New York City isn't just a pizza city, it's the pizza city. Ask any group of people in the Big Apple about where to find the best pizza in New York City, and you'll almost certainly find yourself in the middle of a roaring debate. Pizza isn't just a food here, it's a marker of identity, neighborhood loyalties, and ancient culinary rivalries that cut across the Five Boroughs.
You might even find yourself forced to define exactly what it is you mean by "best pizza."
Do you mean the best cheese slice for quick lunch, or the best deep dish New York City has to offer? Do you mean nearby, or are you willing to take a 30-block trek to get the real deal? Are we talking about a genuine New York City style pizza, with a soft but crispy and foldable crust? Are you looking for one of those tourist-friendly New York City pizza restaurants where half the experience is watching them toss the dough?
There are nearly 2,000 pizza restaurants in NYC, each offering their own unique spin on the iconic dish. That's what makes New York City pizza so special. Everyone has a favorite, and even among close friends and family the answers are never clear cut.
This guide will not answer the question "What's the best pizza in New York City?" No guide could do that. Instead, we'll be exploring what to look for as you taste your way through the best New York City pizza restaurants.
New York City pizza includes classic foldable slices, experimental gourmet pies, and regional styles like Chicago and Detroit-inspired pizzas.
While "New York City style pizza" is a real thing, there's a lot more variety in the city's pizza shops than pop culture depictions would have you believe. This is a city of roughly 8.5 million people, and many of them have very strong opinions on what counts as the best pizza in New York City. Let's start with the basics.
Ask virtually anyone to tell you about the best pizza in New York City, and you'll get dozens of suggestions for neighborhood pizza joints. The ingredients and flavors will be different, but the one thing that all of these authentic New York City pizza restaurants will have in common is the style of the pizza itself.
For more than a century, the basics of New York City style pizza have remained the same. It's a hand-tossed crust, thin in the middle and thicker at the edges, lightly covered in tomato sauce, and sprinkled with a healthy layer of grated mozzarella cheese. Any additional toppings, like the iconic pepperoni, are added on top. The slices are big, with the thin crust making them easier to eat when folded over.
If you're not sure if the pizza that you're looking at, here's a quick check list.
This is the "street pizza," a classic on-the-go meal for life in the big city. Designed to provide a cheap, delicious meal to small armies of New Yorkers, it's what most people mean by "New York City style pizza." Tourists love it, and locals rely on it.
That said, authenticity isn't the only factor when it comes to finding the best pizza in New York City. Plenty of New Yorkers don't care for the predictable sameness of "slice pizza," and instead prefer a little more variety.
In New York, you can put anything on a pizza. Seriously, anything. Craving a pizza with the flavors of a Vietnamese fusion menu? Want to try a Halal pizza? Curious what an Ethiopian pizza might taste like? Does a pizza even need to have a crust? If you crave culinary adventure, there are plenty of experimental New York City pizza restaurants that are ready to help you on your quest.
For foodies and hipsters alike, the New York City food scene's constant experimentation and reinvention of the humble pizza is the whole point. It's no longer a question of finding the best pizza in New York City, it's about finding the most inventive pizza concept.
But what about people who happen to be in New York, but want something other than a New York-style slice?
Even among New Yorkers, the "street slice" is not universally loved. Plenty of locals prefer the crisp, chewy crust of a Detroit-style pan pizza, or crave the pie-like experience of a Chicago-style deep dish. Even New York natives who prefer a thin crust may have been wooed by the cracker-like crust of a Midwest tavern-style pizza.
For decades, there has been a culinary conversation happening between these pizza styles. Only a few decades ago, asking a local about "the best deep dish New York City pizza" might have resulted in a string of colorful insults. Today, you'll probably just get a skeptical look followed by a recommendation.
While New Yorkers still take their pizza seriously, and may well claim that their neighborhood joint has the best pizza in New York City, everyone knows that there's no one correct answer. There are an endless number of New York City pizza restaurants, and even more street vendors and bodegas selling their version of New York City-style pizza.
Let's narrow our focus a little, and talk about where to get pizza in New York City if you just want to have a great meal and a good time.
Instead of trying to find the single best pizza in New York City, we're going to focus on the New York City pizza places that won't let you down. These are neighborhood institutions with long legacies, and are frequently cited by locals, visitors, and national food media.
Want an authentic New York City pizza experience? Founded in 1975 by Joe Pozzuoli, a native of Naples, Italy, Fooda favorite Joe's Pizza has offered the classic New York slice for more than half a century. This "Greenwich Village institution" is one of the best-known New York City pizza restaurants, due in part to its high-profile Times Square location.
