Highest-Rated Pizzerias

The best pizza in America? It might be… It could be… This 2024 James Beard semifinalist serves sourdough-based Neapolitan pizza from a relaxed space off Mozart Street. Rather than a 1000-degree wood-fired oven,…

Pizz’Amici (“Pizza Friends”) started as a DIY project among friends - first in a Ukrainian Village apartment, then as @EatFreePizza, followed by “Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream” (great name) in Bridgeport and @k…

I sometimes say: the US has the most innovative chefs but not necessarily the best tomatoes*. Italy has the best tomatoes. So, an Italian pizzeria on top of their game is tough to beat. “Michael’s Ancient Pizzeria” is a legendary Italian restaurant. The Neapolitan original was founded in 1870…

Fini Pizza (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) - Fini is one of the city’s “new-classic” slice shops - places that keep the classic NY formats intact but try to perfect the execution - think @scarrspizza, @lindustriebk, @…

There’s a term “comedian’s comedian.” @manos_pizzeria is a pizzaiolo’s pizzeria - a place that impresses people who make pizza themselves (as opposed to sledgehammering watermelons &…

This is one I’ve been looking forward to writing. I first reviewed Wayfarer in January 2024 from a pop-up at Mike Dew’s kitchen. I was highly impressed (you can go back and read that initial review). Now, I’m u…

Cello’s Pizzeria (East Village) - This slice was pretty close to perfect. @cellosnyc produces exactly what you want from a classic NY slice shop, done with great craft and precision. The super thin leopard-spot…

A vintage aesthetic pizzeria in Williamburg, Brooklyn that turns out some outstanding Detroit-Style Pizza. We all recall the Neapolitan boom of 2008 & Hot Honey mania in 2017, but in 2023 every city seems to be…

Cold-fermented dough, airy inside with an extremely crisp, deeply browned bottom, and a very sauce-forward top under cupped thin pepperoni.

Pretty much the ideal New York slice, found deep in Brooklyn (Midwood). Crisp yet chewy & foldable - So good that I made it my profile pic. These pics are from my ‘pilgrimage’ back in April.

St Francis Apizza (Oakley) - @stfrancisapizza is the pizzeria I’ve posted about the most, not just because they produce top-tier pizza but also because they are regularly improving - the sign of a great restaur…

Shackamaxon Pizza (Fishtown, Philadelphia) - Recently finding myself in the città dell’amore fraterno, I had a moment to stop by the slice window of this longtime “wishlist” pizzeria. Ordering at the window and…

Slicehaus (West Village) – The “Haus” in this Carmine street pizzas reads Germanic and brought to mind the late Germantown Pizza Haus in stately Latonia, KY. No intended offense to German pizzioli (arguably the…

Brooklyn DOP (Park Slope, Brooklyn) - @brooklyndop delivers outstanding NY-style pizza with pronounced Neapolitan influence. I assumed it meant “Department of Pizza,” but DOP actually stands for “Denominazione…

I first reviewed Andrew Bellucci’s back in November 2024. I don’t usually re-review places this quickly, but I had some unfinished business: *the clam pie*. This Bellucci special has to be…

Roman style pizza al taglio (“pizza by the cut”) in Union Square for. Baked in a rectangular pan using a high hydration percentage (i.e. a lot of water in the dough recipe), the Roman style square slice is ligh…

“D.C.’s first Detroit-style pizzeria” on 14th St in our nation’s capital’s former red light district. Red Light is the best pizza I’ve had in DC and really a top tier place nationally for me. The crust has a bu…

This is a Canal Street outpost of a legendary pizzeria on Avenue X in Brooklyn. Lucia is a slice shop that’s fully on top of their game. We enjoyed a couple of slices on their counter last week (there is no sea…

Mama’s Too – Long an Upper West Side pilgrimage site, Sicilian slice specialists Mama’s Too now have a shop on Bleecker in the West Village. Often mispronounced “Mama Too’s,” the pizzeria is a descendent of Mam…

Andrea Kenuti previously worked at @scarrspizza and then did his graduate studies at @lindustriebk before opening his own shop last summer. That’s about as good a lineage as a New York…

Angelo’s Pizzeria (South Philadelphia) - America turned 250 Saturday. After paying my respects at Independence Hall, there seemed to be only one appropriate way to celebrate: standing in a South Philly pizza line. Fortunately, at @angelos_pizzeria_south_philly the “line…

Some places almost feel too iconic to review. It’s kinda like giving the Mona Lisa a 9.1/10. But then you get in front of it and notice the smile is nuanced and the mountains are detailed…

My first ever post from this account was a review of Prince Street Pizza’s Hollywood location (I was out in LA for a football game). The original Manhattan shop has long been a favorite of mine - since they took over for the “original” Prince Street Ray’s Pizza. So, when I happened to pass their recently-opened Chicago spot, I felt I had to stop in for a slice.

