Sano Pizza – with stores in Dublin and Cork – received gongs for Independent Restaurant of the Year and Best Pizza at the Just Eat Awards
Pizza on a sunny day at Sano in Cork city(Image: Instagram: Sano Pizza)
The best pizza parlour in all of Ireland has been crowned – and the owners have spilled the sauce on what goes into making the best slice in the country.
Sano Pizza, based in Dublin and Cork, scooped up the Independent Restaurant of the Year and Best Pizza gongs at the Just Eat awards this week, bagging a massive €100,000 prize for the win.
The popular authentic Neapolitan pizza restaurant has built a loyal customer base thanks to its authentic Neapolitan-style pizzas, high-quality ingredients and commitment to simple, flavour-driven menus.
The restaurant was founded by twin brothers Raymond and Tony MacHugh, who were inspired to bring the authentic Neapolitan pizza experience to Dublin after a life-changing trip to Naples. Their first location opened in Temple Bar in 2018, and the brand has since expanded to Ranelagh and Cork.
“Me and my twin brother, probably about eight and a half years ago, we decided to have a boys’ weekend over in Naples,” Raymond told the Irish Mirror. “And I fell in love with Naples, but more so fell in love with the pizzas.”
Amanda Roche-Kelly, Managing Director, Just Eat Ireland presenting the winner of ‘Independent Restaurant of the Year 2025’ to Raymond MacHugh, co-owner of Sano Pizza at the 12th annual Just Eat Awards.(Image: Conor McCabe Photography)
He added: “I said to my brother, ‘we need to bring this back to Dublin’. Make it affordable, make it fun, let families come out and enjoy food. Good quality food… Sano means healthy in Italian and Neapolitan pizzas are extremely healthy.
“Margaritas are like 750 calories. And the research we looked at came back saying, young people want to eat more healthily, they’ll still sneak out for McDonald’s, but they wanted to eat a hell of a lot better. I think we’ve proven that with the three branches over the last eight years, we’ve sold over two million pizzas.”
At the core of Sano’s philosophy is quality ingredients alongside affordable prices – with a 12-inch margherita costing only €12.50 at Sano’s Temple Bar spot.
“It is important to keep it affordable,” Raymond said. “To do that, you’ve got to have the right location with the right amount of covers. When we’re looking for a site, we’re always looking for 100 plus covers.
“Stack them high, sell them cheap. But don’t sell a cheap product, sell a quality product,” he added.
“But you need the volume to be what you do at those prices. So I understand you’ve got other places that (charge) 15,16, 17, 18 euros. I understand it, but if you got larger places it’s easier to do high volumes, it’s all easier to make profit.”
Asked what the secret to making the best pizza in Ireland was, Raymond divulged that Italian chefs making authentic recipes is the key. He said: “The secret is, Italian chefs that have been trained in Naples to make a traditional recipe.”
“We are absolutely buzzing, quite humbled by the whole thing,” Raymond said. “We’ve been in Dublin now for the last eight years, to be awarded this is just quite amazing, not just for me, but for all the staff, and what they’ve done over the years.”