Let me save you some time. The best pizza in New York City is not at the place with the longest line on a Saturday night in Greenwich Village. It is not the one that has been featured in seventeen travel magazines. And it is almost certainly not the one your Airbnb host recommended.
The best pizza in New York City is spread across five boroughs, hiding in neighborhood corners, family-run dining rooms, and cash-only storefronts that have been doing the same thing the same way for sixty years and have absolutely no interest in your Instagram story.
This is your guide to finding it.
What Actually Makes NYC Pizza Different
Before we get into the boroughs, it helps to understand what separates a New York slice from everything else in the world that calls itself pizza.
The classic New York slice has a hand-tossed crust that is thin in the middle and thicker at the edges, light tomato sauce, a generous layer of mozzarella, and enough structural integrity to fold in half for eating while walking. It comes out of a deck oven at high heat, which gives the bottom its characteristic char. It is simple. It is perfect. It has not needed to change in over a century.
But the city’s pizza identity has expanded well beyond the classic slice. You can find wood-fired Neapolitan pies with blistered crusts and San Marzano tomatoes, thick Sicilian squares with sauce layered on top of the cheese, coal-fired pies with a smokiness that tastes like history, and a newer generation of sourdough and natural-fermentation pies coming out of Brooklyn that have earned international recognition. All of these styles exist within a few subway stops of each other, which is either the greatest thing about living here or a serious threat to your productivity.
Manhattan: The Legends
Manhattan carries the heaviest pizza legacy of any borough, which is both deserved and occasionally overhyped. The famous names are famous for a reason, but the crowds can be punishing. Go at off-peak hours. Go on a Tuesday. Go at 11 a.m. if you have to.
Joe’s Pizza in Greenwich Village is the benchmark. Founded in 1975 by Neapolitan native Joe Pozzuoli, it is open until 2:30 a.m. and serves the platonic ideal of a New York cheese slice. Order the plain. That is the whole point.
Joe’s Pizza – 7 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
Una Pizza Napoletana in the East Village is where things get serious. Operated by Anthony Mangieri, one of the most respected pizzaiolos anywhere in the world, it ranked No. 17 at the 2025 Best Pizza Awards in Milan, judged by 512 experts from 60 countries. The highest American ranking in the entire competition. The menu is small. The hours are limited. Go anyway.
Una Pizza Napoletana – 175 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Mama’s TOO! on Broadway on the Upper West Side makes thick, generously topped slices with dough work that borders on unreasonable. It ranked No. 95 at the same Milan competition. For a slice shop, that is extraordinary.
Mama’s TOO! – 2750 Broadway, New York, NY 10025
Patsy’s in East Harlem has been serving coal-fired pies since 1933. Eat there. Do not take it home. Coal-fired pizza does not travel.
Patsy’s – 2287 1st Ave, New York, NY 10035
Don Antonio in Midtown West, helmed by Roberto Caporuscio and his daughter Giorgia, ranked No. 52 at the 2025 Best Pizza Awards. Order the Montanara, which is a fried pizza, and accept that your afternoon plans may need to be adjusted.
Don Antonio – 309 W 50th St, New York, NY 10019
Brooklyn: Where Pizza Gets Creative
Brooklyn is where New York pizza stopped being purely traditional and started being something else entirely, without ever losing its roots. It is home to old-school institutions, internationally celebrated Neapolitan spots, and a generation of craft pizza makers who have changed the conversation globally.
Lucali in Carroll Gardens is, by most serious measures, one of the best pizzerias on the planet. Owner Mark Iacono hand-makes every pie himself. There is no phone ordering and no delivery. The lines are real. The thin, charred pies with fresh basil and high-quality mozzarella are worth every minute, and Iacono ranked No. 25 at the 2025 Milan awards.
Lucali – 575 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
L’Industrie Pizzeria in Williamsburg is what happens when you combine imported Italian ingredients with New York technique. Paper-thin, crispy-bottomed slices with creative toppings. Massimo Laveglia ranked No. 34 at the same awards. It is frequently cited as the best single slice in the city, which is a genuinely contested title in this town.
L’Industrie Pizzeria – 254 S 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Di Fara Pizza in Midwood has been operating since 1965 on a philosophy of using the best ingredients, taking your time, and never cutting corners. Founder Dom DeMarco built something that has outlasted trends, recessions, and decades of competition. It is still worth the trip.
