The 31 best pizza places in NYC

Yes, you may have to wait for more than an hour to try this Midwood institution, and yes, it does have another easier location in Williamsburg, but a trip to the original 56-year-old standard-setting shop is essential for pizza lovers and dabblers everywhere. It's also where original owner Dom DeMarco still makes the dough and hand-tears basil each day. 

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.

Sure, table service is available, but when it comes to L&B, the pro move is to order your grandma-style pie at the to-go counter and enjoy it al fresco. There's no better way to spend a post-beach afternoon than snarfing down one of those saucy, pillowy squares in the sun. Save room for the titular tricolor ice cream.

Mama’s Too gives a jolt to the Upper West Side’s restaurant scene. Even its basic house pie, made with aged mozarella, fresh tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, parmegianno reggiano and basil is evidence of Mama's expertise and attention to detail.

This joint has that back-in-the-day vibe we love: With its wood-paneled walls, counter stools and neon beer sign, the interior screams 1960s without feeling contrived. But we’re really here for pies by Scarr Pimentel, who mills their grains in the basement. The result is a light slice that's easy to follow with another.

Now with three locations between NYC and Connecticut, Zero Otto Nove’s first restaurant opened in the Bronx in 2008, but its charming interior has more of an "old country by way of a community theater" aesthetic. Its long list of pizza includes all the hits and pasta, meat and fish mains are also on the menu. 

NYC had a serious paucity of Chicago-style pizza before Emmett's came to town in 2013, and we've been enjoying its pizza casserole with knives and forks ever since. Those deep dish pies are available with a couple dozen topping options, including that other Windy City fave, Italian beef. 

What was once a tiny takeout and delivery spot on Smith Street is now a tiny takeout and delivery spot with a smattering of tables outside, thanks to NYC Open Restaurants. Pizzas named for pop-culture puns like the Beef Me Up Scotty, Silence of the Ham and Poultrygeist are sold as whole pies and select slices are available, too.

Unlike its beloved original location, which offers only whole pies to dine in, Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop is all about, yes, the gooey, cheesy, portable classic New York slice. The space’s slime-green stools, faux-wood Formica tables and letter-board menu give the place a cool 1970s feel.

Dellarocco’s extensive, excellent white-pie menu is a bit of an outlier on the predominately red NYC pizza landscape. Here, rich pies are adorned with toppings like porcini, fennel sausage and truffle cream.

This much-hyped pie emporium serves thin-crust, Tuscan-style pizzas along with classic Italian-American standbys like heros, calzones, and chicken Parmesan. It stays open late on Fridays and Saturdays, making it a dependable stop for a fortifying slice of their speciality, a marinara pie known as the Nonna Maria, on your way back from the bar.

Owner-founder Chris Iacono proudly credits his apprenticeship at his brother's pizzeria, Lucali, for his skills. Chris Iacono's use of top-tier ingredients like hand-cut pepperoni, fresh mushrooms, and a cheese blend consisting of low-moisture mozzarella, homemade fresh mozz and imported Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano epitomizes Giuseppina's commitment to quality. The incomparable sauce comes from a secret family recipe passed down to the owner from his grandmother named, fittingly, Giuseppina. 

Once largely for those in-the-know, Pizza Moto transitioned from moveable pizza feast popular at Smorgasburg and the like to permanent brick-and-mortar fixture in 2015. We like the lightly charred crust encircling its Margherita, mushroom and pepperoni pies, but un-fans of the acquired taste may prefer the smoked trout Caesar salad or wood-fired eggplant parm.

Mozzarella melts over savory tomato sauce atop a thin, crispy crust at Joe & Pat’s pizza, which takes simple ingredients and prepares them exquisitely. It’s a recipe they've perfected over the past 50 years and we hope it never changes. And now, you can get a taste at its East Village outpost.

Rizzo’s is a Queens institution dating back to 1959. Since then, the menu has expanded but it’s the Rizzo signature slice—a thin square—that will keep you coming back. The formula includes copious amounts of rich, tangy tomato sauce with a single slice of mozzarella, flanked by bits of sharp and mild grated cheeses. All of these rest atop a thin, crispy, gas-powered oven crust. 

A Staten Island stalwart since 1937, Denino's has been a pizza stalwart for over eight decades. Layering the perfect amount of hearty meats (including homemade sausage), savory tomato sauce and tasty veggies, its Garbage Pie embodies the pizza ideals that well-known chains strive so hard to imitate. Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby, and Denino’s proves it with every order.

Louie and Ernie's pizzeria is cheerily adorable. The staff is friendly, the ambience is warm, and the pizza is delicious. Its $3.50 slice is nicely sauced and properly cheesed, and a large anchovy pie also boldly graces the menu. 

Over the course of almost a decade in operation, Speedy Romeo has perfected its menu to keep you coming back. 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. 

Pugsley is inexpensive, convenient and open late. A gong often rings when pizzas are made or land on tables, which, according to a quirky explaination authored by owner Sal Natale, printed, laminated and posted in the shop, is intended to help you recall and actualize goals. If your goal in life is to eat Pugsley's pepperoni pizza, it’s a win-win.

Rubirosa is pizza royalty: The founder is the son of 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 yet soft enough to fold like a typical New York slice. 

Farm-to-table is paint-by-numbers here: Many ingredients are sourced from Stone Bridge's very own farms in Schuylerville, New York, where they use hydroponic technology—good both for the environment and pizza lovers.

Named after a character in the film 8 1/2, Saraghina churns out pizza that exceeds 8 1/2 on any scale. We're partial to the Coppa & Carciofi, which mingles mozzarella, hot coppa, roasted spicy artichokes and basil.