to 36 hour fermented dough at 60 to 70 percent hydration, San Marzano tomatoes (the canned variety from Mount Vesuvius region), mozzarella di bufala or fior di latte, basil, olive oil, baked 60 to 90 seconds in a wood oven at 480 degrees Celsius. The dough should be soft and slightly burnt at the edges (the leopard spots).

The 7 institutions

Worth the queue, in priority order:

• -Da Michele on Via Cesare Sersale, the most famous, 90 minute queue, two pizzas on the menu
• -Sorbillo on Via dei Tribunali, larger and more varied, 45 minute queue
• -Concettina ai Tre Santi in Rione Sanità, modern technique, book ahead
• -Pizzeria Starita in Materdei, the inventor of the modern Neapolitan technique
• -Pizzeria La Notizia in Vomero, Enzo Coccia's elevated version
• -50 Kalo in Mergellina, Ciro Salvo's contemporary version
• -I Masanielli da Francesco Martucci in Caserta (30 minutes by train) for the cult version

What to skip

Skip anywhere with a menu in 6 languages with photos. Skip anywhere with a guy waving you in from the street. Skip pizza in tourist neighborhoods (Spaccanapoli at lunch) and walk a few blocks away. Pizza al taglio (rectangular by the slice) is a Roman thing, not Neapolitan, do not order it here.

The order

At a real pizzeria, order one pizza per person plus one bottle of wine to share. The classic orders:

• -Pizza margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basil), the canonical original
• -Pizza marinara (tomato, garlic, oregano, no cheese), the older still
• -Pizza diavola (with spicy salami) for the spicy version
• -Pizza ortolana (with vegetables) for the lighter version
• -Pizza fritta (deep-fried pizza), the Naples-only specialty

What time to go

Pizzerias open at 7pm for dinner. 7pm is tourist hour, the queue is short but the atmosphere is empty. 8pm to 9pm is the queue peak and the local crowd. 10pm is post-queue and the room is full of locals after their first dinner round.

The Caputo flour test

Real pizzerias use Caputo flour (specifically the Pizzeria or Tipo 00). It is the gold standard. If you visit a pizzeria and the staff are happy to talk about flour, you are in the right place.