Crisp Pizza W6 Is Opening Its Own Brick & Mortar Location Next Month
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1 month ago
The so-called best pizza in London is setting up shop in the city
In 2023, everyone was talking about Crisp Pizza W6, the hard-to-get-your-paws-on, crispy base, slightly-burned-looking pizza taking over Hammersmith. Flash forward to 2025 and Carl McCluskey’s unique venture is making a big move closer to the heart of the city. Introducing The Marlborough: a new pub and new venture for Crisp W6 in partnership with the people behind London’s buzziest (and busiest) pub The Devonshire and local landowners Grosvenor.
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But first, what’s the hype all about?
Crisp Pizza W6: What’s The Story?
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It’s a thin and crispy pizza, you eat it down by the river, and it’s pretty hard to get your hands on: the perfect recipe for a hype restaurant? This seems to be the secret behind the simply named Crisp Pizza W6, London’s honeypot eatery tucked away in The Chancellors pub in Hammersmith. It is helmed by Carl McCuskey, an entrepreneur who is not a chef nor a baker, but has experimented with different levels of flour and water to obtain the crispiest crust combination. He first launched Crisp Pizza W6 in 2020, taking over his grandma’s pub and refreshing it with some bubbly experimental pizza that visitors could grab and go (those were the lockdown days). Neatly, the name derives from McCuskey’s thin base, but also The Chancellors’ location on Crisp Street.
And now, the team behind Crisp Pizza are expanding into central London, taking over The Malborough Head pub on North Audley Street. The new space will just be called The Marlborough and has a cracking team behind it. You’ve still got Crisp’s McCluskey (who remains head pizzaiolo), but the team is bringing in additional support from the trio responsible for beloved boozer The Devonshire: Charlie Carroll, Ashley Palmer-Watts and Oisín Rogers.
The new pizzeria at the Marlborough will occupy the downstairs, which will become a speakeasy; upstairs will be a more traditional pub. The venue will take Guinness as seriously as its dough, installing the same system which has led to the cultish pints served at The Devonshire.
What’s The Hype?
Have you seen Crisp Pizza W6 on TikTok? How about Instagram? Social media is where most of this pizza parlour’s organic promotion is being generated.
@olibrandonCrisp Pizza W6 📍Chancellors pub in Hammersmirth♬ Caramel Latte – Prod. By Rose
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@infatuation_london How we got our hands on the always sold-out pizza in London. Crisp Pizza W6 📍Hammersmith #crispw6 #crispw6pizza #pizza #pizzalover #InfatuationLondon ♬ Clouds (Sped up) – Tollan Kim
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It’s among a slew of destinations hyped (or overhyped) by social profiles amping up different London ‘experiences’. Think the likes of St Dunstan’s in the East, Circolo Popolare, Gods Own Junk Yard, Winter Wonderland and even Salt Bae – Instagrammable destinations we’re desperate to see (and taste) for ourselves, only to realise on arrival that the Reels made it seem a lot nicer than reality.
But Crisp Pizza W6 seems to be one of the (over)hyped spots living up to people’s expectations. Other than the punters inevitably turned away because too many pizza lovers have showed up that day, McCuskey’s reviews are overwhelmingly positive. The Infatuation’s Rianne Shlebak declares ‘These are the best thin-crust, New York-style pizzas in London,’ while one TripAdvisor reviewer writes, ‘The hype is well deserved’, and another calls McCuskey’s pizza ‘Easily the best pizza in the UK right now’.
The Evening Standard’s Jimi Famurewa calls McCuskey’s pizza approach ‘fresh, distinctive and utterly undeniable’. But on those declarations that this is the best pizza in London, Famurewa says: ‘The fact that McCluskey’s slices may not instantly supersede all the other half-remembered London pizzas you have eaten – and they didn’t quite, for me – does not make them any less exceptional, rare or worth crossing town for.’ In short: the pizza is good, but if you’re not a fan of thin crust – or, perhaps, Hammersmith – this isn’t the spot for you. But at least if it’s just the location, you’ve got a Mayfair local now, too.
Get It
Crisp Pizza W6 operates on a pre-order and walk in basis. Follow @CrispPizzaW6 on Instagram to stay up to date with bookings, or rock up and try your luck at the following opening times:
- Wednesday and Thursday, 5.30–9.30pm
- Friday to Sunday, 1–9pm
The Marlborough will open in November. Follow @themarlboroughmayfair to find out more.
