RFK Cuisine · Pizza · Los Angeles
Best Pizza Restaurants in Los Angeles 2026
Pizza · Los Angeles · 6 pizzerias ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
A bread baker, not a pizzaiolo, made Los Angeles a pizza city. When Nancy Silverton opened Pizzeria Mozza on the corner of Melrose and Highland in 2006, she brought a baker's obsession with fermentation to the pie, and the blistered, chewy crust she built became the template a whole generation chased. Two decades on, LA has no single house style, and that is its strength: wood-fired thin crust in Venice, Detroit-leaning pan squares in Echo Park, Roman pizza in Hollywood and a California spin on the Italian-American slice on Fairfax, all within a half-hour drive. This guide ranks six of the best, on the pie, the room and the value, with the one to order and how to book.
1.Pizzeria Mozza
The blistered-crust benchmark that made LA a pizza city; book Nancy Silverton's corner room for the pie everyone else chases.
Pizzeria Mozza, on the corner of Melrose Avenue and North Highland, is Nancy Silverton's pizzeria and the restaurant that set the modern Los Angeles standard when it opened in 2006. Silverton, a master baker, built the pie around a long-fermented dough that bakes up with a charred, airy, chewy rim unlike any other in the city, topped simply and precisely, from the fennel-sausage pie to the squash-blossom version in season. Pizzas run in the low-to-mid USD 20s, and you should save room for the butterscotch budino. It is the choice for the definitive LA crust in a buzzy, grown-up room rather than a slice counter. Book ahead, as the corner fills most nights.
Reserve direct; the fennel-sausage pizza, the squash-blossom pie in season, the butterscotch budino.
2.Quarter Sheets
The best pan pizza in the city from a pop-up turned NYT favorite; line up in Echo Park for crispy-edged squares.
Quarter Sheets, in Echo Park, is the husband-and-wife restaurant of Aaron Lindell and Hannah Ziskin, which grew from a pandemic pop-up into one of the most acclaimed pizzerias in the country and landed on the New York Times list of the year's best restaurants. The draw is a thick, crispy-edged pan pizza in the Detroit lineage, sold by the quarter-sheet and crowned with adventurous toppings like taleggio, roasted grapes and crispy onions, with Ziskin's cakes for dessert. Expect to share a sheet for a table. It is the choice for the city's best thick-crust pizza, the opposite end of the spectrum from Mozza. Check the release schedule and order early, as services sell out.
Order at release; the quarter-sheet pan pizza, the seasonal special, a slice of Ziskin's cake.
3.Mother Wolf
Evan Funke's glamorous Roman room where the pizza rossa earns its place; book it for a night out with serious Roman cooking.
Mother Wolf, on Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood, is Evan Funke's ode to Roman cooking, a soaring, glamorous dining room best known for hand-made pasta but home to genuinely excellent Roman-style pizza. The kitchen turns out pizza rossa and pizza bianca and round Roman pies with thin, crackly bases, a different tradition from the Neapolitan and pan styles elsewhere on this list, alongside Funke's exacting cacio e pepe and other pastas. It is more restaurant than pizzeria, with a bar and a scene to match, and the bill rises once the pasta arrives. It is the choice for a Roman pizza and pasta dinner with atmosphere rather than a casual slice. Book ahead for a prime evening table.
Reserve direct; the pizza rossa, the pizza bianca, a plate of Funke's pasta.
4.Gjelina
The Abbot Kinney institution whose wood-fired pies define California pizza; book the garden for a Venice lunch or dinner.
Gjelina, on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, has been a cornerstone of California cooking since 2008, and its blistered, wood-fired pizzas are a benchmark for the produce-forward LA style. The pies are thin and charred, dressed in market-driven combinations, lamb sausage, wild nettles, seasonal mushrooms, and they sit on a menu of vegetable-led small plates that made the restaurant famous. The brick-walled room and back garden are among the most pleasant in the city. Pizzas run in the low USD 20s, more once you add the vegetables you will inevitably order. It is the choice for wood-fired California pizza in a beautiful Venice setting, ideal for a long lunch. Book ahead, especially for weekends and the patio.
Reserve direct; the lamb-sausage pizza, the seasonal vegetable pie, a few of the small plates.
5.Cosa Buona
Zach Pollack's neighbourhood pizzeria on Sunset; walk in for a California take on the Italian-American pie.
Cosa Buona, on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park, is chef Zach Pollack's casual Italian-American pizzeria, a neighbourhood spot that reworks the classic red-sauce pie with California produce and a chef's eye. The pizzas land between New York and Italian-American in style, generous and well-charred, alongside antipasti, subs and salads that make it an easy everyday dinner rather than an occasion. It is the most relaxed, walk-in-friendly room on this list, with prices to match in the high teens to low USD 20s for a pie. It is the choice for a great neighbourhood pizza without a reservation or a scene, and a reliable family or weeknight option. Walk in or book for a larger group.
Walk in or reserve; the pepperoni pie, the seasonal vegetable pizza, an antipasto to share.
6.Jon & Vinny's
The cult Fairfax Italian-American where the LA Woman pie is a local rite; book ahead for pizza and fusilli in equal measure.
