
Photograph: Courtesy of Rod Morata
The best pizza in NYC includes simple slices and elaborate whole pies.
Written by Amber Sutherland-Namako & Morgan Carter
Advertising
Imagine a town so certain of its pizza superiority that its denizens seem to go to pieces when politicians dare to dine with knives and forks, its highestranking officials take to social media to battle the matter and some ascribe mystical powers to the local tap water that helps form the dough. That’s Pizza Town, baby, less commonly known as New York City.
And it's true; NYC does have the best pizza in the country. We root for other locales to come in second and third, but the number one spot is and always has been reserved for these five boroughs that form one perfect whole. Its available almost everywhere, made to suit every taste and style and there probably is something to that whole water deal. Call it a pie, a slice or just plain dinner, this is the best pizza in NYC.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best restaurants in NYC
Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
🙌
Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
- Time Out Market
- DUMBO
New York City pizza is the subject of frequent debate. Opinions swirl about how to eat it, what to call it, and whether or not there’s really something special in our water. But even New Yorkers tend to quiet down when presented with a perfect pie like the expertly tossed, beautifully sauced and brilliantly topped varieties chef Michael Ayoub has been making right here in Brooklyn since 2004. Ayoub’s Fornino is known for its riffs on pizza through the ages, so try a traditional pie or sample something new to you.
Best New York pizza
- Pizza
- Midwood
price 2 of 4
Yes, you may have to wait for more than an hour to try this Midwood institution,but a trip to the original standard-settingshop founded by the lateDomenico DeMarco in 1965 is essential for pizza lovers and dabblers everywhere. Slices and whole pies are both available.
- Pizza
- Carroll Gardens
price 2 of 4
Although it's been open since 2006, Lucali's wait times are as long asever. Its frequent appearances on local and national best pizza lists keep the interest high, so get there right at 5pm and prepare to build up an appetite in the area for several hours. It's BYOB, so you can take a stroll and pick up beer form Bonafide Deli's huge, carefully curated walk-in selection, or a couple of bottles of wine from the cavernousEvergreen liquor store a short walk away.
Advertising
- Pizza
- Gravesend
price 2 of 4
Table service and a lengthy menu are available at L&B, but the classic, fan favorite experience is to grab a $4 grandma slice at the to-go window, nab a table in the courtyard and enjoy your squareal fresco. And always, follow it with the titulartricolor ice cream. Keep an eye out for their newest locale, dropping in Dumbo later this year.
- Pizza
- West Village
price 1 of 4
Unique to New York (well, except forthelocations in Florida, Michigan and Massachusetts), this is the slice people think of when they think of a New York slice. Large, foldable andcinematically cheesy, it's a huge part of the local pizza tapestry.
Advertising
- Pizza
- Bushwick
Another pizza place so nice it's worth a reservation, Ops is a little easier to get into, and it has a wonderful, comprehensive wine list. You can also grab amarinara, Margherita, orjuno (broccoli rabe, potatoes, provola, ricotta salata) to go and grab a bottle from the same owners' shopForêt Wines to pair at home.
- Pizza
- Lower East Side
Scarr's has a wood paneled, neon sign-ed, throwback fashion that everybody loves to snap, butpies the product ofScarr Pimentel's house-milled grains are more satisfying than a thousand views. That extra in-house step helps to create light slices and squares with the classic toppings. Scarr's flour and dough are also available for purchase.
Advertising
- Williamsburg
Established by Tuscany native Massimo Laveglia, L'Industrie arrived on the scene with wood-fired pies, sandwiches and gelato back in 2017. With lines down the block, the pizzeria expanded in 2021, took over a neighboring spot, giving us more elbow room to crunch on the iconic burrata slice.
- Italian
- The Bronx
price 2 of 4
Now with four locations in New York City and State, Zero Otto Nove’s first restaurant opened in the Bronx in 2008, but its charming interior has more of an "old country by way of a community theater" aesthetic. Its long list of pizza includes all the hits, and pasta, meat and fish mains are also on the menu.
Advertising
- Pizza
- East Williamsburg
price 1 of 4
Formerly an impossible to get into hipster haven, Roberta's pizza is now sold frozen in your grocer's freezer. Makes you think. Have a taste of the original, like the oft-mentioned Bee Sting (tomato, mozzarella, soppressata, basil, chili, honey), inside or out, where it all began.
- Pizza
- Bedford-Stuyvesant
price 1 of 4
First opened in 2018, Cuts & Slices is known to grow lines out the door for fantastic varieties that only last a little while. The oxtail options are particularly popular, and you’ll have to line up early for a chance at a triangle. Vegan, jerk chicken and seafood selections are also available on the lengthy menu. Catch a slice in Brooklyn, Queens or the soon to open Lower East Side location.
Advertising
- Pizza
- Coney Island
price 2 of 4
Family owned and operated Totonno's has occupied the same space since 1924, with the present day checkerboard tiles and olde-timey famed photos and newspaper clippings to prove that vintage. It'shours have reportedly been sporadic since reopening in recent months after a long pandemic pause, so confirm that it's open before visiting.
- Pizza
- Upper West Side
price 2 of 4
Although more elaborate options exist, even Mama'sbasic house pie, withaged mozarella, fresh tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano and basil is evidence of Mama's expertise and attention to detail. There's also no phone, no advance orders, and, perhaps just like at your own mama's, "all menu items come as is, unfortunately no half/half options, slices, or changes to the pizzas on the menu."
