Best Pizza In NYC: The Only List That Matters

Looking for the Best Pizza In NYC? This guide ranks the top pizza places in New York City, from iconic slice shops to authentic Neapolitan pizzerias across Manhattan and Brooklyn, selected for their quality, consistency, and local reputation.

Whether you’re looking for a classic New York-style slice, a coal-fired pizza, or an authentic wood-fired Neapolitan pie, NYC offers some of the world’s finest pizza experiences. From legendary institutions to modern favorites, these pizzerias showcase why New York remains one of the world’s greatest pizza destinations.

This list doesn’t care about sentiment or proximity. These are the places that are doing something genuinely excellent in 2026, whether that’s a perfect coal-fired char, a Neapolitan spot that could stand alongside the best in Naples, or a dollar-slice counter producing work that defies its price.

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The Best New York-Style Slice

Di Fara Pizza (1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn) has been making the same pizza since Domenico DeMarco opened in 1964. It’s a small, unglamorous counter in Midwood where the wait is real and the result is worth it. The regular slice — tomato sauce, fresh basil, a blend of domestic and imported mozzarella — is the benchmark against which every other NY slice gets measured. Cash only. Closed Tuesdays.

Prince Street Pizza (27 Prince Street, Manhattan) built its reputation on the pepperoni square — a thick, focaccia-adjacent base under a dense layer of cupped pepperoni that renders in the oven until the edges crisp. Different from classic NY style, better than almost everything in its category. Expect a line on weekends.

Joe’s Pizza (7 Carmine Street, Manhattan) for the purist. Since 1975. The slice here is about consistency at the highest level — thin, properly cheesy, appropriately greasy, eaten folded, ideally at the counter. The original Carmine Street location is still the best.

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Best Neapolitan Pizza

Lucali (575 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights) has a no-phone reservation policy, a two-hour wait if you arrive without a booking, and a pizza that justifies both inconveniences. Mark Iacono makes thin-crust pies with fresh basil and high-quality mozzarella in a wood-fired oven. It’s the purest expression of the form in New York. You can bring your own wine. Do not bring dessert expectations — their calzone has the market covered.

Una Pizza Napoletana (175 Orchard Street, Manhattan) relocated to the Lower East Side after years in San Francisco and before that New Jersey. Anthony Mangieri’s certified Neapolitan pizzas hold AVPN certification (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana) and are made strictly according to traditional Neapolitan method. Only open Thursday through Sunday. Only eight pizzas on the menu. One of the few places in New York that can legitimately claim its pizza would be at home in Naples.

Best Pizza In Brooklyn

L’Industrie Pizzeria (254 South 2nd Street, Williamsburg): The burrata slice — a classic thin-crust base topped with fresh burrata and basil — became an Instagram phenomenon but holds up on taste rather than presentation. Also serves exceptional prosciutto slices. Small, always busy.

Roberta’s (261 Moore Street, Bushwick): Still relevant after 16 years, still making excellent wood-fired pizza in what looks like a converted warehouse because it is. The Bee Sting (tomato, mozzarella, soppressata, chili, honey) remains one of the best flavor combinations on any NYC pizza menu.

Ops (346 Himrod Street, Bushwick): The least famous on this list and possibly the most interesting. Natural wine, sourdough-based crusts with longer fermentation, and creative toppings that shouldn’t work as well as they do. Go for the potato and black olive pie if it’s on the menu.

Best Pizza In Manhattan

Totonno’s (1524 Neptune Avenue, Coney Island — and a Manhattan location at 83rd and 2nd): The oldest pizzeria on this list, opened 1924. Coal-fired oven, fresh mozzarella made in-house, tomato sauce from San Marzano tomatoes. The Coney Island location is the original and better; the Manhattan location is more convenient and slightly less transcendent.

Scarr’s Pizza (35 Orchard Street, Lower East Side): Organic dough, high-quality ingredients, a deliberate aesthetic of reference to classic NY pizzerias without nostalgia. The white slice (no tomato sauce, garlic, olive oil, fresh herbs) is as good as any in the city.

What Makes New York Pizza Different

The standard explanation cites New York City’s water — the low mineral content produces a dough with specific gluten behavior. This is partly true and partly myth. The more significant factors are the high-gluten bread flour used in traditional NY dough, long cold fermentation periods (48–72 hours), and the high-heat deck ovens (gas or coal) that produce char and crisp in ways home ovens cannot replicate.

New York-style pizza: thin, hand-tossed crust, cooked in a deck oven at 550–650°F, wide slices designed to fold lengthwise. The fold is structural — it prevents the tip from drooping under the weight of cheese and toppings.

Neapolitan pizza (as made in New York): thicker crust with a pronounced cornicione (edge), softer center with some char and char spots from wood-fired ovens at 800–900°F, not designed to fold.

Frequently Asked Questions About Best Pizza In NYC

What Is The Most Famous Pizza Place In New York?

Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn and Joe’s Pizza in Manhattan are the two most cited by New Yorkers who’ve eaten seriously across the city.

What Makes New York Pizza Different?

High-gluten flour, long cold fermentation, and high-heat deck ovens produce a crust with specific chew and char that’s difficult to replicate outside the commercial kitchen context.

Where Do New Yorkers Actually Eat Pizza?

The honest answer is neighborhood slice shops, not destination pizzerias. The best neighborhood slice shops in Brooklyn include Difara and L’Industrie. In Manhattan: Joe’s and Scarr’s. But local favorites vary by neighborhood.

Is New York Or Chicago Pizza Better?

This is not a question we’re willing to engage with on the grounds that both are correct in their own context and wrong in the other’s.

Sources

• MICHELIN Guide. (2026, April 30). The best pizza in New York City. MICHELIN Guide.
• Restaurants for Kings. (2026, June 27). Best pizza restaurants in New York 2026. Restaurants for Kings Editorial.
• Dim Hour. (2026, July 3). The best pizza in New York City (2026). Dim Hour Food & Dining.
• Eater New York. (2025). 38 essential New York City restaurants: Pizza highlights. Eater NY.
• 50 Top Pizza. (2025). Una Pizza Napoletana ranked #1 pizzeria in the USA. 50 Top Pizza Rankings.