The Best Pizzas in New York City
New York City not only has the best pizza in the country, it’s now a showcase for regional pizza specialties from around the world.
Here are our top picks, most of them sit-down eateries, with waiter service, alcoholic beverages, and pleasant-to-really-lovely decor.
Classic NYC Pizza (Hand-Tossed, Thin Crust)
Juliana’s (19 Old Fulton St., Brooklyn; tel. 718/596-6700). Run by members of the famed pizza-making Grimaldi family, it even uses the original wood stove from the first Grimaldi’s pizzeria. If there’s a wait for a table, get a pie to go and dine in lovely Brooklyn Bridge Park nearby.
Lombardi’s (32 Spring St., btw. Mulberry & Mott sts.; tel. 212/941-7994). Claiming to be New York’s first “licensed” pizzeria, Lombardi’s opened in 1905 and still uses a coal oven and a generations-old Neapolitan family pizza recipe.
Mama’s Too (2750 Broadway at 106th. St; tel. 212/51-7256). Can we call this “New” New York pizza? This place puts the cheese on before the sauce, so the crust has a distinctive crackle, and the tomatoes shine more fiercely than usual. Mama’s Too also experiments successfully with unusual toppings, like pear and gorgonzola, and a cacio e pepe Sicilian pie. Also at 323 Bleecker St.
Paulie Gee’s (60 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn; tel. 347/987-3747). Designed to look like a classic 1970s slice joint, down to the checkerboard floors, here you can order one triangle at a time, allowing you to mix and match flavors, many of which are quite creative. The Hellboy, which uses hot honey, is a revelation. Vegan pizza also available
Prince Street Pizza (27 Prince St., near Elizabeth St.; tel. 212/966-4100). The pepperoni masters. This is strictly a slice joint, with little seating, but the pizza—square here—is primo.
Scarr’s Pizza (22 Orchard St., btw Canal & Hester sts.; tel. 212/ 334 3481). Scarr Pimental, a Black Latino pizzaiolo, worked at some of the city’s finest parlors before opening this joint. He mills his own flour in the basement, eschews pork (the pepperoni is beef here), and slathers on a sauce that packs a tomatoey punch.
Classic Neapolitan Pizzas (Round, Hand-Tossed, Extremely Pliable Thin Crust)
Kesté Pizza & Vino (77 Fulton St., entrance on Gold St.; tel. 212/693-9030). Pizzas created by an actual Neapolitan (Roberto Caporuscio) are topped by house-made mozzarella, with a perfectly balanced sauce and a whole raft of ingredients (40 options).
L’Industrie Pizzeria (104 Christopher St., near Bleecker). Started by Tuscan immigrants from Pistoia, L’Industrie imports all of its toppings from Italy. Order your slice with a mound of burrata cheese on top—it’ll perfectly complement the funk of the long-fermented, perfectly blistered crust. Alas, the line here is too long, so go elsewhere if it’s a madhouse. Also at 254 S. 2nd St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Roberta’s (6 Grand St., at Domino Park, Brooklyn; tel. 718/417-1118). Wood-fired ovens and quality ingredients give this pizza its special char. Also at several Manhattan food courts, and in Bushwick.
Una Pizza Napoletana (175 Orchard St., at Stanton St.; tel. 646/476-4457). Naturally leavened dough left to rise unrefrigerated for 48 hours is the key to sublime pies—and one of the reasons they sometimes run out at the end of the night, so get an early reservation.
Zero Otto Nove Trattoria (2357 Arthur Ave., at 186th St., the Bronx; tel. 718/220-1027). Ingredients are from Arthur Avenue neighbors and pies are cooked in a wood-burning brick oven—the result: pizza perfection. Good news: Zero Otto Nove now has a Manhattan outlet (15 W. 21st St.).
American Regional Specialties
Ace’s Pizza (underground at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Rockefeller Center, and also in Williamsburg, Brooklyn). Detroit-style pies are fluffy and rectangular; Ace’s are known for their perfectly charred crusts.
Emily (35 Downing at Bedford St.). The other top choice for Detroit pizza, Emily is also TikTok-famous for its pretzel-bun burgers slathered in a delish hot pink secret sauce. Bonus points for its cute Greenwich Village setting.
Joe & Pat’s (9168 First Ave., btw. 10th & 11th sts.; tel. 212/677-4992). Cracker-crisp crust makes these Staten Island–style pies unique. Fans also love the vodka-sauce pies.
Speedy Romeo (376 Classon Ave., Brooklyn; tel. 646/542-1848). An extra yeasty crust means this St. Louis–style pizza ain’t foldable. It also features a béchamel sauce in many incarnations, which can get drippy when you’re holding slices.