Advertising
- Midtown West
Ace’s Detroit-style pies always have a place in the city and in our stomachs. These caramelized square slices come topped with the likes of pickled jalapenos, meatballs and the good pepperoni cups that curl in the oven. The Williamsburg location looks our ideal retro basement and yours too if you have an affinity for wood paneling and Super Mario Bros on the screens.
- Pizza
- Greenpoint
price 1 of 4
4 out of 5 stars
Recommended
Where the original Paulie Gee's leaves a little mystery, this one's conceit is right in the name: slices! Nab a cheese, pepperoni or popular Freddy Prince (fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce, Pecorino-Romano and a sesame seed bottom), and nab a stool in the 1970s-style shop.
Advertising
- Pizza
- Staten Island
price 1 of 4
This Staten Island favorite had beenpreparing pies since 1960. It's equally adept at tossing traditional toppings and spinning specialties, and a lengthy menu will please any unexpected non-pizza eaters in your party.
- Pizza
- Williamsburg
price 2 of 4
The brilliantly titled Best has enjoyed a bit of a media spotlight over the years across a smattering of television appearances, but locals really appreciate its reliable thin-crust slices and late-ish night hours. Heros, salads and sides like meatballs are also available.
Advertising
- Pizza
- Midtown West
Good food near Port Authority? Somebody had to do it, and why not give the place a 90s theme, too! Upside is bursting with bright pink andSaved By the Bellstyle inside, and its takes on the New York fold-up include infusions of lemon cream white wine sauce.
- Pizza
- Staten Island
price 1 of 4
Denino's has beenapizza stalwart on Staten Island for more than eight decades. Travel back in time by way of your own chosen toppings, or via an M.O.R., with meatballs, fresh onions and ricotta. Denino's also has locations in Manhattan and New Jersey.
Advertising
- Pizza
- West Village
price 1 of 4
Tuscan-style pizzasare joined byItalian-American standbys like heros, calzones, and chicken Parmesan at Bleecker Street.It's open late on Fridays and Saturdays; a boon in the bar-concentrated area.
- Pizza
- South Slope
price 2 of 4
Owner Chris Iaconoworked at his brother Mark's pizzeria, Lucali, before opening this Park Slope spot.Top-tier ingredients like hand-cut pepperoni, fresh mushrooms, anda cheese blend of low-moisture mozzarella, fresh house mademozzarella and imported Parmigiano-Reggianodemonstrate a commitment to quality. GrandmomGiuseppina's secret sauce recipe comes between those and the thin crust.
Advertising
- Pizza
- Astoria
price 1 of 4
Rizzo’sis aQueens institution dating back to 1959.Its menu has since expanded, but the Rizzo signature slice—athin square—remains a top item. It includes copious amounts of rich, tangy tomato sauce, a single sheet of mozzarella and sharp and mild grated cheeses atop a thin, crispy crust.
- Pizza
- The Bronx
price 2 of 4
Louie and Ernie's homey facade is as iconic as any pizza shop in town; a truehearthfor slice lovers and pie devotees. Snack on the former while you wait for the latter, and grab a frozen pepperoni for a rainy day.
Advertising
- Park Slope
ThisPark Slope pizzeria got its start as a pre-vaccine pandemic project before openingon 5th Avenue last summer. Studied attention to sourcing, ingredients and the magic and science of pizza making pay off in very goodMargherita, Sicilian and grandma varieties. There's also wine, beer, and seating inside and out.
- American
- Clinton Hill
price 2 of 4
Speedy Romeo's been tinkering with topping combos for more than a decade. They're mixing pastrami and kraut, pairing bechamel and meatballs, and, in the Saint Louie pie, spotlighting the less locally seen provel cheese (a blend of provolone, Swiss, and cheddar)beneath savory pepperoni, sausage and pickled chilis for a swift kick of flavor.
Advertising
- Italian
- Bedford-Stuyvesant
price 2 of 4
Named for a character in the film8 1/2, Saraghina's pizza's at least a 9.Mingle your Coppa & Carciofi(mozzarella, hot coppa, roasted spicy artichokes and basil) with wine by the liter; an option there ought to be more of in this town.
- Pizza
- Nolita
price 2 of 4
Rubirosa's got sauce in it's veins, with family ties toStaten Island institution Joe & Pat's. The namesake pie, the Rubirosa Supreme,features a salty-sweet medleyof hand-cut spicy pepperoni, diced basil, and minimeatballs atop a firm crust that's both strong enough to withstand the weight of the ingredients and soft enough to fold like you mean it.
Advertising
- Pizza
- Soho
price 2 of 4
NYC had a serious paucity of Chicago-style pizza before Emmett's came to town in 2013, and we've been enjoying its pizza casserole with knives and forks ever since. Proprietor Emmett Burke followed this Windy City facsimile with Emmett’s on Grovein 2022. The newer of the two takes on Chicago’s paper-thin tavern-style pies with aplomb, and the duo combines to create a mighty Midwestern presence among our abundance of fold-’em-up favorites.
- Greenpoint
Terrific vegan pieslike aseitansausage varietyarealternatives to the typicalfrom the team behind meat-free Champs Diner. And there's no need to shout; “screamers”refer to mushrooms, for the unsettlingsound they make in the oven.
Advertising
- Pizza
- West Village
price 2 of 4
The original Emily in Clinton Hill opened to quick accolades for its wood-fired pies and New Haven styles in 2014.Meanwhile, the second outpost in the West Villageis all about Detroit-style pizzas, topping pies with ricotta, pepperonis and vegan spicy kimchi.
Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
🙌
Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
🙌
Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
Recommended
More on iconic eats
You may also like
You may also like
Advertising
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!