The 29 best pizza places in NYC

Although more elaborate options exist, even Mama's basic house pie, with aged 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."

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.

Although it's been open since 2006, Lucali's wait times are as long as ever. 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 cavernous Evergreen liquor store a short walk away. 

Scarr's has a wood paneled, neon sign-ed, throwback fashion that everybody loves to snap, but pies the product of Scarr 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. 

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 a marinara, Margherita, or juno (broccoli rabe, potatoes, provola, ricotta salata) to go and grab a bottle from the same owners' shop Forêt Wines to pair at home. 

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. 

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. 

Rubirosa's got sauce in it's veins, with family ties to Staten Island institution Joe & Pat's. The namesake pie, the Rubirosa Supreme, features a salty-sweet medley of hand-cut spicy pepperoni, diced basil, and mini meatballs 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. 

Unique to New York (well, except for the locations in Florida, Michigan and Massachusetts), this is the slice people think of when they think of a New York slice. Large, foldable and cinematically cheesy, it's a huge part of the local pizza tapestry.

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. 

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 square al fresco. And always, follow it with the titular tricolor ice cream. Keep an eye out for their newest locale, dropping in Dumbo later this year. 

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. 

Louie and Ernie's homey facade is as iconic as any pizza shop in town; a true hearth for slice lovers and pie devotees. Snack on the former while you wait for the latter, and grab a frozen pepperoni for a rainy day. 

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. 

Denino's has been a pizza 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.