Best Pizza in NYC - Top Pies in the New York Five Boroughs

From classic pizza Margherita to one-of-a-kind 'nuovo' pies, these are the best pizza joints in NYC right now

Pizza is one of New York’s most iconic food, yet also one of its most polarizing, which is why it is not uncommon to overhear debates about what constitutes a good pizza — thin crust, thick crust, wood-fired, coal-oven… not to mention the classic to modern toppings. One of the best things about NYC is that no matter your preference, there’s a style pizza for everyone, from Roman pies to the classic New York slice. Here are the best pizzas in NYC:

Paulie Gee's

Best Pizza in Brooklyn - Paulie Gee's Italian Wood Fired Pizza...

60 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn 11222
Paulie Gee's Pizzeria

Best Pizza in Brooklyn - Paulie Gee's Italian Wood Fired Pizza

Dim lighting, lots of vegan and cleverly named pizza dishes, Paulie Gee’s has all the bells and whistles of a truly unique and memorable pizzeria dining experience and an ambiance akin to a hipster’s pizzeria dream come true.

Diners will love the one-of-a-kind pies with Neapolitan-style crusts scorched from wood-fired pizza oven. Of particular mention is the Hellboy pizza: a spicy pie with hot sopressata, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano and Mike’s hot honey sauce, a specialty of Paulie Gee's.
Paulie Gee's Hellboy
Others standouts include the Greenpointer - a fresh mozzarella and arugula pie with shaved parmigiano reggiano and fresh lemon juice and olive oil. The Ricky Ricotta is topped sweet fennel sausage (or with the vegan version) that hits the spot with many other diners.

Lots of unique options can be found here, including a devoted category of vegan pizzas. Using ingredients like vegan meatballs and vegan sausage in place of the classic brawny types.
Paulie Gee's Greenpointer
Located in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood at 60 Greenpoint Avenue, the restaurant creates a certain atmosphere with extreme low lighting levels by limiting the illumination to small tea lights. Owner Paulie regularly makes the rounds of the tables socializing with diners and creating a pleasing atmosphere.

Note: they believe pizza should be eaten fresh, so they no longer offer takeout.

Prova

Neapolitan Wood Fired Pizza in Chelsea | Prova...

184 8th Avenue, New York 10011
Prova NYC

Neapolitan Wood Fired Pizza in Chelsea | Prova

Prova is another incarnation of pizza from Donatella Arpaia and partners from Sushi Nakazawa's Maurizio de Rosa and Ribalta chef Pasquale Cozzolino. Baking up authentic Neapolitan-style wood fired pizzas in two incarnations of “traditional” and the “newly-imagined”.

Italian Wood Fired Pizza Oven

The restaurant exists for one reason and it’s the wood-burning pizza oven tailor-made by famed Italian craftsman Stefano Ferrara. Handcrafted, it is built up from scratch, brick by brick and renewed with shiny red tiles on the exterior.

The menu features 14 blistery pie variations in total, half “classico” such as the Margherita and DOP ( Cherry 
Tomatoes, Mozzarella di Bufala and Basil ); the other half “novita” like the Cetara with creamy burrata, Piennolo tomatoes and anchovies and the Cacio e Uova with fresh organic eggs baked in rather than placed on.

Complementing the pies, there are 14 assortments of Italian charcuterie and cheeses, in addition to 7 seasonal salads.

Pizza Vinoteca

State-Of-The-Art Pizza Experience - Pizza Vinoteca...

15 Union Square West, New York
Pizza Vinoteca, Pizza Vinoteca Technology, Pizza Vinoteca Dining Room

State-Of-The-Art Pizza Experience - Pizza Vinoteca

This Union Square Pizzeria has truly modernized the "pizza joint" experience. First off - the ambiance is modern, yet casual; there's a small seating area for to-go orders, and a huge dining room upstairs. Second - you order on an iPad, and YES, each customer gets his own (not to mention that it features accurate pictures of what you're ordering!). Third - You get 36 different wine options by the glass, and even the pizza dough is leavened with red wine.

Service is attentive, and the wait staff seems very well trained and helpful. There's an outstanding array of pizza selections - from the traditional to the adventurous. Kale meatball or Chili pesto, anyone?

