Eat Pray Love Pizza: Julia Roberts' Naples Pizzeria

There is a scene in Eat Pray Love that made millions of viewers hungry: Liz, played by Julia Roberts, biting into a margherita pizza in Naples and finally surrendering to the pleasure of food, after weeks of counting calories. It’s one of the most quoted food scenes in recent cinema. That place really exists, and it is one of the temples of Neapolitan pizza: L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele.

Where the pizza scene was filmed

We are in the Forcella district, on Via Cesare Sersale, a short walk from Naples Central Station and Piazza Garibaldi. Da Michele’s story begins in 1870, when Salvatore Condurro opened his first pizzeria in the heart of Naples. His son Michele Condurro — the name we know today — opened his own place in 1906, and in 1930 the pizzeria moved to its current home on Via Cesare Sersale, the very one that appears (with a little cinematic license) in the film. Five generations of the same family later, the rule hasn’t changed: only two pizzas, marinara and margherita, baked in a wood-fired oven, no exceptions.

What to expect (and what to order)

Da Michele is an authentic experience: a bare-bones setting, marble tables shared with other diners, an electronic number system at the door, and often a queue outside even outside peak hours — that’s part of the ritual, not a flaw. The menu is deliberately minimal: marinara (tomato, garlic, oregano, oil) or margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basil), with “double mozzarella” for those who want it richer. To drink, a Neapolitan craft beer or a soda. Don’t look for gourmet toppings: here it’s all about the long-leavened dough, San Marzano tomatoes, and the fast wood-fired bake that gets the pizza to your table in minutes.

Tip: go at off-peak times (12:00-12:30 for lunch, or after 3pm) to cut the wait. Cash and card both accepted, and the bill is remarkably low for the quality on offer.

How to get there

Da Michele is about a 5-minute walk from Naples Central Station (Piazza Garibaldi exit), which makes it an easy stop even just passing through, before or after a train. If you’re driving, use one of the guarded car parks nearby — the historic center has restricted traffic zones (ZTL) active at various times of day.

A Naples itinerary in the footsteps of the film

After the pizza, Forcella and Naples’ historic centre are worth a stroll: Spaccanapoli, the long straight street cutting through the old town, San Gregorio Armeno with its year-round nativity-scene workshops, and the Via Caracciolo seafront for a scenic finish with views of Vesuvius. You will find the address and map on the Pizzeria da Michele page and the film’s other locations on Eat Pray Love.

A fame that crossed borders

Da Michele’s success — partly thanks to the film — is such that affiliated pizzerias with the same name now exist across Italy and around the world, from Rome to London, Dubai to Miami. But the historic location, the one from the film’s scene, remains only one: Via Cesare Sersale, Naples.

In short

If you loved the pizza scene in Eat Pray Love, sitting down (after the queue) at Michele is a must: it is the most authentic way to taste the Naples of the film, one margherita at a time, in the same place run by the same family for over 150 years. Stay on theme with My Brilliant Friend and The Hand of God, two more Naples stories filmed in real locations across the city.