Best Prawn Pizza in JHB: 6 Spots Worth Trying

There’s pizza, and then there’s prawn pizza.

Done badly, it’s a confused combination of too much cheese, soggy seafood and prawns that have spent far too long in an oven. Done properly, though, prawn pizza is something else entirely: sweet prawns, garlic, chilli, bubbling cheese and a crisp base that holds the whole thing together.

And Johannesburg has some interesting contenders.

From Rosebank to Bedfordview, we went looking for the prawn and seafood pizzas that deserve a spot on your radar. Some are unapologetically prawn-forward, while others bring calamari, mussels or chorizo along for the ride.

Here are six places to put on your JHB prawn-pizza hit list.

Pantry by Marble, Rosebank

Try: Chilli Prawn Pizza

If there’s one pizza on this list that immediately gets our attention, it’s Pantry by Marble’s Chilli Prawn Pizza.

The combination is refreshingly straightforward: prawns, cherry tomatoes, garlic, chilli crisp and rocket.

And that simplicity is exactly why it sounds so good.

Prawns don’t need to be buried underneath half the contents of the kitchen. Garlic gives them the richness they need, chilli brings some heat, while tomato and rocket should keep everything fresh enough to stop the pizza becoming too heavy.

The chilli crisp is the particularly clever bit. It adds heat, but also brings texture and a deeper savoury flavour than simply scattering sliced chillies over the top.

Why it makes the list: This is a pizza designed around the prawn rather than a standard pizza with seafood added as an afterthought.

Where: Rosebank

Piza ē Vino, Melville

Try: Frutti di Mare

Piza ē Vino has been part of the Gauteng pizza landscape for years, and if you like your prawn pizza firmly in seafood territory, the Frutti di Mare is the obvious order.

Here the prawns share the stage with calamari and mussels, joined by onion and basil pesto. You can also take the marinara spicy or mild.

This is less about delicate restraint and more about getting that proper seafood-pizza experience.

The basil pesto is an interesting addition, bringing a herby richness to ingredients that could otherwise become dominated by tomato and cheese.

Go spicy, we say. Seafood, tomato, garlic and a little heat rarely disappoint.

Why it makes the list: A proper seafood pizza for the person who thinks prawns alone simply aren’t enough.

Where: Melville

La Parada

Try: Calamari, Chilli & Prawn Pizza

La Parada might not be the first name that comes to mind when someone asks where to find prawn pizza in Joburg, which is precisely why this one is worth mentioning.

Their Calamari, Chilli & Prawn Pizza combines grilled calamari and prawns with chilli and basil.

Again, there’s a theme developing here.

Chilli and prawns just work.

The addition of grilled calamari makes this a more substantial seafood pizza, while basil should provide enough freshness to balance the richer ingredients.

It’s the sort of pizza that makes sense with a table full of people, a few drinks and the inevitable argument over who took the last slice.

Why it makes the list: Grilled seafood, chilli and pizza is a combination we’re quite happy to get behind.

The Wisemen Restaurant, Rosebank

Try: Taste of These Pizza

This is for the maximalists.

The Wisemen’s Taste of These Pizza combines calamari, prawns/shrimps and mozzarella, putting it firmly into seafood-feast territory.

There’s nothing particularly restrained about that combination, and that’s part of the appeal.

If your idea of a seafood pizza is something generous, cheesy and piled with toppings rather than an ultra-thin Italian-style base with three prawns carefully positioned on top, this is the direction to go.

It also gives Rosebank two very different options on this list: Pantry for something more contemporary and prawn-focused, and The Wisemen when you’re in the mood for something considerably more substantial.

Why it makes the list: It’s the seafood lover’s option — plenty happening and definitely not shy on toppings.

Where: Rosebank

Ottimo, Bedfordview

Try: Build Your Prawn Pizza

We’re stretching the geographical boundaries of JHB slightly here, but Bedfordview is close enough that we’re claiming it.

Ottimo is worth knowing about if you’re more particular about how your pizza comes together. Rather than pointing you towards one signature prawn pizza, prawns and shrimp are among the available pizza toppings, giving you room to create your own combination.

That can actually be an advantage.

Our move?

Keep it simple.

Prawns, garlic, chilli and perhaps something fresh to finish. When you’ve got a good thin base, there’s no reason to throw twelve toppings at it.

Ottimo has also earned recognition among Joburg’s pizza spots, so this isn’t simply a case of finding a restaurant that happens to have prawns somewhere on the toppings list.

Why it makes the list: A good option for the pizza purist who would rather build their own prawn combination.

Where: Bedfordview

• • Pantry by Marble in Rosebank — Chilli Prawn Pizza. This is probably where I’d start the article. The current menu lists prawns, cherry tomatoes, garlic, chilli crisp and rocket. It’s a much more focused prawn pizza than the usual overloaded seafood version. Uber Eats
  • Piza ē Vino — Frutti di Mare. Their current Gauteng menu has prawn, calamari, mussels, onion and basil pesto, with marinara available spicy or mild. Their Melville branch makes this a genuine JHB contender. Piza ē Vino
  • La Parada — Calamari, Chilli & Prawn Pizza. Grilled calamari and prawns with chilli and basil. It isn’t a pure prawn pizza, but it’s absolutely relevant for a Joburg seafood-pizza roundup. La Parada

 

• The Wisemen Restaurant in Rosebank — Taste of These Pizza, topped with calamari, prawn/shrimps and mozzarella. Definitely the heavier, cheesier end of the spectrum. Uber Eats
• Ottimo in Bedfordview — slightly outside a strict Johannesburg-city definition, but worth considering if you’re treating “JHB” as greater Joburg. Time Out’s 2026 Joburg pizza guide specifically notes that prawns and shrimp are available among its pizza toppings and rates Ottimo highly for thin-crust pizza. Time Out Worldwide

The one I’d put at #1 initially is Pantry by Marble’s Chilli Prawn Pizza. On paper, that combination of prawn + garlic + chilli crisp + cherry tomato + rocket sounds closest to what your article is actually looking for: a pizza built around the prawns rather than a generic seafood pizza. The restaurant is also getting broader recognition for its pizza — Time Out included Pantry among its best pizza restaurants in Johannesburg for 2026.

So, Who Gets Our Vote?

If you’re specifically searching for the best prawn pizza in JHB, rather than simply the best seafood pizza, Pantry by Marble’s Chilli Prawn Pizza is the one we’d put at the top of the hit list.

Prawn. Garlic. Chilli crisp. Cherry tomato. Rocket.

Nothing unnecessary.

For a full-on seafood experience, Piza ē Vino’s Frutti di Mare would be our next stop, while the Prawn & Chorizo at Panarottis is the wildcard for anyone who likes their pizza bigger, smokier and bolder.

But that’s also the problem with trying to crown Johannesburg’s best prawn pizza.

There are too many different interpretations of what a prawn pizza should actually be.

Should it be thin, crisp and simple? Loaded with seafood? Fiery with chilli? Swimming in garlic? Paired with chorizo?

We know which direction we’re leaning.

But there’s really only one sensible way to settle this argument.

Order the pizzas.

Restaurant menus and dishes can change, so check the restaurant’s current menu before making a special trip.