Zagat

this grilled pizza destination (previously attached to Top Cheffer Stephen Aspirinio) makes its pies with a whole wheat, red wine leavened dough. High-quality ingredients like La Quercia prosciutto, Colombus Sopressata and more are available as toppings and the second floor features an iPad ordering system.

photo credit: Pizza Vinoteca

Wild

Organic and Gluten-Free Pizza - Wild...

535 Hudson Street, New York 10014
Wild Gluten free Pizza, Wild  Williamsburg

Organic and Gluten-Free Pizza - Wild

Using the freshest ingredients and locally harvested when ever possible, Wild brings New Yorkers gluten-free, organically grown and hormone-free food. The mission for this natural eatery is "honor nature" and keeping with that theme, the restaurant wrapped itself with reclaimed wood, plants and a backyard full of greenery.

The farm-to-table eatery cooks up delicious pizzas, soups, breads, entrees and desserts all served with your dining pleasure in mind. Currently 2 locations in NYC, West Village and Williamsburg.

Try the summery Gorgonzola, pear, date, and rosemary pie with a gluten-free vegan crust. The oblong pies, reminiscent of a flatbread are served on silver cafeteria trays, the cracker-like crust doesn't taste any different than the thin-crust at a non-Vegan pizzerias, but the toppings certainly do. Follow up with chia seed pudding or flourless chocolate cake for dessert.

photo credit: Wild

Custom Fuel

Harlem Pizza Joint Lets You Customized Own Pizza - Custom Fuel...

2288 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, New York
Custom Fuel Pizza

Harlem Pizza Joint Lets You Customized Own Pizza - Custom Fuel

So what's the big deal? Custom Fuel boasts they are the " create your own pizza " shop where guests can customize the type of crust (whole wheat, gluten free and thin among the options), the sauce (Pesto, pomodore, BBQ, olive oil, etc), cheeses and locally sourced veggies and meats.

Not quite the concept that you physically cook your own pizza. But once you make your preference and assembled by the Custom Fuel's pizza artists, the pies are fired up and cooked in about 90 seconds.

My Pie Pizzeria Romana

Rome Style Pizza in Midtown...

696 Lexington Ave, New York
My Pies Pizzeria Romana

Rome Style Pizza in Midtown

Deliziosa La Pizza Roma! If you ever been in Rome, then you know that Romans bake their pizza in giant rectangular pizza pans (not round) and are served cut-to-order. Not by rolling pizza cutters but with a giant scissors. But it's the blend of the rustic ingredients and the al-dente crust that's makes it so memorable. Maybe the water for the crust is imported from Rome, we're not sure but My Pie Pizzeria Romana is as authentic as it get when it comes to Rome-styled pie in NYC.

TONÉ-CAFÉ Georgian Bread

Delicious Georgian Bread in Brooklyn: TONÉ-CAFÉ Georgian Bread...

265 Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn 11235
Georgian Bread  Shoti

Delicious Georgian Bread in Brooklyn: TONÉ-CAFÉ Georgian Bread

Even if you're from Manhattan or any borough outside of Brooklyn, a trip to the Georgian Bakery serving Shoti and Khachapuri (Georgian Pizza) is totally worth the hike to Brighton Beach.

Badri, the Georgian master baker of Neptune Avenue, everyday before he open Georgian Bread, he had to construct a toné, the Georgian version of the Indian tandoor. This cylindrical oven sits at the center of the bakery with scorching heat during the hottest days of the summer. Six days a week, he readies at 4 in the morning to get to the bakery by five and fire up the oven. With one assistant, he spends the next 12 hours mixing dough, baking bread, making Georgian pizzas, and tending customers. Everything handmade items here are delicious.

Lombardi's Pizza

First and Oldest Pizzeria in NYC - Lombardi's Pizza...

32 Spring Street, New York
Lombardi's entrance

First and Oldest Pizzeria in NYC - Lombardi's Pizza

Since 1897, not only is Lombardi's Pizza the oldest pizzeria in New York City, it is also the oldest in North America.

Founded by an Italian immigrant who reinvented a Napoletana staple food into one of the worlds most eaten foods, New York City was the birth place of New York style pizza. During the year of 1905, Lombardi's was licensed by the City of New York, becoming America's First Pizzeria.

