Travel Best Pizza Places in the U.S. By Food & Wine Editors Updated on February 9, 2018 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo © Squire Fox Top chefs and legendary bakers are among the new breed of pizzaiolo who are just as fanatical about the temperature of their ovens as they are about the provenance of their ingredients. Here, F&W names the best places for pizza around the country from these new guard spots—including a Bay Area pizzeria that uses locally-milled flour—to century old East Coast institutions. 01 of 28 Philadelphia: Pizzeria Vetri Photo © Steve Legato At this pizza spot by Marc Vetri, one of the country's best Italian chefs, the Neapolitan pies come with thick, chewy crusts and toppings like prosciutto crudo and roasted fennel. The rotolo, not to be missed, are pink, fatty slices of house-made mortadella and ricotta wrapped in pizza dough, topped with Sicilian pistachio pesto. pizzeriavetri.com Philadelphia Travel Guide 02 of 28 Oakland, CA: A16 Rockridge Photo © Natalie Compton Chef Rocky Maselli runs the kitchen here as well as at the A16 flagship in San Francisco. What separates the Oakland spot from the original is the massive Stefano Ferrara wood-burning oven—which cook pizzas in 90 seconds—and a few different pies such as the Montanara Rockridge (lightly fried pizza dough topped with smoky tomato sauce, burrata and basil). a16pizza.com San Francisco Travel Guide 03 of 28 Santa Monica, CA: Milo & Olive Photo © Emily Hart Roth Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan's burgeoning food empire includes this bakery cum pizzeria featuring Nathan's excellent breads and whole–grain pie dough, which are topped with seasonal—and often unconventional—combinations like butternut squash, caramelized onion, fontina cream, 25-year-aged balsamic and thyme. miloandolive.com 04 of 28 Robbinsdale, MN: Pig Ate My Pizza Photo © Courtney Perry This pizza spot in a suburb just outside Minneapolis pulls off its funky, unorthodox pies with brio. Crusts include thin and deep-dish brioche, and toppings range from pulled pork shoulder to potato chips. travailkitchen.com/pig-ate-my-pizza Minneapolis Travel Guide 05 of 28 San Francisco: Del Popolo Photo © Matthew Millman Jon Darsky, a former pizzaiolo at San Francisco's excellent Flour & Water, has repurposed a 20-foot shipping container to create his impressive mobile pizza restaurant. The setup includes a handmade wood-burning oven from Naples that's protected with massive air bags during transit. delpopolosf.com 06 of 28 New York City: Don Antonio by Starita Photo © Anthony Bianciella Photography Roberto Caporuscio, of New York's Kesté, has partnered with his mentor, Antonio Starita, a third-generation Italian pizzaiolo. Their midtown pizzeria serves 50 different pies—including fried montanara. donantoniopizza.com 07 of 28 Los Angeles: 800 Degrees Photo © 800 Degrees From the folks behind Umami Burger: fast artisanal pizza. Each pie is made to order and cooks in 60 seconds. 800degreespizza.com. Los Angeles Travel 08 of 28 Providence, RI: Al Forno Photo courtesy of Al Forno Restaurant In 1980, Johanne Killeen and George Germon launched a new era of ambitious cooking in Providence with their thin-crusted grilled pizzas topped with superfresh ingredients. Their signature margarita pizza is topped with house-made pomodoro, fresh herbs, two cheeses and extra virgin olive oil. alforno.com 09 of 28 New York City: Forcella Photo courtesy of Forcella Though it sounds like an abomination, montanara, or fried pizza, is a Neapolitan tradition. The dough is deep-fried, then topped and baked, adding a depth of flavor. In 2011, Giulio Adriani introduced New Yorkers to the delicacy at Brooklyn's Forcella; he's since opened a Manhattan location. forcellaeatery.com Great Places to Eat in Brooklyn 10 of 28 San Francisco: Casey's Pizza Truck Photo © David Karvasales East Coast transplant Casey Crynes was making pizza on the street, using a modified 18-inch Weber grill, before outfitting a former laundry truck with a gas-fueled oven in 2011. His crust, a recipe two years in the making, gets perfectly crispy after four minutes in the 700-degree oven. caseyspizzas.com San Francisco Travel 11 of 28 New York City: Sottocasa Photo © Luca Arrigoni The old floors of this Brooklyn pizzeria couldn't handle the weight of the 4,000-pound pizza oven that owner Luca Arrigoni had ordered, so he hired a crane to lift it three stories over the building and into the backyard. Arrigoni then built walls around the hearth, where he now makes the Neapolitan-style pies he mastered at Kesté. sottocasanyc.com 12 of 28 Seattle: Via Tribunali Photo courtesy of Via Tribunali Seattle espresso-and-pizza-empire builder Mike McConnell now has four branches of his Via Tribunali pizzeria. The Neapolitan-style pizzas have puffy crusts that cook in just 45 seconds in an oven made with imported bricks—from Naples, of course. The house specialty is a stuffed pizza: dough wrapped around sausage, mozzarella, smoked provolone, arugula, cherry tomatoes and broccoli rabe. viatribunali.net 13 of 28 New York City, Atlanta: Ribalta Photo courtesy of Ribalta The first US location of an Italian chain has three ovens—a wood one for Napoletana, a convection one