Best Pizza Places in New York City: Where to Go for a Proper Slice
Words by
James Williams
The Best Pizza Places in New York City: Where to Go for a Proper Slice
I have spent the better part of fifteen years eating my way through every borough of this city, and I can tell you without hesitation that the best pizza places in New York City are not the ones with the longest lines or the most Instagram tags. They are the ones where the guy behind the counter has been pulling pies out of the same oven since before you were born, where the sauce recipe has not changed in decades, and where the slice costs what it should cost. This is not a list of trendy spots or celebrity chef outposts. This is a working guide to where New Yorkers actually go when they want a proper slice, written by someone who has stood in line in the rain at 2 a.m. and considered it time well spent.
New York City pizza guide entries tend to recycle the same five names, but the real story is much deeper. From the coal-fired ovens of Brooklyn to the old-school slice shops of the East Village, the city's pizza culture is a living archive of immigration, neighborhood identity, and stubborn pride. Every borough has its own style, its own arguments, and its own legends. What follows is the result of years of personal exploration, arguments with friends, and more slices than I care to count.
1. Di Fara Pizza, Midwood, Brooklyn
1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY 11230
Di Fara is the kind of place that makes people drive from three boroughs and wait forty minutes without complaint. Dom DeMarco opened this shop in 1965, and for decades he made every single pie himself, hand-grating the mozzarella, trimming the basil, and drizzling the olive oil with the focus of a surgeon. He passed away in 2022, but the family kept the operation running, and the pies still carry that obsessive attention to detail.
The Vibe? A tiny, no-frills corner shop where the line moves slowly and nobody seems to mind.
The Bill? A plain slice runs about $5.50, and a whole pie will set you back around $30 to $35 depending on toppings.
The Standout? The square Sicilian slice with fresh basil and a generous pour of olive oil. It is the single best slice I have eaten in my entire life, and I do not say that lightly.
The Catch? The wait can stretch past an hour on weekends, and there is zero seating. You eat standing on the sidewalk or in your car.
Local Tip: Go on a weekday afternoon between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The line is shortest then, and you will often get a slice that just came out of the oven. Most tourists show up on Saturday evening and regret it.
What makes Di Fara essential to the broader story of New York City is its connection to the Italian immigrant experience in Brooklyn. Midwood was once a heavily Italian neighborhood, and Di Fara survived the demographic shifts, the rise of chain pizza, and the gentrification that transformed surrounding blocks. It is a monument to one man's refusal to cut corners, and every bite tells that story.
2. Lucali, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
575 Henry Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Lucali is the pizza place that made the rest of the country pay attention to Brooklyn's food scene again. Mark Iacono opened it in 2006 in a former candy store, and from day one the lines wrapped around the block. The space is intimate, maybe thirty seats, with a candlelit bar and a visible kitchen where you can watch the pies being built. The crust is thin but sturdy, the sauce is sweet and bright, and the basil is applied with a generosity that borders on reckless.
The Vibe? Romantic, loud, and slightly chaotic. You will be sitting close to strangers, and that is part of the experience.
The Bill? A plain margherita pie is about $28, and with toppings you are looking at $32 to $35. It is not cheap, but the quality justifies it.
The Standout? The pepperoni pie. The cups of pepperoni curl up and crisp at the edges, collecting little pools of rendered fat that soak into the cheese. It is obscene in the best possible way.
The Catch? There is no phone, no reservations, and no online ordering. You show up, put your name on a chalkboard, and wait. On a Friday night, that wait can hit two hours.
Local Tip: Arrive by 4:30 p.m. on a weekday and you will often be seated within twenty minutes. The chalkboard fills up fast after 5 p.m., and once your name is on it, you cannot leave the immediate area or you risk losing your spot.
Lucali represents a specific moment in New York City's culinary history, the early 2000s wave of Brooklyn artisanal food culture that brought national media attention to neighborhoods like Carroll Gardens. It proved that a pizza shop could be both a neighborhood institution and a destination, and it inspired a generation of wood-fired pizza places across the city.
3. Joe's Pizza, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
7 Carmine Street, New York, NY 10014
If you ask a New Yorker to name one slice shop, there is a good chance they will say Joe's. This Greenwich Village institution has been serving no-nonsense, foldable New York slices since 1975. The cheese is the right level of greasy, the sauce has a gentle sweetness, and the crust shatters just enough when you bite into it. There is nothing fancy about Joe's, and that is exactly the point.