Over 100 years later and the spot is still reputed as one of the best pizzeria in NYC. In a city of pizzeria's, it is still on top after 100 years!

Co.

Roman Style Pizza with a Flare in Chelsea - Co....

230 9th Avenue, New York 10001
#5 Pizza in NYC

Roman Style Pizza with a Flare in Chelsea - Co.

Located in the heart of Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, Co. (pronounced Company) serves up the traditional options but also offers pies with flare.

Opened in 2009 in a competitive pizza market, with nearly a dozen different restaurants at every corner against some stiff competition, these quality pies proved to have staying power. Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery, opened Co. to offer his spin on Roman-style pizza to Chelsea residents, and focusing on the communal dining experience.

The mushroom and jalapeno pie gives some kick, while the ham and cheese is almost decadent with pecorino, Gruyere, mozzarella, prosciutto, and caraway. And when Lahey goes egg? Order two

Joe's Pizza

Traditional New York Style Pizza - Joe's Pizza...

7 Carmine Street, New York 10014
Best Pizza in NYC

Traditional New York Style Pizza - Joe's Pizza

Joe's Pizza is as synonymous with New York City as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building according to The Daily Meal. The infamous shop has placed in nearly every Best Pizzas list, including GQ's Top 25 Pizzas, Shecky's Best in New York, and New York Magazine's Best Pizza in New York.

The key to Joe's success is their traditional New York City-style pizza with thin crust, great sauce, and just the right ratio of cheese, sauce, and crust (just a bit less of the first two). Since 1975, Joe's has served tourists and residents alike, making it a truly iconic New York landmark. Everyone has a slice joint, but if the city were to have just one, this would be it.

John's Of Bleecker Street

Coal-Fired Brick Oven Pizza - John's Of Bleecker Street...

278 Bleecker Street, New York 10014
#3 Pizza in NYC

Coal-Fired Brick Oven Pizza - John's Of Bleecker Street

The Daily Meal
Yes, John's of Bleecker is on the tourist rotation, but there's a reason this place has become such an institution.

The pizza here is cooked in a coal-fired brick oven, the same way it's been done there since 1929. You can choose from their available toppings (pepperoni, sausage, sliced meatball, garlic, onions, peppers, mushrooms, ricotta, sliced tomato, anchovies, olives, and roasted tomatoes), and you can scratch your name into the walls like the droves before you, but what you can't do is order a slice. Pies only, bud.

Motorino

Motorino - Award Winning Pizza in NYC ...

349 East 12th Street, New York 10003
#2 Pizza in NYC

Motorino - Award Winning Pizza in NYC

In addition to the traditional varieties of marinara and Margherita pizza, Motorino offers a handful of more spirited pies, including one with cherry stone clams, and another with Brussels sprouts. (And while it has nothing to do with the quality of their pies, Motorino also happens to serve one of the best octopus appetizers in the city.)

Some spaces are cursed. Others are blessed. When Anthony Mangieri shuttered Una Pizza Napoletana at 349 East 12th St. and headed out to San Francisco, Mathieu Palombino took over the lease, renamed the space Motorino, and the East Village pizza scene hardly seemed to skip a beat since.

Now in addition to the East Village location, Motorino has made their award winning pies more available by expanding to 2 other locations in NYC (Soho and Williamsburg) as well as one in Hong Kong and Manila.

Di Fara Pizza

Best New York City Pizza - Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn...

1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn 11230
#1 Pizza in NYC

Best New York City Pizza - Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn

Unless you are already in the neighborhood, it's a hike getting to Di Fara Pizza, but it's well worth it when you're trekking to get America's best pizza.

Domenico DeMarco is sort of a local legend, having owned and operated Di Fara since 1964, hailed from Provincia di Caserta in Italy, he cooks up both New York and Sicilian-style pizza to hungry mob of New Yorkers and tourists willing to wait on long lines spilling out on to the side walks.

Using only "Top ingredients" in his pies and with some mentioning of crust trending slightly burnt but even with this, "it's is still a very good pizza" and when it's not,it's transcendent.

You'll get a better deal getting the whole pie rather than throwing down $5 on a slice and you want to understand why they are the best before you make the trip, check out the great video about Di Fara http://vimeo.com/16077855