for Roman-style pizza and a brick one for other styles. It will also be home to New York's first branch of Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli, Italy's famed pizza school. ribaltapizzarestaurant.com 14 of 28 Boston: Santarpio's Pizza Photo © Amy Swan This super traditional pizzeria, with wood paneled walls covered with pictures of famous athletes, has been around for more than a century and serves outstanding pizzas, like the signature homemade sausage pie. santarpiospizza.com Boston Travel 15 of 28 Los Angeles: Pizzeria Mozza Photo © Larry Sales Powerhouse team Mario Batali, Joseph Bastianich and Nancy Silverton combine the best California ingredients (squash blossoms and super juicy tomatoes) with Italian tradition (big wood-burning ovens and house-made mozzarella) to form some of L.A.'s best pies. mozza-la.com F&W Chef Superstar Nancy Silverton 16 of 28 San Francisco: Flour + Water Photo © Lesley Kao The phenomenal pizza margherita (tomato sauce, Fior di Latte and extra-virgin olive oil) has delicious puffy and charred cornicione (end crust), the result of just two minutes in the 800-degree wood-burning oven imported from Italy. flourandwater.com 17 of 28 New Haven, CT: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana Photo © Doug Schneider Photography This longstanding classic, considered ground zero for New Haven-style "apizza," was started by Frank Pepe in 1925, and is now run by his grandchildren. The Original Tomato Pie (without mozzarella) is still on the menu but the most popular pie is the white clam pizza. pepespizzeria.com 18 of 28 New York City: Motorino Photo courtesy of Motorino Chef Mathieu Palombino cooked at BLT Fish before he embarked on his pizza tasting tour, traveling from Italy to California, trying pies to perfect his bready, well-salted crust. At his restaurant, the signature item is his pizza with brussels sprouts, smoked pancetta, mozzarella, pecorino and garlic. motorinopizza.com 19 of 28 San Francisco: Pizzeria Delfina Photo © Eric Wolfinger An offshoot of Delfina restaurant, from Craig and Anne Stoll, with Neapolitan-inspired pies like the signature margherita and variations with delicious toppings like house-made fennel sausage. pizzeriadelfina.com San Francisco Travel 20 of 28 Brooklyn: Paulie Gee's Photo © Evan Sung Gregarious pizza legend Paulie Gee serves Neapolitan pies with inspired toppings like a cream sauce made with anisette, a sweet anise liqueur. His signature Regina pie is topped with Fior di Latte, tomatoes, Pecorino Romano, olive oil and fresh basil. pauliegee.com New York Travel 21 of 28 Philadelphia: Tacconelli's Pizzeria Photo © Helen Horstmann This Philly pizza institution hasn't changed the recipe for its tomato pies (minimal cheese) since Italian immigrant Giovanni Tacconelli started serving them in 1946. tacconellispizzeria.com 22 of 28 New York: Kesté Pizza and Vino Photo courtesy of Keste Pizza and Vino Chef-co-owner Roberto Caporuscio worked as a cheese salesman in Italy before he opened Kesté, one of the best Neapolitan pizza spots in New York City. His signature regina margherita pizza is topped with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, grape tomatoes, basil and extra-virgin olive oil. kestepizzeria.com 23 of 28 Brooklyn: Lucali Photo © Eric Mueller Chef-owner Mark Iacono's outstanding pies are served in a no-frills dining room, which was packed before he was even able to officially open and pull the brown paper off the windows. facebook.com/Lucalis Great Places to Eat in Brooklyn 24 of 28 New York City: Rubirosa Photo courtesy of Rubirosa Hard to believe, but it can be tough to find good Italian food in and around Little Italy. No more: Rubirosa, run by Angelo "AJ" Pappalardo, specializes in a thin-crusted pie that dates back to a 51-year-old family recipe from Staten Island. The Pappalardos also added a gluten-free pizza dough to the menu. rubirosanyc.com 25 of 28 Phoenix, AZ: Pizzeria Bianco Photo © Robyn Lee The pizzas here are arguably America's best, with beautiful, wood-fired crusts made with organic flour, fresh mozzarella and house-smoked mozzarella. Star pizzaiolo Chris Bianco's favorite pie is his marinara pizza and there's almost always a line out the door. pizzeriabianco.com Phoenix Travel 26 of 28 Brooklyn: Totonno's Photo © Robyn Lee The Coney Island institution made its name with big, saucy margherita Neapolitan pies. totonnosconeyisland.com How to Make Perfect Pizza Margherita 27 of 28 Brooklyn: Di Fara Photo © Shane Mitchell Seventy-plus-year-old owner Domenico DeMarco makes all the pies at this Brooklyn pizza mecca, so they come out with the perfect balance of tomato sauce (made fresh daily), mozzarella and Grana Padano cheeses. A Di Fara spin-off called Tagliare opened in LaGuardia Airport in the fall of 2010. difara.com 28 of 28 New York City: Co. Photo © Squire Fox Sullivan Street Bakery founder Jim Lahey is one of the country's elite bakers, so it makes sense that people can't stop talking about his chewy, crisp, ever-so-slightly tangy pie crusts. His signature pie, aptly named the Popeye, is topped with pecorino, Gruyère, mozzarella, black pepper, garlic and spinach, of course. co-pane.com Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit