Pepe in Grani

The people behind it

Behind Pepe in Grani is Franco Pepe, whom the pizzeria's website presents as the third generation of a family of bakers in Caiazzo. The family's first business was started by his grandfather in 1938, with a trading licence granted by the podestà; Franco grew up alongside his father Stefano in the shop on Piazza Porta Vetere, where bread and pizza were the daily work.

In 2012 he decided to open a project of his own, built, as the pizzeria puts it, on a passion for dough and on a disc of pasta that tells the flavours of the Alto Casertano. The stated philosophy is that true pizza speaks of the history, culture and land it comes from. Today Franco Pepe leads a large team, which the website describes by role: cooks, dough makers, pizza makers, bakers, finishers and front-of-house staff.

Sources: Pepe in Grani — La storia · Pepe in Grani — sito ufficiale · Pepe in Grani — Team

What they make

The pizzeria names three pillars: experimentation, craftsmanship and territory. The pizzas mentioned on its website are the Margherita Sbagliata, the Scarpetta, the Crisommola del Vesuvio and the Ciro; the Margherita Sbagliata has become the house signature.

Its construction is stated precisely: a simple pizza that goes into the oven with extra virgin olive oil and Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO, while on the way out it receives a raw purée of Caiazzo's pomodoro riccio and a basil reduction. The aim, the pizzeria writes, is to bring out the riccio tomato while keeping its nutritional value intact. Dissapore's 2020 review described a direct dough worked by hand every day, made in the morning for the evening, and also mentioned fried pizzas and dessert pizzas such as the Crisommola and the fried Pastiera.

Sources: Pepe in Grani — sito ufficiale · Pepe in Grani — Margherita Sbagliata · Dissapore — Pepe in Grani a Caiazzo, recensione (2020)

Ingredients and territory

The raw materials the pizzeria highlights include Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO and Ricotta di bufala campana PDO, alongside Grana Padano PDO aged 12 and 24 months, the pomodoro riccio tomato, Caiazzo olives, Vesuvius lemons and Vesuvius apricots.

Buffalo mozzarella is the dairy of the Margherita Sbagliata: it goes into the oven together with the extra virgin olive oil, while the tomato arrives raw only after baking. It is a choice that ties Caiazzo's pizza to the PDO supply chain of Campania buffalo milk, named explicitly on the website next to buffalo ricotta, also PDO. The riccio tomato, an old variety the pizzeria associates with Caiazzo, and the local olives complete a story in which almost every ingredient has a precise place in the Alto Casertano or around Vesuvius.

Sources: Pepe in Grani — sito ufficiale · Pepe in Grani — Margherita Sbagliata

Recognition

Pepe in Grani has been listed for years in Italy's two main pizza guides. In the 50 Top Pizza Italia 2025 ranking the 50 Top Pizza guide places it at number 25; in the 2026 edition of the same ranking it is at number 31.

In Gambero Rosso's Pizzerie d'Italia guide, according to the report published by Scatti di Gusto on 22 September 2025, the 2026 edition awards Pepe in Grani Three Slices with 97 points out of 100, the highest score in the whole guide, shared with only one other pizzeria. The same outlet had reported that in the 2025 edition too the guide named it the best pizzeria in Italy, with 97 points. The Gambero Rosso guide pages could not be consulted directly, so the source for this award is the press article.

Sources: 50 Top Pizza — 50 Top Pizza Italia 2025, classifica · 50 Top Pizza — 50 Top Pizza Italia 2026, classifica · Scatti di Gusto — 3 Spicchi Gambero Rosso 2026, le migliori pizzerie (22 settembre 2025) · Scatti di Gusto — Le migliori pizzerie della guida Gambero Rosso 2025

Going there

Pepe in Grani is at Vico San Giovanni Battista 3, in the old centre of Caiazzo, in the province of Caserta. According to the pizzeria's website it opens Tuesday to Sunday, from 6:30 pm to 12:30 am, and is closed on Mondays; bookings are handled by phone or email.

The venue also occupies the top floor of an eighteenth-century palazzo, where the pizzeria offers two rooms designed by its own architect and furnished by local craftsmen: visitors coming from afar can therefore stay the night in Caiazzo. Caiazzo is also a starting point for exploring the Alto Casertano, the area the riccio tomato and the olives used by the pizzeria come from. It is best to check opening hours and availability before setting off.

Sources: Pepe in Grani — sito ufficiale · Pepe in Grani — Ospitalità

Products and flavours

Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (buffalo mozzarella)

PDO · Cheeses

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Ricotta di Bufala Campana (buffalo ricotta)

PDO · Cheeses

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Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO

History, stretching and hand-cutting, PDO rules, landscapes and practical tips for recognising and enjoying buffalo-milk mozzarella.

Read the guide →

Photo: Popo le Chien / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized and converted to WebP.

The region

Campania