At Bob Alchimia a Spicchi in Montepaone, on Calabria's Ionian coast, there is no knife and fork. Gambero Rosso named the pizzeria Pizzeria of the Year in its Pizzerie d'Italia 2027 guide, presented in Rome on October 26, 2026. Its booking page states the rule plainly: no cutlery, and everyone at the table eats by hand.
Roberto Davanzo and Anna Rotella opened it in June 2016 with about 10,000 euros, bread in the morning and pizza at night, because, as they told Gambero Rosso, ten years into their relationship they wanted to stop living in different cities. By the same account, the lines, a camp bed in the pizzeria and a pandemic drive-in that once backed up 200 cars came later.
BOB Alchimia a Spicchi
€€€€ · 4,003 reviews
BOB Alchimia a Spicchi is the Montepaone pizzeria run by Roberto Davanzo and Anna Rotella. Named Pizzeria of the Year in Gambero Rosso's 2027 guide, it serves dinner without cutlery. Check its booking rules before visiting.
How the booking works
What matters if you are actually going is the booking logic. Dinner only, Tuesday through Sunday, roughly 19:30 to 23:00. Tables run from one to eight people, with children and strollers counted as seats, and separate tables are not pushed together, so a group of ten is not a booking. A confirmation email arrives 24 hours ahead and the table is released if you do not confirm it by 17:00. After that: 15 minutes of grace, 10 euros per no-show guest, a card held as a guarantee for groups of six to eight, no outside food or drink, no high chairs, and small dogs only in the main room. There is no gluten free option, and the venue says it has no separate preparation area to guarantee one. The food menu is read at the table, so allergies and intolerances go in the booking notes, not into a question at the door. Only the drink list is published online.
If you cannot get a table
If the calendar beats you, stay in Montepaone. Also in town, inside an old stone olive mill, Emiliano Galati runs Tropp, which holds Due Spicchi in the same 2027 edition and brews its own beer to go with the pizza. Gambero Rosso lists 80 covers there and pizzas from 5.50 to 14 euros.
Tropp
€€€€ · 1,249 reviews
Tropp is Emiliano Galati's pizzeria in Montepaone, set in a former olive mill on Via Roma 187. The 2027 Gambero Rosso pizzeria guide awards it Due Spicchi; the venue also brews its own beer.
What changed in the 2027 guide
The format changed too. The 2027 guide covers 824 pizzerias, gives its highest grade, Tre Spicchi, to 120 of them, and drops numeric scoring entirely, so a counter selling pizza by the slice and a pizzeria with table service are now judged under the same symbol. So if you plan a trip around the guide, read each listing's format before you book: the same Spicchi can mean a standing counter or a reserved table like Bob's.
