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American pizza has never been better. Italian immigrants brought pizza to the States in the early 20th century, where it was popularized as an affordable and adaptable dish, leading to the rise of iconic regional styles in New York, Chicago, Detroit, New Haven, and even California. Today, chefs keep pushing for pizza excellence, sometimes blending or breaking styles, incorporating modern baking techniques, and getting creative with toppings. With so much good pizza across the country, we’re naming the most compelling pizza destinations that you should add to your bucket list as part of our 2025 Global Tastemakers awards.
John’s of Bleecker Street (New York City)
Courtesy of John’s of Bleecker St.
New Yorkers have loud opinions about pizza, and one old-school favorite is John’s of Bleecker Street in the West Village. Immigrant Giovanni John Sasso founded the pizzeria in 1929, and it still draws a line down the block. Unlike most popular NYC pizza joints, there are no slices at John’s — pick up a whole pie to-go or sit in one of the scratched wooden booths for the full experience. The coal-fired brick ovens produce thin and foldable pizza in exemplary NYC style. Purists stick to plain cheese (pepperoni at most). You want ranch? Get outta here!
L’Industrie (Brooklyn)
Courtesy of Alec Sottosanti for L’industrie
Across the East River in Brooklyn, L’Industrie is from the cool new kids. Longtime friends Massimo Laveglia and Nick Baglivo set up shop in Williamsburg in 2017, followed by a second location in the West Village (just a five-minute walk from John’s). A straightforward slice storefront with a consistently long line, the pizza shop slings airy and crisp, NYC-style slices with Italian-leaning toppings: dots of ricotta, fresh basil leaves, burrata, prosciutto, truffle oil, and bacon and fig jam. Beyond pizza, they offer bombolone, soft serve gelato, and sandwich specials every Wednesday.
Bungalow by Middle Brow (Chicago)
Bungalow by Middle Brow offers a fresh take on Chicago’s tavern-style pizza. Middle Brow started as a brewery, then added natural wine and sourdough pizza, going all in on fermentation. Most of the week, the Neapolitan-ish pies rock local veggies, from pickled ramps with barbecue bacon to rainbow chard, green garlic, and goat cheese. The pizzeria specifically serves crunchy, cracker-thin, tavern-style pizza on Tuesdays, cut into small, snackable squares.
Buddy’s Pizza (Detroit)
Detroit-style pizza has had a boom across the country in the last decade, and the original name in Motor City is Buddy’s, revving since 1946. Founders Gus Guerra and Concetta “Connie” Piccinato — a Sicilian woman — borrowed steel pans from auto factories, creating the first square pizza in the U.S., so they say. It’s still a treat, flipping the order of toppings (pepperoni, brick cheese, then sauce), and hitting all those square corners and crispy edges.
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (New Haven, Connecticut)
Courtesy of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
Nobody does New Haven apizza (pronounced “ah-beetz”) like Frank Pepe, which recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary. Grandfather Frank immigrated from near Naples and fired up the ovens in 1925, introducing the now iconic, sweet and simple tomato pies, anchovies optional. The family still relies on cavernous coal-fired brick ovens, resulting in dramatically charred crusts with leopard spots. In addition to the tomato pie, don’t miss the sweet and briny white clam pizza – this is where the style originated.
Razza Pizza Artigianale (Jersey City)
Courtesy of Robin & Sue Photography for Razza
Some say that for the best pizza in New York, you have to go to New Jersey — and they mean Razza. Born and raised in Jersey, chef Dan Richer trained in Italy and has embraced an artisanal style with naturally leavened dough, topped with local and seasonal ingredients, puffed in a wood-fired oven. He’s spent years perfecting the Margherita, in addition to seasonal stunners, from grassy spring asparagus to sweet summer corn. Don’t skip over the salads and starters, including sourdough with a trio of house-cultured butters.
Quarter Sheets (Los Angeles)
Courtesy of Maggie Shannon for Quarter Sheets
Aaron Lindell makes the square pizza and 2023 F&W Best New Chef Hannah Ziskin takes the cake at Quarter Sheets, the hot restaurant and bakery in Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood. Lindell grew up in Michigan around Detroit-style, but he describes his pizza as definitively “Cali,” with a dough made with sourdough and whole wheat flour. Lindell makes three styles: “Detroit-ish” pan pizza, Sicilian-inspired tomato pies, and thin-crust bar pies. Despite introducing reservations in 2024, the mom-and-pop brick parlor is still a scene, especially on Friday nights.
Outta Sight (San Francisco)
Courtesy of Patricia Chang for Outta Sight Pizza
Some say it comes close to NYC, but chefs Eric Ehler and Peter Dorrance call their style San Francisco, taking inspiration from the flavors and cultures of the Bay Area. They launched Outta Sight as a pop-up in 2020 and opened up a brick-and-mortar in the Tenderloin neighborhood in 2022, followed by a second location in Chinatown. Ehler and Dorrance make their pizza with conventional yeast but let it ferment as long as sourdough, so the extra large crust is thin, crispy, and complex. In addition to their more classic pies topped with marinara or arrabiata sauce, their Grandma-style pizzas are often experimental, with toppings like peking duck and chicken tikka masala.
Rose Pizzeria (Berkeley)
Courtesy of Rose Pizzeria
Local and national critics have fallen for Rose Pizzeria, a darling blue cafe in Berkeley with a rose garden in the back. Wife Alexis Rorabaugh and husband Gerad Gobel pair natural wine with artisan pizza — a crunchy, original style that lands somewhere between Naples and NYC with sweet tomato and creamy white sauces. They’re not afraid of a little spice and pickles, punching up pepperoni with jalapeños or pork sausage with goat horn peppers, and contrasting creamy burrata with briny capers on the cult-favorite “She Wolf.”
Lovely’s Fifty Fifty (Portland, Oregon)
At Lovely’s Fifty Fifty, painter-turned-chef Sarah Minnick makes hyperlocal and super seasonal pizza and ice cream, a stunning combination in the Pacific Northwest. Think foraged chanterelle and morel mushrooms, and dark greens like kale and spigarello, all scattered with edible flowers, on a whole-grain sourdough crust. Always save room for ice cream, especially during strawberry season in Oregon.
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