Di Fara Pizza – 1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY 11230
L&B Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst has been doing Sicilian grandma slices since 1939. The square slices are baked with sauce on top of the cheese, a style that is unique to L&B and fiercely defended by everyone in South Brooklyn. Get a tray of Sicilian. Get the spumoni. Do not argue with the system.
L&B Spumoni Gardens – 2725 86th St, Brooklyn, NY 11223
Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop in Greenpoint earned the highest American brand ranking in the 50 Top Pizza global rankings in late 2025. It is a neighborhood slice shop that happens to be operating at a world-class level.
Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop – 110 Franklin St, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Roberta’s in Bushwick helped launch Brooklyn’s entire artisanal food movement and still delivers consistently excellent wood-fired pies. Ops, also in Bushwick, is the destination for natural fermentation and farm-sourced ingredients, with a sourdough crust that rewards the kind of attention most people reserve for wine.
Roberta’s – 261 Moore St, Brooklyn, NY 11206
The Bronx: The Most Underrated Pizza Borough in New York City
Say this out loud: the Bronx does not get enough credit for its pizza. The borough is home to some of the city’s oldest pizzerias, the Arthur Avenue Italian corridor, and two spots that the New York Times named among the 25 best pizzerias in all of NYC.
Louie & Ernie’s in the Country Club neighborhood has been operating since 1959. The crust is exceptionally thin and crispy. The cheese is top quality. The whole operation feels frozen in a much better era, which is meant as a genuine compliment. Cash only. Find an ATM first.
Louie & Ernie’s – 1300 Crosby Ave, Bronx, NY 10461
Emilio’s of Morris Park is on the Times list for its chicken vodka pizza, a Bronx original that has become a neighborhood obsession. The crust holds up under rich toppings in a way that reviewers noted as genuinely impressive, which it is.
Emilio’s of Morris Park – 1051 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY 10461
Zero Otto Nove on Arthur Avenue brings authentic Neapolitan pizza to the heart of the Bronx’s most famous Italian corridor. Roberto Paciullo’s crispy, blistered pies in the middle of Arthur Avenue’s salumerias and pastry shops make for one of the best food afternoons the city has to offer. There is a Manhattan location. Go to the Bronx one.
Zero Otto Nove – 2357 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458
Pugsley’s Pizza in Fordham is known for its signature pepper oil. Drizzle it on a plain slice and the devotion of its regulars will make immediate sense.
Pugsley’s Pizza – 590 E 191st St, Bronx, NY 10458
Queens: The Outer Borough That Rewards the Curious
Queens is the most ethnically diverse borough in New York City, and that diversity shows up beautifully in its food. The pizza scene here is not as celebrated nationally as Brooklyn’s, but it is deep, serious, and in several cases, exceptional.
Nick’s Pizza in Forest Hills is coal-fired, consistently excellent, and has maintained a loyal following for decades. Cash only.
Nick’s Pizza – 108-26 Ascan Ave, Forest Hills, NY 11375
Andrew Bellucci’s Pizzeria in Astoria made the New York Times’ 25 best NYC pizzerias list and has become one of the most talked-about spots in the borough. High-quality ingredients, attentive craftsmanship, neighborhood institution energy.
Andrew Bellucci’s Pizzeria – 37-08 30th Ave., Astoria, NY 11103
Rose & Joe’s Italian Bakery in Astoria is not primarily a pizzeria, but its square Sicilian-style slices are among the best in Queens and come out of the oven fresh throughout the day. Do not skip it if you are in Astoria. You will regret it.
Rose & Joe’s Italian Bakery – 22-40 31st St, Astoria, NY 11105
New Park Pizzeria in Howard Beach is the kind of corner shop that defines outer-borough pizza loyalty. It has been doing this for decades and shows no signs of stopping.
New Park Pizzeria – 156-71 Cross Bay Blvd, Howard Beach, NY 11414
Staten Island: Stop Sleeping on This Borough
Staten Island gets overlooked in nearly every NYC pizza conversation, and that is a genuine mistake. A 2025 ZIP code analysis found that Staten Island’s top pizza ZIP code, centered on Denino’s, scored 4.6 stars with nearly 3,000 reviews, one of the highest concentrations of highly rated pizza in the entire city.
