RFK Cuisine · Pizza · New York
Best Pizza Restaurants in New York City 2026
Pizza · New York City · 6 pizzerias ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 27, 2026
The single most argued-over question in American food has a Brooklyn answer more often than not: the best pizza in New York is usually a small, cash-only, candlelit room in Carroll Gardens with no phone number for reservations and a wait that can run for hours. This is a city where pizza is both a dollar-slice democracy and a destination obsession, where coal ovens lit before the First World War still turn out thin-crust pies in Dumbo and a 1965 counter in Midwood finishes each pizza by hand. This guide skips the slice joints and ranks six of the sit-down pizzerias worth crossing the river for, on the pie, the room and the value, with the one to order and how to handle the line.
1.Lucali
The cult Carroll Gardens room many critics call the city's best pie; go early, bring cash and wine, and wait it out.
Lucali, on Henry Street in Carroll Gardens, is Mark Iacono's tiny, candlelit pizzeria and the room that tops more New York best-pizza lists than any other. The single pie is a thin, blistered, wood-fired Margherita with a thin layer of sauce and a chewy, charred rim, plus an off-menu calzone, and that is essentially the whole menu. It is cash-only, BYOB, takes no reservations and runs a same-day list, so waits can stretch for hours. A pie runs around USD 30. It is the choice for the definitive New York pizza pilgrimage, the meal you plan an evening around rather than drop into. Put your name down early, walk the neighbourhood, and bring a bottle.
Walk in early for the list; the Margherita, an added topping or two, the calzone, your own wine.
2.Di Fara Pizza
The 1965 Midwood institution where each pie is finished by hand; make the trip for the most storied slice in Brooklyn.
Di Fara, on Avenue J in Midwood, has been a New York pizza temple since Domenico "Dom" DeMarco opened it in 1965, and since his death in 2022 his family has kept the ovens running to the same recipe. The kitchen turns out a classic round pie and a thick Sicilian square, built on San Marzano tomatoes, a blend of mozzarellas and a flurry of fresh basil snipped over the top as it leaves the oven, with a drizzle of olive oil. Slices run a few dollars, a whole pie under USD 30. The line is slow because each pizza is finished by hand. It is the choice for old-school Brooklyn tradition and a slice with six decades of history. Go off-peak and be patient.
Order at the counter; the classic round pie, a Sicilian square, the fresh-basil finish.
3.Juliana's Pizza
Patsy Grimaldi's coal-oven comeback under the Brooklyn Bridge; book around the wait for a benchmark Margherita with a view.
Juliana's, on Old Fulton Street in Dumbo, is the coal-oven pizzeria Patsy Grimaldi opened in 2012, named for his mother, after he sold the Grimaldi's name and later returned to the trade next door to his old shop. The pies are thin-crust, coal-fired classics with a clean char, led by the Margherita and the white No. 1 with mozzarella, scamorza and pancetta, and the location under the Brooklyn Bridge is among the best in the city. A pie runs around USD 22 to USD 30. Lines build at peak times, so go early. It is the choice for top-tier coal-oven pizza paired with a Dumbo walk and the bridge overhead. Arrive off-peak to beat the queue.
Walk in off-peak; the Margherita, the No. 1 white pie, a stroll to the waterfront after.
4.Roberta's
The Bushwick original that redrew Brooklyn pizza; book it for the Bee Sting and a full wood-fired Italian dinner.
Roberta's, on Moore Street in Bushwick, is the wood-fired pizzeria that helped define modern Brooklyn dining, a sprawling, scene-y room grown out of a cinder-block shell into an institution with offshoots around the city. The pies are charred, Neapolitan-leaning and creatively topped, led by the famous Bee Sting, tomato, mozzarella, soppressata and chilli finished with honey, alongside house pastas, salumi and vegetables. It is more restaurant than pizzeria, with a bar and a crowd to match. Pies run around USD 18 to USD 25, more once the rest of the menu arrives. It is the choice for a wood-fired pizza dinner with energy and a proper meal around it. Book ahead for a prime table.
Reserve direct; the Bee Sting, a seasonal vegetable pie, a plate of pasta to share.
5.Emily
The Hylands' room that made Detroit-style a New York staple; book it for the Colony pie and the cult Emmy Burger.
Emily, with rooms in the West Village and Clinton Hill, is Emily and Matt Hyland's restaurant, the kitchen that helped popularise thick, crispy-edged Detroit-style pizza in New York alongside its wood-fired round pies. The signatures are the Colony, a round pie of pepperoni, mozzarella, pickled chilli and honey, and the square Detroit pie that spun off the Emmy Squared chain, plus the famous, often sold-out Emmy Burger. Pies run around USD 20 to USD 28. It is the choice for diners who want range, both a great round pie and a benchmark Detroit square, in a comfortable sit-down room rather than a counter. Book ahead and consider splitting a pizza and the burger.
Reserve direct; the Colony pie, the Detroit-style square, the Emmy Burger if it lasts.
6.Grimaldi's
The Dumbo coal-oven name under the Brooklyn Bridge; go for a classic whole-pie pizza and the tourist-strip energy.