When most non-New Yorkers imagine a New York City pizza, they're thinking about a plain cheese pie with pepperoni from Joe's Pizza. With four locations in Manhattan (and one in Brooklyn), and a kitchen that stays open until 2:30 a.m., it's also relatively easy to pick up a fresh pie from this candidate for best pizza in New York City.
Looking for a recommendation? Joe's Pizza tends towards the traditional, so lean into that by trying the plain cheese. It's heavenly.
Yearning to try something a little more experimental in your quest for the best pizza in New York City? How about a decadent mix of fresh cremini, shimaji and oyster mushrooms over a bed of aged Pecorino Romano? Or perhaps you hunger for something with a little more kick to it, like a whole burrata (stuffed shell of creamy mozzarella) and premium pepperoni drenched in spicy hot honey and pork 'nduja sauce.
Unregular Pizza is a rising star among New York City pizza restaurants, constantly trying out new ideas while also staying true to the concept that great pizza is for everyone. With four locations in Manhattan, it's also easy to find and order from. The menu includes both vegan and gluten-free options, each crafted to showcase their toppings. Nothing on an Unregular Pizza feels like an afterthought.
Looking for something special to break out of your New York City style pizza rut? Order the Burrazucchine, a zucchini and burrata pizza covered in Parmigiano, lemon zest and mozzarella.
While there are many restaurants vying for the title of "Best Pizza in New York City," one of the undisputed contenders is Artichoke Basille’s Pizza. Launched in 2008 by cousins Francis Garcia and Sal Basille, fourth-generation restaurateurs "whose DNA reads garlic and oil," this neighborhood eatery has become a standard-bearer of the New York City pizza.
In addition to multiple locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Artichoke Basille’s Pizza shops can also be found in both LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as additional franchises in New Jersey and California. The eatery has even broken into the national mainstream, with appearances on TV programs like The Tonight Show and Late Night. The secret to the restaurant's success is simple, making it easier for everyone to enjoy the rich, indulgent slices of the best New York City pizza restaurants.
Want to see if this famous pizza joint lives up to the hype? Why not start with the Staten Island, a classic thin-crust with meatballs, red onions and ricotta. Or, if you're feeling a little experimental, try the Crab pizza with crab sauce, fresh mozzarella, and surimi stuffing.
Let's say that you're on the streets of Lower Manhattan, and suddenly you've got an overwhelming craving for some 'za. There's a restaurant just down the block, and the words on the window say "best pizza in New York City." But what type of pizza are they actually serving? Here's your cheat sheet to serve as a handy guide.
While it can be fun to debate which local pizza joint offers the best pizza in New York City, the reality is that most New York City pizza is pretty darn good. It's also a great office food, providing a crowd-pleasing and shareable meal that fits any occasion.
That said, coordinating a pizza order for your team can be a significant challenge. Not only do you have to balance everyone's dietary restrictions and personal preferences, but you also need to deal with delivery. If you only have a handful of pizza places in your neighborhood, it can also be easy to overlook the countless New York City pizza restaurants that deliver.
That said, even great pizza can feel repetitive without variety.
Enter Fooda. We work with a rotating selection of local restaurants (including pizza spots) that come right to your office. They can deliver, cater from a food truck, and even offer a pop-up restaurant experience. If you want to know where to get pizza in New York City, Fooda's answer would be "In your building’s lobby or directly in the office."
Fooda offers a great combination of culinary variety, quality, and convenience, all while actively supporting local businesses in NYC. We partner with hundreds of restaurants in the region, meaning that we actually know which local pizzeria has the best deep dish New York City.
We can all agree that "the best pizza in New York City" is probably "most New York City pizza." Whether you're exploring the city's endless pizza options on your own, or chowing down on a locally catered pizza at work, there's a lot of incredible pizza to be found in the Big Apple.
If you want to bring New York City's best food (including pizza) to your office, get connected with Fooda.
A hand-tossed pizza with a thin, flexible crust that is covered with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, with optional additional toppings.
While the two do share some similarities, Neapolitan pizza is a single-serving dish with a thin and chewy crust covered in a simple tomato sauce and melted mozzarella pearls.
There is no single correct answer, and most New Yorkers have strong individual preferences, but excellent pizza can be found in every neighborhood in the Five Boroughs.
Many New York City pizza places offer catering, as do workplace catering services like Fooda.
