Image Credits: Francesca’s
If you’ve eaten your way around Adelaide’s pizza scene in the last two years, you’ve likely already got an opinion on Francesca’s. And it’s probably a good one.
This wood-fired Neapolitan and Sicilian pizza hole-in-the-wall has become one of Adelaide’s most beloved pizza stops, even landing a spot on Urban List’s Best Pizza in Adelaide 2026 lineup. Its two existing locations on Brighton Road and Anzac Highway have made it a fixture of the Holdfast Bay community — and now, the brand is heading further south without straying too far from its coastal roots. Christies Beach locals, clear the calendar: you’ve got a date with a Francesca’s pizza and a lazy spring afternoon overlooking the beach with your name on it.
While the Brighton Road and Anzac Highway sites lean into breezy blue-and-white palettes and textured concrete, the new spot takes Francesca’s laid-back aesthetic in a slightly different direction, with the team transforming a shipping container into a fully-fitted out kitchen.
Francesca’s co-owner Aman Takhar said the shipping container fell into the team’s hands, and all they had to do was find the right location.
“The space called for it. It’s opposite the beach, and opposite a park, it’s just perfect,” he told Glam Adelaide.
Stripped-back it may be, but Francesca’s still knows how to make a pizza night feel like an occasion. Peer through the shipping container and you’ll catch a glimpse of the star of the show: a full-sized, red-domed wood-fired oven.
“It’s been a massive effort getting the wood oven in and making this thing work,” Aman said.
“But it’s been so worth it, because we were able to put it in a position where it’s overlooking the beach. It’s been beautiful down here, with people watching the sunset at the park overlooking the beach.”
For the uninitiated, Francesca’s serves up two pizza styles – classic Neapolitan and thick, crunchy Sicilian – alongside focaccias and sando’s baked fresh in-house every morning. The menu is unfussy, built around Italian smallgoods, cheeses and cured meats from in and around Adelaide, alongside Flour, tomatoes and olive oil imported directly from the pizza capital of the world itself, Italy.
Their loyal following, however, comes down to one simple, stubborn promise: 48-hour-proofed dough, wood-fired every single time. So, to our friends down south, we apologise in advance for the pizza base snob you’re about to become. Once you’ve had a Francesca’s, anything that hasn’t seen a wood fire is going to struggle to measure up.
“I hear stories about a lot of our customers, travelling all the way to Brighton and Glenelg. Now they can find something a little bit closer,” Aman said.
“I think locals will really enjoy what we’re trying to do here.”
While they’re keeping the details of the opening under wraps for now, they’ve promised it will be a “celebration”. And if their previous openings are anything to go by (where $2 pizzas were handed out to anyone who stopped by) we’d recommend keeping a close eye on their socials – you might just score yourself a fresh slice straight out of the oven on opening day.
Francesca’s Pizza Christies Beach
Where: 13 Beach Rd, Christies Beach SA 5165
When: Opening September, 2026.
For more information, click here.