Denino’s Pizzeria Tavern in Port Richmond was founded in 1937 and is one of the oldest continually operating pizzerias in New York City. The pies are thin, crispy, and slightly charred. The “garbage pie,” loaded with toppings, is a Staten Island institution. TripAdvisor currently ranks it the top pizza spot on the island.
Denino’s Pizzeria Tavern – 524 Port Richmond Ave, Staten Island, NY 10302
Joe & Pat’s Pizzeria, founded in 1960, is known for its ultra-thin, crispy crust, a style that distinguishes Staten Island pizza from the rest of the city. The vodka pizza is a signature worth seeking out.
Joe & Pat’s Pizzeria – 1758 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10314
Lee’s Tavern in Dongan Hills serves bar pies, smaller and crispier than a standard slice, designed to accompany a cold drink in a classic tavern setting. It is exactly what it sounds like, and it is exactly right.
Lee’s Tavern – 60 Hancock St, Staten Island, NY 10305
Ungaro Coal Fired Pizza Cafe was voted among the top 25 pizza spots in NYC by the New York Times, which is Staten Island’s rightful claim to citywide recognition.
Ungaro Coal Fired Pizza Cafe – 1298 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY 10302
The NYC Pizza Style Cheat Sheet
Not sure what to order where? Here is a quick reference.
| Style | What It Is | Where to Find It |
|---|---|---|
| Classic NY Slice | Thin, foldable, light sauce | Joe’s (Manhattan), Nick’s (Queens) |
| Coal-Fired Neapolitan | Charred, blistered, smoky | Patsy’s (Manhattan), Ungaro (Staten Island) |
| Old-School Thin Crust | Ultra-thin, crispy, tavern-style | Louie & Ernie’s (Bronx), Denino’s (Staten Island) |
| Grandma/Sicilian Square | Thick, pan-baked, sauce on top | L&B Spumoni Gardens (Brooklyn), Rose & Joe’s (Queens) |
| New-School Neapolitan | Sourdough, seasonal, craft | Ops, L’Industrie, Lucali (all Brooklyn) |
| Arthur Avenue Style | Italian immigrant tradition | Zero Otto Nove, Full Moon (Bronx) |
NYC on the Global Pizza Stage
Six New York City pizzerias were recognized at the 2025 Best Pizza Awards in Milan, judged by 512 international experts from 60 countries.
- Una Pizza Napoletana (Manhattan) — No. 17, highest-ranked American pizzeria in the world
- Lucali (Brooklyn) — No. 25
- Stretch Pizza (Manhattan) — No. 27
- L’Industrie Pizzeria (Brooklyn) — No. 34
- Don Antonio (Manhattan) — No. 52
- Mama’s TOO! (Manhattan) — No. 95
Paulie Gee’s in Brooklyn also claimed the top American position in the 50 Top Pizza USA 2025 rankings. New York City is not just winning the domestic conversation. It is competing, and winning, globally.
A Few Rules Before You Go
Some practical advice for navigating this city’s pizza landscape without embarrassing yourself.
- Eat it fresh. A New York slice is best the moment it comes out of the oven. Do not let it sit under a heat lamp if you can help it.
- Fold it. A proper slice should be foldable. If it is not, the crust is not right.
- Start plain. At any new pizzeria, try the plain cheese slice before anything else. It tells you everything you need to know about the dough, sauce, and cheese.
- Bring cash. Louie & Ernie’s, Nick’s in Forest Hills, and several other essential stops are cash only. This is non-negotiable.
- Go off-peak. Joe’s Pizza and Lucali are busiest on weekend evenings. A Tuesday afternoon will get you a fresher slice and a shorter wait.
- Explore the outer boroughs. Some of the best and most affordable pizza in the five boroughs is not in Manhattan. That is not an opinion. It is a fact.
Stop Reading. Start Eating.
New York City pizza is not a single thing. It is a living tradition shaped by five boroughs, a century of immigration, and a food culture that keeps reinventing itself while never completely forgetting where it came from.
Manhattan carries the iconic names. Brooklyn pushes the craft. The Bronx preserves old-world technique in neighborhood spots that deserve far more attention than they get. Queens rewards the curious. Staten Island delivers the crispiest, most unpretentious pies in the city and has been doing so since before most of the trendy spots were even a concept.
The best pizza in New York is not at one address. It is spread across a thousand blocks, each one a little different, each one worth finding.
Start anywhere. Fold your slice. Walk while you eat.
You’re a New Yorker. You know how this works.