Grimaldi's, on Front Street in Dumbo, is the coal-oven pizzeria that carries the old Grimaldi's name beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, a few steps from Patsy Grimaldi's later Juliana's. The kitchen sells classic coal-fired, thin-crust whole pies, no slices, with a bubbled, smoky char and straightforward toppings, in a busy, no-frills room that draws long lines of visitors. A pie runs around USD 20 to USD 26. It is more of a tourist landmark than a critics' darling, but the coal-oven pizza is the real thing, and the setting is hard to beat. It is the choice for a classic Dumbo pizza stop on a Brooklyn Bridge walk. Go off-peak to skip the longest queues.
Walk in off-peak; the classic Margherita, a topped whole pie, a riverside walk after.
How New York eats pizza
New York pizza runs on two traditions and a thousand corner slices. The coal-oven, thin-crust lineage traces back to the early-twentieth-century Brooklyn and Manhattan ovens and lives on in Dumbo at Grimaldi's and Juliana's, while the wood-fired wing, led by Lucali and Roberta's, brought a blistered, more Neapolitan-leaning pie to the conversation. Bridging them is Di Fara, the Midwood institution that has cooked classic New York round and Sicilian square since 1965, and newer rooms like Emily that added Detroit-style squares to the city's repertoire. Below the destination pizzerias sits the dollar-slice culture that no other city matches. For the global picture, see the best pizza restaurants worldwide and the sibling guide in Los Angeles.
Practically, the best rooms split into two camps. The walk-in cult spots, Lucali and Di Fara, take no reservations and reward patience, with Lucali running a same-day list and waits that can run for hours, cash-only and BYOB; go early or off-peak. The sit-down restaurants, Roberta's and Emily, take bookings and fill prime evenings, so reserve. Juliana's and Grimaldi's in Dumbo draw queues of visitors, so aim for an off-peak slot. Geography spreads the list across Carroll Gardens, Midwood, Dumbo, Bushwick and the West Village, so plan a route rather than hopping between them. For everything beyond pizza, from the tasting rooms to the steakhouses, the New York dining guide maps the city by neighbourhood and occasion.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for a real New York pizza
The Times Square slice windows. The by-the-slice counters along the main tourist drags trade on location, not craft. For a great quick slice, ride out to Di Fara or pick a serious neighbourhood pizzeria instead.
Lucali or Di Fara when you are in a hurry. These are slow, walk-in-only experiences built around a wait and a hand-finished pie, not a fast dinner. If you need pizza now, book Roberta's or Emily, or grab a slice at a reputable counter, and save the pilgrimages for a night with time to spare.
Frequently asked
What is the best pizza in New York City?
By broad critical consensus, Lucali in Carroll Gardens is the best pizza in the city, a thin, blistered, wood-fired pie from Mark Iacono served in a candlelit, cash-only room with no reservations and famously long waits. Its only real rivals for the title are Di Fara in Midwood, the 1965 institution founded by Domenico DeMarco, and Juliana's coal-oven pies in Dumbo. Choose Lucali for the cult experience and Di Fara for old-school Brooklyn tradition.
How much does pizza cost in New York City?
At these sit-down pizzerias, a whole pie runs roughly USD 20 to USD 32, sized to share between one and three people, so two people with a pie and a salad or two will land around USD 30 to USD 50 a head before drinks. Di Fara sells classic round and Sicilian square by the slice for a few dollars. Roberta's and Emily cost more once you add the pastas, small plates or a burger to the pizza.
Which New York pizzerias have no reservations or long lines?
Several of the city's best are walk-in only and worth the wait. Lucali takes no reservations and runs a same-day list, with waits that can stretch for hours, and it is cash-only and BYOB. Di Fara is a counter-service institution where the line moves slowly because each pie is finished by hand. Juliana's and Grimaldi's in Dumbo both draw long queues at peak times. Go early, go off-peak, and treat the wait as part of the New York pizza experience.
What styles of pizza are New York famous for?
Two traditions define the city. The coal-oven, thin-crust lineage runs from the old Brooklyn ovens through Grimaldi's and Juliana's in Dumbo. The wood-fired, blistered style is led by Lucali, while Di Fara bridges classic New York round and Sicilian square. Newer rooms add range: Roberta's brought Neapolitan-leaning wood-fired pies and the Bee Sting to Bushwick, and Emily popularised Detroit-style square pizza. Together they cover most of what New York pizza means.
Is New York still the best pizza city in America?
It remains the benchmark. New York's depth is unmatched, from the coal-oven classics of Dumbo to Lucali's cult wood-fired pies and Di Fara's six decades in Midwood, and the city defines the by-the-slice culture that the rest of the country imitates. Other cities, Los Angeles and Chicago among them, now make superb pizza in their own styles, but for sheer concentration of great pizzerias New York is still first. For the global view, see our worldwide pizza guide.
More pizza and Italian dining
More from RFK
Browse the full New York dining guide, compare the global picks in the best pizza worldwide and the best Italian restaurants in New York, see the best pizza in Los Angeles, plan a first date at Lucali or a solo dinner at Di Fara, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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