Cook Big in Tiny Spaces with Compact Outdoor Pizza Ovens

Love al fresco dining but short on space? Whether you live in a high-rise apartment with a small balcony or atiny house with an equally tiny yard, you don’t have to sacrifice the joys of outdoor cooking.

While cooking indoors can feel a little stale and monotonous, preparing and cooking meals in an outdoor kitchen is a mini adventure every time—and it’s an excuse to get the whole family involved in the process.

Cooking outside also broadens your options, since you can make dishes that you wouldn’t necessarily want to cook indoors, like grilled steak or delicious Neapolitan-style pizza in awood-fired pizza oven.

With the right compact outdoor pizza oven, you can create culinary delights and dishes with big, bold flavors, even in a small space. Keep reading for clever small outdoor kitchen ideas with your compact oven. 

Make your oven the centerpiece.

If you plan to build a tiny outdoor kitchen, make your oven the star of the show with acountertop pizza oven model. These compact units are perfect for small spaces and are incredibly versatile.

Cook up mouthwatering roasts, perfect pizzas, roasted vegetables, and more. If you love the flavor wood imparts for slow-cooked dishes, choose ahybrid gas and wood model for even greater versatility.

Integrate a vertical garden near your compact oven.

If your outdoor space is very small (such as an apartment or condo balcony), you’ll need to get creative with your outdoor kitchen setup. Every square inch counts.
A vertical herb and tomato garden is an efficient space saver, and you might be surprised at just how many herbs you can grow vertically, from basil and chives to oregano and rosemary. All you need is vertically stacked pots or planters or a hanging hydroponic system.

Hang or place your herb garden within easy reach of your small outdoor pizza oven’s prep station for easy harvesting. Fresh herbs are an aromatic addition to homemade pizzas, meat marinades, soups, stews, and practically anything you cook up!

Design a flexible space with an oven on wheels.

With aportable pizza oven on acompact movable cart, you can move around and arrange your outdoor cooking space at your convenience.

Need to make extra room for seating? No problem. Want to create a pizza-making station at one end of the patio and seating on the other? It’s easy with a portable pizza oven.

To make the space even more versatile and user-friendly, invest in modular furniture that can be reconfigured as needed. This will help you make the most of the space you have, whether it’s a small balcony or a long, narrow side yard.

Create a pizza-making station on your patio.

There’s no better way to bring the family together than with a pizza party. Get the whole family involved in pizza making by setting up a toppings station where the kids (and adults) can create their own custom pie.

Here are a few options for making the most of a small space:

• Use a small rolling cart for dough, sauces, toppings, and utensils; you can move it out of the way when not in use.
• Install a fold-down table near the oven for dough rolling and assembly; when not in use, fold it back up against the wall.
• Use a large wooden board or pizza peel as a portable workspace.

Featured Outdoor Ovens

Ready to start cooking outdoors? These compact outdoor pizza ovens by Fontana Forni are versatile, energy-efficient, and 100% Italian-made with the highest quality materials.

Ischia Wood-Fired Oven

Portable, compact, and easy to use, theIschia Wood-Fired Oven by Fontana Forni is the ideal entry-level pizza oven for cooking and Italian cuisine enthusiasts.

The unique cooking chamber ensures uniform heat distribution. Corrosion-resistant and energy-efficient, the Ischia cooks up everything from pizzas to roasts and steaks, vegetables, and even bread and desserts—all with a small footprint!

Maestro 60 Gas Oven

Winner of the Red Dot Product Design Award in 2022, theMaestro 60 Gas Countertop Oven makes fresh, traditional Italian pizza more accessible than ever. With a large enough capacity to fit two 10-inch pizzas at a time, the Maestro 60 is small but mighty—ideal for a compact outdoor space. Add amini cart for ultimate portability.

The Maestro 60 is as durable as it is beautiful, with a cooking chamber designed for even heat distribution and a powder-coated, corrosion-resistant exterior. Perfect for pizzas, roasts, steaks, vegetables, breads, desserts, and more, the Maestro offers unrivaled energy efficiency, thanks to its smart design.

Clearance and Ventilation Requirements for Fontana Forni Ovens

All Fontana Forni ovens are cleared to be up to 1” close to combustibles, which means they can be placed extremely close to walls and other structures.

However, we do not recommend operating your Fontana Forni oven under a roof (for example, a first-floor apartment balcony). This could create a potential fire hazard, and smoke from the oven’s chimney stack will likely discolor the surface of your ceiling.

If you have no choice but to operate your oven under a roof, make sure there is a minimum of 6 feet of clearance between the top of the chimney cap and the ceiling for wood ovens or 3 to 4 feet for gas ovens.

Also, ensure the area is well ventilated, especially if you add extra chimney exhaust pipes above the damper control.

Regularly inspect and clean your Fontana Forni oven for safety and performance (follow the instructions included with your oven).

Start Your Outdoor Cooking Adventures with a Compact Fontana Forni Oven

Fontana Forni offers a full range ofwood-fired,gas-fueled,hybrid, and countertop pizza ovens and wheeledcarts, offering maximum portability.

Cook big, flavorful dishes in a small space with these versatile ovens and start making memories with family and friends.