I have long been a fan of Paul Giannone (“Paulie Gee”), who in 2010 gave up his office job to pursue his dream of opening a top tier pizzeria. In this he was quite successful & the original Paulie Gee’s in Gree…

Fermento (West Village) Yesterday, I found myself in Lower Manhattan for the Knicks Championship Parade (it was a lot of fun). The streets were filled with would-be Lees & Turturros from the outermost boroughs,…

Diamond Slice - “Slices are forever.” Over the past two decades, American pizza has made remarkable advances through waves of different movements: the wood-fired Neapolitan boom, the coal-fired revival, the exp…

This is a new Detroit style pizzeria (A “Detroit Revival Pizzeria”?) located in an old garage near the intersection of Michigan and Trumbull Avenue - the location of the late great Tiger Stadium (Sidenote: the…

A perfectly executed Sicilian square just north of Little Italy. This is the "Spicy Spring" featuring the good stuff - natural casing pepperoni that cups up into bowls of flavor, a tasteful amount of mozzarella, and most importantly - a deliciously crisp olive-oil-fried crust. Perhaps the best slice in New York…

Pequod’s Pizza, named after the ill-fated ship in Moby-Dick, was founded in 1971 by legendary Chicago pizzaiolo Burt Katz. Katz later opened another pizzeria named after the first mate in Moby-Dick—Starbuck’s—b…

For a recent party, I was tasked with ordering the pizza - my comparative advantage. In the execution of these sacred duties, I noticed that @eattaglio offers a Triple(!) Pepperoni and Hot Honey pizza…

@redbird_pizza opened in 2024 after starting as a home-baking passion project. They describe what they make as “East Coast style” pizza. It’s almost always a good sign when a pizzeria has…

Jonny’s Pizza (Lower East Side, NYC) - This LES slice shop sits on Orchard just south of Houston. Opened in 2024, it is part of the growing wave of elevated slice shops that are driving New York pizza to new he…

After a series of slices on the Vegas strip, I found myself requiring a true top tier pizza experience. So we visited Good Pie in the Arts District. Long on my “to try” list this pizzeria features a variety of…

Located in Hell’s Kitchen, this West Gotham Market Sicilian style pizzeria is one I had made a point to try after I saw that Ed Levine (@seriouseatered) had written “Corner Slice may be the single best slice of…

We recently stopped by the soft-opening of @steelcitypizzaohio (the original location is in Middletown - the “Steel City” itself). The Hamilton outpost sits in the shadow of an old train bridge that evokes stro…

This is a pizzeria I have long been looking forward to visiting. I first encountered Tony Scardino - “The Professor” - from his incredible-looking pandemic-era pizza-making. Scardanio has a formidable pizza res…

Liberty Kitchen brings the Philly tomato-pie tradition to Fishtown: a thick, tomato-forward square slice with an airy, well-fermented crust and a satisfying soft/crisp contrast.

Named for El Cerrito (‘the Little Hill’) this is another local pizza pop-up - Cincy Pizza Pop-ups being a really dynamic space recently. @littlehillpizza frequently appears at @westsidebrewing and @listermannbr…

A crisp Sicilian slice with extra pepperoni on 39th street & 8th Avenue (convenient from the Port Authority Bus Terminal). This is one of my favorites, a truly excellent by-the-slice Sicilian.

Detroit-style pizza in Naples, FL. This small shop has the best pizza in Southwest Florida & it’s not close

Vito & Nick’s is said to be the king of Chicago-style thin-crust pizza. That certainly sounds intriguing. So, when I find myself on the South Side with some friends, we decide to investigate.

L’Industrie Pizzeria (Little Italy) - When I first reviewed @lindustriebk original Williamsburg location in September 2021, I scored it an 8.3/10 and described it as one of New York’s best slice shops. Since then, @lindustriebk has evolved from a Brooklyn pizza nerd…

Revisiting the one place that I’m mostly likely to be seen enjoying a slice in Cincinnati. Brown Bear usually (but not always) has only one type of focaccia per day. When it comes to focaccia squares, the key i…

The bakery at 272 Ludlow Avenue is the “pizzeria” I frequent most, although I go there for much more than just pizza. However, I am a fan of their focaccia (as well as that at its sister bakery @brownbearbakery). In my humble opinion, focaccia has to strike a difficult balance: enough olive oi…

Located in the Lower East Side, this is one of my all time favorite slice joints. With decor repurposed from an old bowling alley, Scarr’s evokes a classic 1970s pizzeria. Aesthetics aside, @scarrspizza is nota…

Like most of America, I’ve been methodically working my way through the gritty @criterionchannel Abel Ferrara collection. This includes 1987’s China Girl, a recreation of Romeo and Juliet…

Brewer’s Fork (Boston) – The best pizza in Boston? For my last Boston review, I wanted to try a true New England style pizza. So I grabbed the Spicy Clam to go from Brewer’s Fork in Charlestown. New England is…

An excellent Sicilian square with a generous allotment of pepperoni cups. On a night when there’s tens of thousands of people in line at @psp_nyc, you can usually walk right to the counter of @nolitapizzanyc. T…

Luigi’s Pizza (South Slope, Brooklyn) - Open since 1973 and now run by Luigi’s son Gio, Luigi’s Pizza is a case study in technical excellence; serving one of the best slices in the city. While many slice shops…

@babylucspizza is the casual slice-shop offshoot of @lucali_bk (often called the best pizza in NYC), and while both are made with craft, the pizza here is pretty different from its famous parent. I…

There was an original wave of postwar New York slice shops, roughly 1945 to 1975, disproportionately run by guys named Luigi, Ray, and Antonino. These were Italian-American neighborhood…