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RestaurantsLondonHammersmithW6

survey result

Summary

£59
   ££
5
Exceptional
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Believe the hype – these pizzas are the real thing!” – so say all reports on Carl McCluskey’s Hammersmith phenomenon which has stormed social media with its quirky and “glorious” set-up, delivering “perfect pizza in a proper old boozer!”. Set in the (clapped-out looking) Chancellor’s Arms behind Hammersmith’s Riverside studios, it’s “such a weird and good place!” – you can risk it and walk in, or you can book ahead and reserve your dough, then try and bag a seat and if you fail eat take-out style on the nearby river-path. The draw is his “excellent crispy pizza” of the NYC variety, which many consider “simply the best in town”. BREAKING NEWS: As of July 2025, it is rumoured that McCluskey is putting the finishing touches on a new Mayfair sibling at 24 N Audley St, London W1K 6WD.

Summary

£62
  £££
5
Exceptional
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“The secret is well and truly out now” – “Carl (the owner) makes some of the best pizza in London”, selling out daily from the unpromising-looking Hammersmith boozer he was born in (near the bridge, behind Riverside studios). His ‘pies’ are “insane”, fully justifying “the hype about being the best” created by influencers including Dave Portnoy of America’s Barstool Sports and rapper Action Bronson. A former semi-pro footballer, Carl McCluskey developed his own recipe for NYC-style crisp-base pizza when he took over the Chancellors pub in – yes – Crisp Road when his grandmother retired during the pandemic. He has talked of moving to Mayfair, but as of summer 2024 was still pumping out the pizzas on home turf.

Summary

£59
   ££
5
Exceptional
2
Average
2
Average
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Believe the hype… these pizzas are remarkable!” – there’s nothing gastro in appearance when it comes to this mock Tudor pub: “a proper old man’s boozer” behind Hammersmith’s Riverside Studios. But self-taught pizzaiolo Carl McCluskey has set social media ablaze with folks travelling from far and wide and queuing round the block for his NYC-inspired creations. Even Harry Kane’s a fan! It’s a homespun and quirky set-up, which can struggle under weight of numbers. In particular, “be sure to book your dough before you go!” – you can reserve your pizza (to ensure you don’t go hungry and can take out if needs be), even if tables are reserved for walk-ins only. Is it the capital’s best? Jimi Famurewa in his March 2023 Evening Standard review neatly captured the nigh-impossibility of living up to such legendary billing. “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”. (Apparently, McCluskey is now on the hunt for a more conventional central London site).

For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at Crisp Pizza?

The Chancellors, 25 Crisp Road, London, W6 9RL

What the Newspaper Critics are saying

The Times

Giles Coren tapped his “old mate”, landlord Oisin Rogers of the Devonshire in Piccadilly, to nab a table without having to queue for six hours at Osh’s collaboration with acclaimed pizza-obsessive Cal McCluskey at this Mayfair project which sees “England’s most queued-for pizza joining forces with England’s busiest pub”.

First, though, Giles shared his general attitude to pizza – a dish he memorably dismissed as “Never truly exciting, never truly disappointing, but always available locally. Like marital sex.”

So was Crisp’s any better? Up to a point, said Giles: “It’s delicious. Absolutely delicious. And extremely crispy. But is it worth a long journey and a very long wait? Well, seeing as that is an experience I am never going to have, I guess I will never know.”

Giles Coren - 2025-12-07

Prices

Traditional European menu

Starter Main Veggies Pudding
£5.00 £16.30 £2.00 £6.50
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £30.00
Filter Coffee £4.00
Extras  
Bread £6.00
Service 12.50%
The Chancellors, 25 Crisp Road, London, W6 9RL
Opening hours
MondayCLOSED
TuesdayCLOSED
Wednesday5:30 pm‑9:30 pm
Thursday12 pm‑9:30 pm
Friday12 pm‑9:30 pm
Saturday12 pm‑9 pm
Sunday12 pm‑9 pm

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