New York has long considered itself the capital of American pizza—for good reason, given its bevy of slice spots. But with upstarts around the country serving top-notch pies inspired by the Big Apple, is NYC still the most popular city on the national pizza stage?
To find out, we turned to Yelp, combining ratings from their users with our own secret (pizza) sauce to determine the 50 restaurants in the U.S. that earn the highest marks from pizza lovers.
New Yorkers will be pleased to learn that their hometown tops the list in terms of number of spots featured, with eight. But they might be shocked to hear that it's tied with San Francisco for that honor—and that the greater San Francisco Bay Area beat out the greater NYC area, snagging 13 of the top 50 spots, and 3 of the top 10.
The highest-rated pie-slinger in New York is Manhattan's legendary Lombardi's Pizza, which was founded in 1905 and claims to be the oldest pizzeria in America. Ranking #9 on our list, it's known for its coal-oven margherita and white clam pies.
Coming in at #18 is Juliana's Pizza in Dumbo, helmed by pizza legend Patsy Grimaldi, former owner of the long-heralded Grimaldi's Pizza. (Grimaldi's, also in Dumbo, remains open, but didn't crack the top 50.) A newer-school Brooklyn pizza spot, Greenpoint's Paulie Gee's, also came in a bit lower down the list, at #38.
For those who prefer their pizza on the go, a duo of downtown Manhattan slice joints also made the top 50: the East Village's Artichoke Basille's (#28), which draws lines for its decadent late-night slices slathered with creamy artichoke dip, and Nolita's Prince Street Pizza (#31), known for its Sicilian "spicy Spring" pepperoni slices.
The top 50 list wraps up with two more Brooklyn classics: Bensonhurst's L&B Spumoni Gardens (#43), which has been dishing up its famous square slices since the 1950s, and Midwood's Di Fara (#48), where visitors happily wait up to two hours for one of Domenico DeMarco's acclaimed handmade pies.
Here's the full list of the 50 most beloved pizza spots in the U.S.:
1. 786 Degrees (Los Angeles)
2. Joe Benny's (Baltimore)
3. Home Slice Pizza (Austin)
4. Bronx Pizza (San Diego)
5. Base Camp Pizza (South Lake Tahoe, CA)
6. Zachary's Chicago Pizza (Oakland, CA)
7. Little Star Pizza (San Francisco)
8. Golden Boy Pizza (San Francisco)
9. Lombardi's Pizza (New York)
10. A Slice of New York (San Jose, CA)
11. Barbuzzo (Philadelphia)
12. Bestia (Los Angeles)
13. Arizmendi Bakery (San Francisco)
14. Ciao! Pizza and Pasta (Chelsea, MA)
15. Cibo (Phoenix)
16. Pupatella (Arlington, VA)
17. Buona Forchetta (San Diego)
18. Juliana's Pizza (New York)
19. Moose's Tooth (Anchorage)
20. Pequod's Pizza (Chicago)
21. Lou Malnati's (Chicago)
22. Flatbread Company (Paia, HI)
23. Pizzeria Mozza (Los Angeles)
24. Cheese Board Pizza (Berkeley, CA)
25. Tony's Pizza Napoletana (San Francisco)
26. Secret Pizza (Las Vegas)
27. Vesta (Redwood City, CA)
28. Artichoke Basille's (New York)
29. Cortina's Italian Market (Anaheim, CA)
30. Serious Pie (Seattle)
31. Prince Street Pizza (New York)
32. Masa of Echo Park (Los Angeles)
33. Piece Brewery & Pizzeria (Chicago)
34. Pizzetta 211 (San Francisco)
35. Beretta (San Francisco)
36. Pizzamaniac (Vista, CA)
37. The Goat & Vine (Temecula, CA)
38. Paulie Gee's (New York)
39. Little Deli & Pizzeria (Austin)
40. Zero Zero (San Francisco)
41. Lucali (New York)
42. Colosseum New York Pizza (Milpitas, CA)
43. L&B Spumoni Gardens (New York)
44. Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana (Henderson, NV)
45. Matchbox (Washington, D.C.)
46. Fuoco Pizzeria Napoletana (Fullerton, CA)
47. Baonecci Ristorante (San Francisco)
48. Di Fara (New York)
49. Antico Pizza (Atlanta)
50. Uncle Tony's Pizzeria (North Hollywood, CA)