The Vibe? Fast, loud, and efficient. You order, you pay, you eat on the sidewalk. Nobody is here for the ambiance.
The Bill? A plain cheese slice is $3.50, and a pepperoni slice is $4. Two slices and a soda will run you about $9, which is practically a steal by Manhattan standards.
The Standout? The classic cheese slice, eaten immediately while the cheese is still molten. Add a little crushed red pepper and you have the definitive New York City pizza experience.
The Catch? The shop is tiny, and during the lunch rush the line spills onto Carmine Street. There is no bathroom, no seating, and the staff will not hold your slice while you figure out what you want.
Local Tip: The original Carmine Street location is the one to go to. There are now multiple Joe's Pizza locations around the city, and while they are decent, the original has a consistency and character that the satellites cannot replicate. Also, the late-night crowd after the bars close is a spectacle worth witnessing, even if you are not eating.
Joe's Pizza is woven into the cultural fabric of Greenwich Village in a way that few food establishments are. It has appeared in movies, been referenced in songs, and served as a late-night refuge for generations of NYU students, artists, and night shift workers. It is the baseline against which every other slice shop in Manhattan is measured.
4. L&B Spumoni Gardens, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
2725 86th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11223
L&B Spumoni Gardens is not just a pizza place. It is a Bensonhurst institution that has been operating since 1939, and it serves what many consider the definitive Sicilian slice in all of New York City. The square pies here are thick, airy, and layered in a specific order that defies conventional pizza logic. The cheese goes on first, then the sauce goes on top of the cheese. This sounds wrong until you taste it, and then it makes perfect sense.
The Vibe? A sprawling outdoor seating area with long communal tables, fluorescent lighting, and a constant hum of Italian and English being spoken simultaneously.
The Bill? A Sicilian slice is about $4.50, and a full square pie runs around $22 to $26. The spumoni ice cream, which gives the place half its name, is a few dollars more and worth every cent.
The Standout? The Sicilian slice with extra sauce on top. The crust is pillowy on the inside and crispy on the bottom, and the sauce-on-cheese construction creates a texture that you cannot get anywhere else.
The Catch? The outdoor seating area gets extremely crowded on summer weekends, and the wait for a table can be long. Also, the location is deep in Bensonhurst, which means a solid thirty to forty minute subway ride from Manhattan.
Local Tip: Order the ices along with your pizza. The lemon ice at L&B is legendary, and the combination of a hot Sicilian slice and a cold cup of lemon ice is one of the great summer experiences in New York City. Most tourists skip the ices entirely, which is a mistake.
L&B Spumoni Gardens is a direct link to the old Italian-American community of Bensonhurst, a neighborhood that was once one of the largest Italian enclaves in the United States. The shop has survived decades of change, and its continued existence is a testament to the loyalty of the community that built it.
5. Prince Street Pizza, Nolita, Manhattan
27 Prince Street, New York, NY 10012
Prince Street Pizza became famous almost overnight thanks to its spicy spring square, a Sicilian-style pepperoni pie with a drizzle of spicy honey that took social media by storm. But the hype is not just hype. The pie is genuinely excellent, with a thick, focaccia-like crust, cups of crispy pepperoni, and a sweet-heat finish that keeps you coming back for another bite. The shop itself is small, loud, and perpetually packed.
The Vibe? Energetic and cramped. You will be shoulder to shoulder with other customers, and the line moves fast but never stops.
The Bill? A spicy spring slice is $5.50, and a plain cheese slice is $4. A whole spicy spring pie is about $30.
The Standout? The spicy spring square, obviously. But the plain margherita slice is also outstanding, with a bright tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella that holds its own against the more famous pepperoni option.
The Catch? The line can be brutal on weekends, especially between noon and 3 p.m. The shop is also quite small, so if you are hoping to sit down and eat, you will likely be disappointed. Most people take their slices to go.
Local Tip: If you want to avoid the worst of the line, go on a weekday morning around 10:30 a.m., right when they open. You will get a fresh slice with zero wait, and you can eat it while walking through Nolita, which is one of the most pleasant neighborhoods in Manhattan for a morning stroll.
