Best New York Pizza
Generally speaking, I see pizza…I eat pizza. But as a New Yorker, I do get a little snobbish. The holy trinity of dough, sauce, and cheese mustn’t be besmirched.
For the pizza loving residents and tourists, you’ll want to keep reading. Because I have been to nearly every worthwhile pizzeria in this fine city. And I’d love to share my favorites with you. But first, I’d like to get something off my chest.
In New York it’s hard to have truly BAD pizza. Unless you’re ordering from your budget chain “pizzeria.” The ones offering their oh so delicious cardboard pizza topped with ketchup and flavorless cheese. Real pizza doesn’t need a dipping sauce!
There’s infinitely better (reasonably priced) options just minutes away from your respective apartment or hotel. So, if you’re one of these unfortunate souls whom makes a sober decision to order from these establishments, my list below is simply NOT for you. But hey, thanks for reading this far! One last thing while I’m up here on my soapbox…
With the emergence of social media influencers, it’s easy to be duped by close-up, well lit, over-saturated “pizza porn.” What you may not know, is that some of these Instagrammers are invited by establishments to publicize their business on social media. Many of these influencers are themselves influenced by these restaurants to write favorable captions and reviews to accompany their perfectly edited food pic. This trend is pervasive and growing! As somebody who has worked in marketing and advertising for years, I can speak from experience. But I can assure you, I’m no sell out.
Cheese pull looks sexy whether it’s dollar pizza or da Michele. So who could blame you for being manipulated? When there is a screen separating you from reality, it’s all about what looks good and your primal desires fill in the rest for your hungry mind. There’s a study that shows cheese triggers the same part of the brain as drugs!
If you respect good pizza and want to know where the best New York pizza is according to an uncompromised, seasoned pizza eater; then this list is FOR YOU!
Joe’s Pizza didn’t make my top 5 list. But it’s one of my favorites.
I decided I would ramble at the start of this list in order to eliminate the procrastinators. Those with short attention spans won’t have the patience to wait on line for some of these pizzerias. We live in an age where it’s near impossible to keep a secret, especially when the pizza is worthy of recognition. So if waiting over an hour on line for some of the best pizza you’ve ever had sounds tolerable, then I’m talking to the right crowd at this point.
Ok, now I’m approaching pontification at this point. So without further ado, here’s my 5 favorite pizzas in New York.
PRINCE ST. PIZZA
Ah many a good memory here. I used to live just a few blocks from this place. This is going back several years. The pizzeria was nowhere near as popular as it is now. So, although I don’t like waiting in long lines, I am happy they’re getting the recognition they deserve!
This pizzeria is worth it’s Instagram hype. It just so happens that every unoriginal New York food blogger will post about this place. And likely it’ll be the photogenic SoHo Square. Or what New Yorker’s just call a Sicilian slice. But this is no ordinary slice. Savory sauce, quality cheese, and a nice crunch is already worth waiting for outside in the freezing cold. But it’s the hot pepper oil and the little button pepperoni (you know it’s real when it shrivels up like that) that takes this pizza from good to great!
It’s no real fault of the pizzeria but they’re a small establishment. So there’s no tables, but there is very limited counter space on the periphery. I don’t recommend eating inside even if you manage to snag a space along the wall. People like to body check you in the gut mid chew just to make sure you’re paying attention. It’s the New York way!
I recommend taking the pizza to go.
“Aaay eat while you walk. Like a true New Yorker! Time is money.”
Not when it’s cold out, no thanks…So that’s a negative for me. If I’m eating delicious pizza I want to enjoy it at it’s fullest capacity. In a nice, warm pizzeria. I’m high maintenance, what can I say.
Also, this pizza is oily. Make sure you have a handful of napkins on deck. Especially for those looking to ‘gram and eat. You know you want to. It’s like how selfies used to be a really strange phenomenon. Now your mother takes them with no f***s given. Taking pictures of your food has not reached full adoption yet. You may still get some judgmental looks from fellow food goers; the ones who are unshackled by the allure of social media.
RIBALTA
Ribalta is in the heart of Union Square. After you bypass the subway creatures at 14th street, make a b-line straight to one of my favorite restaurants.
Ribalta uses limited but well-balanced, high quality toppings. This is the authentic Italian way. Simple is better. And you don’t get carbo loaded, zombified side-effects like American style pizza. Come on America, I’m not an endurance athlete. I shouldn’t be punished for eating a pizza.
The best way to describe this pizza is authentic. And that’s about as great an honor as I can give. One bite and I’m transported back to Italy. That’s impressive. And it’s all due to the insane attention to detail. The ingredients are shipped direct from Italy via cargo ship.
The only negative I can find with this restaurant is that they get PACKED. Especially during Napoli games. If you’re hoping to have lunch on the weekend, good luck. Make sure you check the Serie A schedule before daydreaming of whether you’ll get the pizza rossa or bianca today.
Sempre forza Roma!
I will say that the owners, Rosario and Pasquale are hospitable especially for somebody like me who is an unabashed Romanista (Roma fan). Napoli are bitter rivals. But they keep it strictly business and for that I have respect for them.
SONG’ E NAPULE
If you’re looking for a more low key ambiance that’s no frills, just awesome pizza; look no further than Song’ E Napule. It’s a tiny restaurant in the heart of Greenwich village. A real gem considering the dearth of restaurants looking to rip you off in this ritzy neighborhood of New York.