Jon & Vinny's, on North Fairfax Avenue, is the all-day Italian-American restaurant from Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, the duo behind Animal, and a genuine LA institution. The pizzas are a highlight in their own right, led by the much-loved LA Woman, a pie of mozzarella, burrata and basil, served alongside the famous spicy fusilli and a menu of comfort-Italian plates in a tight, perpetually busy room. It is more restaurant than pizzeria, and the bill climbs with the pasta, but the pies hold their own. It is the choice for a buzzy, design-forward dinner where you want both great pizza and a proper meal. Book well ahead, as tables are scarce.
Reserve direct; the LA Woman pizza, the spicy fusilli, a basket of garlic bread.
How Los Angeles does pizza
Los Angeles has no single pizza tradition, and that is exactly what makes it one of the best pizza cities in the country. The modern wave started with a baker: Nancy Silverton's Pizzeria Mozza put a long-fermented, blistered crust at the centre of the city's pizza identity, and Gjelina cemented the produce-led, wood-fired California style in Venice. Since then the map has fractured in the best way, with Quarter Sheets championing thick Detroit-leaning pan pizza, Mother Wolf importing the Roman tradition, and rooms like Cosa Buona and Jon & Vinny's giving the Italian-American pie a California rewrite. You pick the format first, then the kitchen. For the global picture, see the best pizza restaurants worldwide and the sibling guide in New York.
Practically, the sit-down rooms increasingly want a booking: Pizzeria Mozza, Mother Wolf, Gjelina and Jon & Vinny's all fill prime evenings, so reserve through their platforms, while Quarter Sheets runs limited services that sell out, so watch its release schedule. Cosa Buona is the easiest walk-in. Most pies are sized for one to two people, so order one each or share two across the table with a starter. Geography is the LA tax: the list runs from Venice on the coast to Echo Park, Hollywood and Fairfax, so factor in traffic and a drive. For everything beyond pizza, from the tasting rooms to the taco trucks, the Los Angeles dining guide maps the city by neighbourhood and occasion.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for a real LA pizza
The Hollywood Boulevard tourist slice joints. The by-the-slice windows along the main tourist drags trade on foot traffic, not fermentation. For a great quick pie, drive to Cosa Buona or pick a serious neighbourhood counter instead.
Mother Wolf or Jon & Vinny's expecting a cheap, fast pizza. These are full-service restaurants with scenes, waits and pasta menus that push the bill up. If you just want an excellent pie without the production, go to Pizzeria Mozza's counter or Cosa Buona and save the others for a night out.
Frequently asked
What is the best pizza in Los Angeles?
Pizzeria Mozza, Nancy Silverton's restaurant on the corner of Melrose and Highland, is the long-standing benchmark, famous for a blistered, chewy, deeply fermented crust unlike anything else in the city. For a different style, Quarter Sheets in Echo Park makes some of the best pan pizza in the country, with Detroit-leaning square pies that landed it on the New York Times list of best restaurants. Choose Mozza for the classic thin-crust pie and Quarter Sheets for the thick, crispy-edged pan version.
How much does pizza cost in Los Angeles?
At the sit-down pizzerias on this list, individual pies run roughly USD 18 to USD 30, and most are sized for one to two people, so a couple sharing a pizza and a starter or two will land around USD 40 to USD 70 a head with drinks. Quarter Sheets sells its pan pizza by the quarter-sheet to share. The wood-fired Italian rooms, Gjelina, Mother Wolf and Jon & Vinny's, cost more once you add pasta and small plates.
What styles of pizza can you get in Los Angeles?
Most of the big LA styles. Pizzeria Mozza and Gjelina make blistered, wood-fired thin-crust pies in a California-Italian idiom; Quarter Sheets does thick, crispy-edged pan and Detroit-style squares; Mother Wolf cooks Roman-style pizza, including pizza rossa and bianca, alongside its pastas; and Cosa Buona and Jon & Vinny's lean into a California take on New York and Italian-American pies. LA has no single house style, which is the point: you choose the format, then the kitchen.
Do you need a reservation for pizza in Los Angeles?
For the sit-down rooms, yes, increasingly. Pizzeria Mozza, Mother Wolf, Gjelina and Jon & Vinny's all take reservations and fill prime evenings, so book ahead through their platforms. Quarter Sheets runs limited services and sells out, so check its release schedule and order early. Cosa Buona is the most walk-in friendly. For a quick slice you will do better at a counter spot than at these full-service pizzerias.
Is the pizza in Los Angeles actually good?
Yes, genuinely. LA is now one of the best pizza cities in the United States, helped by superb local produce, a deep bench of serious bakers and chefs, and a culture open to every style rather than loyal to one. Pizzeria Mozza helped start the modern wave, and a new generation, led by Quarter Sheets and the city's Roman and pan-pizza specialists, has pushed it further. For the global context, see our worldwide pizza guide.
More pizza and Italian dining
More from RFK
Browse the full Los Angeles dining guide, compare the global picks in the best pizza worldwide and the best Italian restaurants in LA, see the best pizza in New York, plan a first date at Pizzeria Mozza or a celebration at Mother Wolf, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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