Prince Street Pizza represents the modern era of New York City pizza, where a single viral item can transform a small slice shop into a citywide phenomenon. It sits at the intersection of old-school technique and new-age marketing, and it has earned its place among the top pizza restaurants New York City has to offer.
6. Totonno's, Coney Island, Brooklyn
1524 Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224
Totonno's has been making coal-oven pizza in Coney Island since 1924, and walking into the place feels like stepping into a time machine. The coal oven gives the crust a char and smokiness that gas and electric ovens simply cannot replicate. The pies are hand-stretched, the sauce is made fresh daily, and the mozzarella is applied in irregular clumps that melt into uneven pockets of cheese. It is imperfect in the most beautiful way.
The Vibe? Old-school and unhurried. The dining room has a worn-in feel, with wooden tables and a sense that nothing has changed in decades.
The Bill? A plain pie is about $20, and with toppings you are looking at $24 to $28. Slices are not always available, so call ahead if that is what you are after.
The Standout? The white clam pie, which features fresh clams, garlic, olive oil, and oregano on a thin, charred crust. It is one of the most distinctive pizzas in the city.
The Catch? Totonno's has faced multiple closures over the years due to damage from Hurricane Sandy and a fire in 2019. It has reopened each time, but hours can be inconsistent, so always check before making the trip. Also, the Coney Island location is far from most tourist areas, and the surrounding neighborhood, while improving, is still a bit rough around the edges.
Local Tip: Combine your visit with a walk on the Coney Island boardwalk. The pizza is the main event, but the full experience of eating a coal-oven pie and then strolling past the amusement rides and the Atlantic Ocean is something that no other pizza place in the city can offer.
Totonno's is a living piece of New York City history. It survived the decline of Coney Island, the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, and the pressures of modern development. Every pie that comes out of that coal oven is a small act of resistance against the homogenization of the city's food culture.
7. Scarr's Pizza, Lower East Side, Manhattan
35 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
Scarr's is the pizza place that the Lower East Side needed. Opened in 2016 in a former barbershop, it quickly became a neighborhood favorite thanks to its hand-milled flour, fermented dough, and a commitment to quality that you can taste in every bite. The crust has a sourdough tang that sets it apart from most slice shops, and the toppings are sourced with care. The space itself is cool without trying too hard, with exposed brick, a visible milling station, and a bar that serves solid cocktails.
The Vibe? Hip but not pretentious. The kind of place where you might see a construction worker sitting next to a fashion editor.
The Bill? Slices range from $4 to $6, and whole pies are $22 to $28. A beer is about $7, and a cocktail will run you $14 to $16.
The Standout? The pepperoni slice, which has a spicy, slightly funky pepperoni that crisps up beautifully. The margherita is also excellent, with a bright sauce and fresh basil that tastes like it was picked that morning.
The Catch? The space is small and gets very crowded during peak hours. The Wi-Fi is unreliable, so do not plan on working from your laptop. Also, the line can back up to the door on weekend evenings.
Local Tip: Go during off-peak hours, ideally a weekday late afternoon, and sit at the bar. The bartenders are knowledgeable, the cocktail list is surprisingly good for a pizza place, and you will get a much more relaxed experience than the dinner rush crowd.
Scarr's represents the new wave of New York City pizza, where traditional techniques meet modern sensibilities. It sits in the heart of the Lower East Side, a neighborhood that has been shaped by successive waves of immigrants, and it carries forward the tradition of making great pizza accessible to everyone.
8. L'Industrie Pickerie, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
254 S 2nd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211
L'Industrie Pizzeria opened in 2018 and almost immediately became one of the most talked-about pizza places in Brooklyn. The owner, Massimo Lanzetta, brought a meticulous approach to every element of the pie, from the long-fermented dough to the carefully sourced toppings. The result is a slice that is light, complex, and deeply satisfying. The burrata slice, with its creamy center and bright tomato sauce, became an instant classic.
The Vibe? Casual and neighborhood-oriented. The shop is small, with a few seats and a counter where you can watch the pizzas being made.
The Bill? Slices range from $4.50 to $7, with the burrata slice at the higher end. A whole pie is $24 to $30.
The Standout? The burrata slice. The combination of the creamy, rich burrata with the tangy sauce and the crispy crust is something I think about more often than I would like to admit.
The Catch? The shop is small and does not take reservations. On weekends, the line can stretch down the block, and once they sell out of a particular slice, it is gone for the day. Also, the Williamsburg location means you are in one of the most congested parts of Brooklyn on a Friday or Saturday night.
