Pizza en Leña – A Popular Pizzeria in Sabaneta With Good Pizzas

Pizza en Leña is a popular chain of two pizzerias located in Sabaneta. Local Colombians living in Sabaneta I have talked to consider this chain as having the best pizza in Sabaneta. And I agree it is one of the best pizzerias in Sabaneta.

Pizza en Leña specializes in really good thin-crust pizza that is cooked in a brick oven at both of its locations.

A Dutch guy owns the Pizza en Leña chain. He bought his first pizzeria in Sabaneta about six years ago from another Dutch guy. This first pizzeria became so popular that on weekends it frequently had lines waiting to get into the relatively small place.

Cooking pizzas at the first Pizza en Leña

This drove the owner to open a second Pizza en Leña about a year ago. This second pizzeria is located next to the popular Parque Sabeneta. The second pizzeria is much larger than the first and seats a maximum of about 75 people. And it has two floors.

The new location has also become popular, particularly on weekends from what I have seen. According to the owner the new location is attracting a different customer base.

The second Pizza en Leña, photo courtesy of Pizza en Leña

So, the original smaller Pizza en Leña remains busy even though it is located only about five blocks from the first location. Consequently, if the smaller pizzeria fills up, they can now redirect overflow customers to its bigger pizzeria located next to Parque Sabeneta.

Inside the second pizzeria, photo courtesy of Pizza en Leña

My Experiences at Pizza en Leña

Since I moved to Sabaneta over two years ago I have eaten at Pizza en Leña many times with my Colombian wife and several times with friends.

In addition, when my father visited recently I took him to Pizza en Leña. And he said the pizza was excellent with a crispy thin crust he really likes. Also, several expats living in Sabaneta I have met have told me that the pizza at Pizza en Leña is their favorite.

I have eaten at both locations and the pizzas are consistently good. Each time I have eaten there the ingredients were fresh and the pizza was cooked perfectly with a crispy thin crust.  My favorites include the Amantes de la Carne (meat lovers) pizza and the Diavolo, which is a bit spicy.

Pizza en Leña’s biggest competition in Sabaneta is Ragazzi Pizzas Y Pastas, which are located near Parque Sabaneta.

The Diavolo pizza at Pizza en Leña with mushrooms added

The Food Menu

Pizza en Leña specializes in pizzas and there are 22 different pizzas on the menu. The pizzas come in two sizes: medium with six slices and large with eight slices. And the pizzas have four different price points as follows:

Median for 22,000 pesos, large for 31,000 pesos:

• Pepperoni – pepperoni and mushrooms
• Hawaiian – ham and pineapple
• Neapolitan – fresh basil, cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese

Median for 25,000 pesos, large for 34,000 pesos:

• Pesto – chicken, pineapple, fresh basil and pesto sauce
• Shoarma – special meat, tomato salad and house yogurt sauce
• Mexican – Mexican meat, maicitos, bell pepper and jalapenos
• Chicken with mushrooms – roasted chicken and mushrooms
• Vegetarian – zucchini, black olives, red onion, basil and pesto sauce
• Three cheeses – blue cheese, parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese

Median for 28,000 pesos, large for 37,000 pesos:

• Diavolo – pepperoni, red onion, black olives, bell pepper, garlic and a touch of spicy
• Rustic  – ham, Antioquian sausage, bacon and mushrooms
• Spring  – ham, zucchini, red onion, bell pepper and pesto sauce
• Spanish – Spanish sausage, bell pepper and black olives
• Salami – salami and Italian cheese
• Salsiccia  – Italian sausage, paprika, garlic
• Boloñesa – Bechamel sauce, bolognese meat and parmesan cheese

Median for 31,000 pesos, large for 40,000 pesos:

• Bacon – smoked bacon, ham, mushrooms and parmesan cheese
• Meat lovers – special meat, pepperoni, bacon, chicken and mushrooms
• Solomío – white sauce base, pork loin, caramelized onions and mushrooms
• Pomodoro pesto – Spanish sausage, bell pepper, blue cheese, parmesan cheese and pesto sauce
• Porchetta – alfredo sauce, apple, onion reduction and porchetta
• Supreme – salami, italian sausage, roasted paprika and olives

Of course, you can add or subtract ingredients to any of the above pizzas. In addition, the menu includes pita burgers, pita Italian, pita chicken or pita vegetarian with prices ranging from 7,500 to 9,500 pesos.

