Partenope Ristorante is once again holding it down for Dallas on the national stage, extending its run on the Italy-based 50 Top Pizza USA list with a top-20 finish for the sixth straight year. Naples-born pizzaiolo Dino Santonicola and his team have kept the downtown spot in the conversation as one of the country’s most respected Neapolitan kitchens in 2026, keeping Partenope among the rare Texas pizzerias to earn this kind of national attention.
According to 50 Top Pizza, Partenope landed at No. 18 on the 50 Top Pizza USA 2026 list and picked up the Made in Italy "Salumi Coati" award in the process. In an Instagram post highlighted by the Dallas Observer, Santonicola called the recognition "incredibly humbling" and said every dish at Partenope is "rooted in tradition, passion, quality ingredients, and the spirit of Naples." The guide also listed Partenope as the only Texas pizzeria to crack the 2026 rankings.
How 50 Top Pizza Picks Winners
The 50 Top Pizza guide pulls together scores from anonymous inspectors and a network of more than 150 Italian food and beverage journalists. Restaurants are evaluated on pizza quality, service, atmosphere, wait times, and beverage programs, with the results compiled into regional and national lists each year. The 2026 ceremony once again named Una Pizza Napoletana in New York as the No. 1 pizzeria in the country, a result noted by industry outlet Pizza Today.
Santonicola’s Six-Year Run
Partenope’s 2026 appearance marks the sixth consecutive year that owner-chef Dino Santonicola has earned a place on the 50 Top Pizza USA list, moving from No. 25 in 2021 to No. 17 in 2022, No. 16 in 2023, No. 12 in 2024, and No. 17 in 2025, the Dallas Observer reports. Santonicola opened Partenope in 2019 with the goal of bringing traditional Neapolitan technique and Italian ingredients to Dallas, and the run of national recognition has become a shorthand for how far the city’s pizza scene has come.
Menus, hours, and reservation information are available on the restaurant’s site at Partenope Ristorante. The 50 Top Pizza profile singles out the margherita and montanara as benchmark pies that helped put Partenope on the national map, so locals should expect the usual steady demand as the restaurant’s name continues to carry weight on both local and international pizza stages.