The owner Ciro is from Napoli. And it’s impossible not to notice. There’s enough Napoli memorabilia in this place that I thought I had stumbled into a church of Maradona. And if you know anything about calcio (soccer), you’d be hard pressed to find a more cherished man in all of Napoli than "El Pibe de Oro.”
Comparable in quality to Ribalta, Song' E Napule is slinging amazing authentic style pizza pies.
Like real Neapolitans they offer a pie with anchovies. If you don’t like anchovies, I don’t know if we can ever be friends. It’s just so good. I mean the sight of fish on your pizza is a little strange, ok. But the flavor is incredible! That umami as the Japanese call it; that element of flavor that takes food to even greater heights. It’s the very example of how food can be such a sensual rush. I’m hungry just typing this.
Song’ E Napule is the cheapest of the authentic style pizzas on this list. But they’re not skimping on quality. So this restaurant is a real treasure. They also gave me a complimentary panna cotta for dessert. The little things don’t go unnoticed with me. This relatively new restaurant will stake it’s claim in New York in no time!
Complimentary chocolate panna cotta.
DI FARA
Nectar of the Gods, my friends. There’s no greater comfort food. The undisputed king of pizza. The owner Domenico “Dom” De Marco is a pizza making legend.
When you take a bite of his pizza, you’re tasting sheer mastery of a 50+ year old craft. That’s dedication and love of cooking. Dom is not only a modest, kind soul but a true pizzaiolo!
Each pizza pie is hand crafted by Dom. With assistance from his family, he churns out about 150 pies daily. Di Fara’s 54 year old retro oven is equally as seasoned. Quite literally. All that seasoning from the numerous pizzas cooked over the years add complex flavors that’s unmatched by competitors. You can’t discount that flavor enhancer. Many of the ingredients are imported from Italy too.
It’s worth venturing out to the Bermuda Triangle. I mean…Midwood, Brooklyn. This might be THE most random location, but then again this pizzeria has been around since 1965. Maybe Midwood was a happening area back then (doubtful).
Di Fara is by far the longest wait for pizza. Longer than I care to admit. Hours. I’ll leave it at that. I dragged my poor non-foodie sister out to the middle of Brooklyn to wait on line with me.
“It’ll be fun he said. The pizza is worth it he said.”
Isaac’s chocolate babka. So good!
But I particularly don’t mind the wait because I just go across the street to Isaac’s Bake Shop. They have amazing Jewish pastries on offer. A good way to pass the time.
Lastly, Di Fara is by no means cheap. A classic pie will set you back $28. But you can’t put a price on excellence. Budget so that you can feast like a king every once in a while! It’s cash only so come correct.
I have one friend in mind who swears this is better than Di Fara…You know who you are. That’s nonsense. Now, that’s not to say that Lucali is not worthy of your time. The pizza is sublime and there’s a great ambiance here. Lucali is worth the trek to Carroll Gardens. A slightly more convenient part of Brooklyn than Di Fara, but a pain in the ass nonetheless.
At this cash only restaurant, less is more. Their intimate space is open to the evening and they’re cool with BYOB. So, the move is to put your name down at the door. While you wait, one from your crew walks a few blocks to a liquor store and picks out a great Italian wine on the cheap.
The open air kitchen is front and center for all to see. There’s limited, fresh ingredients to ensure that every pizza is of the highest order. So, sorry no pineapple pizza here folks (y tho?).
Not really a negative because it’s near impossible to find anything bad to say about this place, but the lighting is not good. If you’re expecting to take a decent photo…think again. Unless you’re that obnoxious person using flash. I didn’t because even I have standards. But I did bring my Canon DSLR where the lens captures a lot more light than your average smartphone. If you don’t have a fancy camera, you’ll just have to enjoy your pizza living in the moment. You know what…bravo, Lucali. I respect that.
While others indulged, please consider this perfectionist (hint: me) who had to ensure he got the proper angle for the blog, thus rendering his pizza cold. Life of a food blogger. My immigrant grandfather is rolling in his grave. Us millennials are soft like pizza dough. But whatever, I’m happy. That’s what life’s about. Eat pizza. Be happy. Life is too short to eat dollar pizza.
If you’re wondering why I’ve omitted some of your favorites. Well, not only did I try to limit this list to just 5 (which is near impossible), but I have a proclivity towards authentic Italian pizza. I used to live in Rome, Italy when I was in college. When you’re used to eating well so often, you grow accustomed to the ingredients and techniques of the OG pizzaioli. Italy ruined me in a way. Eating well became an essential part of a life lived well. Oh and now I have to have dessert with every meal. Cuz dolce ammirite?!
Maybe life would be easier if I had never been exposed to these high standards of pizza. Dollar pizza would be the greatest thing since slice bread. But that’s not me. It’s like in the Matrix, when Neo is given a choice of which pill to take. Blue pill and you’ll continue to live in a world devoid of gastronomic nirvana, or the red pill. The pizza rabbit hole. The constant pursuit of the best.
Some honorable mentions are Joe’s Pizza, NY Pizza Suprema, Don Antonio, Juliana’s, and Lombardis for the historical factor.
So that’s my list! Hope you enjoyed it. If I’ve missed a few of your favorites, do let me know. Although I know New York pizza well, I can’t pretend to know everything! Thanks for reading.