The Drink Menu

Furthermore, the restaurant has several drinks on the menu, including sodas for 2,000 to 3,000 pesos, bottled water for 4,000 pesos and beers ranging in price from 5,000 to 7,000 pesos. In addition, it has red wine for 7,000 pesos per cup, a half bottle for 19,000 pesos or a full bottle for 31,000 pesos.

Popular Parque Sabaneta

How to Get to Pizza en Leña

Pizza en Leña has two locations in Sabaneta listed below:

1. Sabaneta: Carrera 46 # 72S-49
2. Sabaneta: Carrera 44 cl 70 sur 32 (next to Parque Sabaneta), Tel: 6119569

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pizzaenlena

Phone: +57 4 301 5735

Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday: 4 pm to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday: 4 pm to midnight.

The larger Pizza en Leña pizzeria is located in a food passageway to the right of the popular Santa Ana church found at Parque Sabaneta. Parque Sabaneta is located about a 10-minute walk east from the Sabaneta metro station, which is the second to last station going south on Line A.

There are also metro feeder buses that frequently run from the Sabaneta metro station to near Parque Sabaneta, which cost only 2,200 pesos. But be careful, the buses don’t go directly to Parque Sabaneta they run about a block away. In addition, just about every taxi driver in Medellín will know how to get to popular Parque Sabaneta.

The Best Pizzerias in Medellín

We have looked at 13 of the best pizzerias in the Medellín metro area in detail, which have very good pizzas.

1. Ammazza – a popular chain of three pizzerias in Medellín with excellent thin-crust pizzas.
2. Pizzeria Centro – a pizzeria in El Centro with very good thin-crust pizzas.
3. Café Zorba – a very popular pizzeria in El Poblado with very good vegetarian thin-crust pizzas.
4. Due Amici Pizzeria – a pizzeria in Suramericana with very good thin-crust pizzas.
5. Pizzería Olivia – a popular chain of nine pizzerias in Medellín.
6. Bigotes – a chain of three German pizzerias in Medellín – owner is German.
7. Pizza en Leña – a chain of two pizzerias in Sabaneta – owner is Dutch.
8. Ragazzi Pizzas Y Pastas – a chain with three pizzerias in the Medellín area.
9. Opera – a pizzeria in Laureles with good thin-crust pizzas.
10. Ná Pizza – a popular pizzeria in Envigado with very good thin-crust pizzas.
11. Pane y Pomodoro – a chain of two pizzerias in Medellín with good thin-crust pizzas.
12. Burro Pizzeria – a popular pizzeria in Envigado with good thin-crust pizzas.
13. Cavieli Ristorante Caffe – a popular pizzeria in Belén near Clínica las Américas.

All 13 pizzerias listed above in my opinion have better pizza than the pizza chains in Medellín like Domino’s, Jeno’s, Papa John’s, Pizza Doble Pizza, Pizza Hut or Pizzas Piccolo.

Also, we included Pizza en Leña in our list of the best pizza places in Medellín.

In addition, in my opinion, Papa John’s has the best pizza out of the big pizza delivery chains in Colombia. But all of the above independent pizzerias we have looked at in detail have better pizzas than Papa John’s and the other pizza chains in Colombia.

Pizza cooking in the brick oven at newest pizzeria, photo courtesy of Pizza en Leña

The Bottom Line – Pizza en Leña

Pizza en Leña is one of my favorite pizzerias in Sabaneta. It has really good thin-crust pizza, which I like.

I believe this pizzeria chain would be successful in other parts of the metro like El Poblado, Envigado and Laureles-Estadio. Yet the owner may decide to remain in Sabaneta where there is less competition.

If you haven’t experienced Parque Sabaneta yet, it’s arguably the nicest park in the Medellín metro. Also on the weekends the park comes alive with locals and many visitors from other parts of the city.

Sign up for the Free Medellin Guru Newsletter – You can see all of the previous Medellin Guru weekly email newsletters and sign up here.

Editors note: updated on May 27, 2018 with updated menu food options and prices.

Editors note: updated on September 23, 2019 with updated menu food options and prices.