Local Tip: Follow their social media accounts, where they post daily updates on what slices are available and when they are likely to sell out. This simple habit will save you a lot of frustration and ensure you get exactly what you came for.
L'Industrie is part of the ongoing evolution of Williamsburg from a working-class neighborhood into one of the most food-forward communities in the city. It shows that the tradition of great New York pizza is not static, it is constantly being reinterpreted by new generations of pizzaiolos who bring their own influences and techniques to the craft.
When to Go and What to Know
If you are planning a pizza-focused trip to New York City, timing matters more than you might think. Weekday afternoons between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. are the golden hours for most slice shops. The lunch rush has died down, the dinner crowd has not yet arrived, and you will often get a fresh pie with minimal wait. Weekends are a different story entirely. Saturday and Sunday evenings are when every popular spot in the city hits peak capacity, and waits of an hour or more are common.
Cash is still king at many of the older spots. While most places now accept cards, having a twenty-dollar bill in your pocket will make your life easier at places like Joe's and L&B. Tipping is standard, and 18 to 20 percent is the norm for sit-down places like Lucali and Totonno's. For slice shops where you order at the counter, a dollar or two in the tip jar is appreciated but not expected.
The subway is your best friend for this kind of exploration. Almost every place on this list is within a short walk of a subway station, and the experience of emerging from underground into a new neighborhood with a specific pizza destination in mind is one of the great pleasures of being in New York City. Do not rely on rideshares for short distances in Manhattan, you will spend more time in traffic than you would walking.
Finally, do not try to hit more than two or three pizza places in a single day. This sounds obvious, but I have watched tourists attempt five or six stops and end up too full to properly appreciate any of them. Pizza is best enjoyed when you are hungry, and pacing yourself will make the entire experience better.
Frequently Asked Questions
How easy is it to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in New York City?
New York City has one of the highest concentrations of vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the United States, with over 100 fully vegan establishments and countless others offering plant-based options. Neighborhoods like the East Village, Williamsburg, and the Lower East Side have particularly high densities of vegan-friendly spots. Most traditional pizza shops also offer plain cheese or margherata slices that are naturally vegetarian, and an increasing number of places now carry vegan cheese options. You will not go hungry regardless of your dietary preference.
Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in New York City?
There are virtually no dress codes at casual dining spots, slice shops, or neighborhood restaurants in New York City. You will see people in everything from suits to gym clothes at the same counter. The main etiquette to observe is efficiency at slice shops, know what you want when you reach the counter, have your payment ready, and move aside so the next person can order. At sit-down places, tipping 18 to 20 percent is standard and expected. Holding up a long line by deliberating over your order is the quickest way to annoy everyone around you.
What is the one must-try local specialty food or drink that New York City is famous for?
The New York City slice, a large, thin-crust pizza slice sold by the piece and meant to be folded in half while eating, is the city's most iconic food. It is available at thousands of shops across all five boroughs, and the style is defined by its thin, pliable crust, tangy tomato sauce, and generous layer of melted mozzarella. Beyond pizza, the city's bagels, made with New York City water and boiled before baking, are another signature item that visitors should not miss. Black and white cookies, egg creams, and pastrami sandwiches from classic delis round out the essential New York food experience.
Is the tap water in New York City safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?
New York City tap water is not only safe to drink, it is widely considered some of the best municipal water in the country. It comes from a protected watershed in the Catskill Mountains and is delivered to the city through a gravity-fed system that requires minimal filtration. The city's Department of Environmental Protection conducts over 600,000 water quality tests per year, and the water consistently meets or exceeds all federal and state safety standards. Travelers can drink tap water from any faucet, fountain, or public water source in the city without concern.
Is New York City expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers?
A mid-tier daily budget for New York City runs approximately $200 to $350 per person, excluding accommodation. A hotel in a decent Manhattan location averages $200 to $350 per night, while Brooklyn and Queens options can be found for $150 to $250. Meals for a mid-tier traveler typically cost $15 to $25 per casual meal, $40 to $70 per sit-down restaurant meal, and $5 to $10 for a slice or street food. A single subway ride costs $2.90, and an unlimited MetroCard for seven days is $34. Budget an additional $30 to $50 per day for attractions, coffee, and incidental expenses.
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