We love spotlighting the country’s top restaurants and bars, but America’s best pizza spots bring us back down to earth.
What draws us in? The creative toppings at Bobby Jo's in Clintonville, Ohio (fresh sliced peaches! candied beef bacon!). The fermented sourdough crust at Bucky's in Chatham, New Jersey. The thin cracket crust that shatters to the bite at the Caradaro Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
You’ll find New York-style and Neapolitan. Detroit-style and Chicago-style (we've got more than one kind of Chicago-style). Bar pies and brick-oven pies. Celebrity-magnets and holes-in-the-wall.
Here are standout pizza restaurants across America, chosen by our USA TODAY Network food writers, that are worth the detour — or the pilgrimage.
Bibb Street Pizza Company | Montgomery, Alabama
Details: 424
Bibb St.; bibbstreetpizza.com
Serving customers is a passion for Bibb Street Pizza Company owner Ian Walters, whose specialty is New York-style pizza — made so that each large slice is easily foldable in the center, with crispy outer edges.— Shannon Heupel, Montgomery Advertiser
Via Della Slice Shop | Phoenix, Arizona
Details: 222 N. Fifth Ave., Phoenix; 602-341-6327; viadellapizza.com
The vibe in this essential restaurant is pure New York, from the slices themselves to the counter-service, casual vibe. The pies range from classic to super inventive, like the fan favorite Phoenix pizza made with spicy sopresatta, red peppers and hot honey. Its location near several music venues and clubs makes it a great pre-game stop on a night out. — Eddie Fontanez, The Arizona Republic
Giuseppes Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria | Palm Springs, California
Details: 1775 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #410; 760-537-1890; giuseppesrestaurants.com
But Giuseppes has set us straight: the Windy City is the source of several pizza varieties, two excellent examples of which are served at these spiffy restaurants. We usually opt for the Chicago pan pizza, which is similar to deep dish, but with a somewhat lighter and more doughy crust. Giuseppes also serves up a more standard hand-tossed crust, which is thinner and cut into squares. — Paul Albani-Burgio, The Desert Sun
Postcard Pizza | Fort Collins, Colorado
Details: 133 Remington St., Fort Collins, Colo.; 205-920-2988; postcard.pizza
Named one of USA TODAY's best restaurants in 2026, Postcard Pizza has become a go-to for its take on Detroit-style pizza. Operating out of Equinox Brewing, the pizzeria pairs the style's signature crispy edges and airy dough with globally inspired toppings: the Nashville Hot, which draws on the flavors of spicy fried chicken, and the Pineapple Bacon Jalapeño, a sweet-and-spicy combination finished with hot honey. — Abigail Flores-Johnson, The Coloradoan
Grotto Pizza, various locations in each county | Delaware
Details: grottopizza.com
Grotto, adored for its signature swirl of red sauce on its plain cheese pies, is so popular that it has attracted business from former president Joe Biden, who just stopped by in Wilmington in June, and Wilmington native Aubrey Plaza, who munched on Grotto Pizza in an October 2025 episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show" alongside the show host and Delaware actor Valerie Bertinelli. Founded in 1960 in Rehoboth Beach, Grotto Pizza has since grown into an empire with 16 locations around the state. — Andre Lamar, DelawareOnline.com
V Pizza | Jacksonville, Florida
Details: 7510 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, Fla.; 904-431-0833; vpizza.com
If your home oven could reach temperatures of 900 degrees, maybe you could make great pizzas too. That's how they do it at V Pizza, which grew from its original San Marco location to 13 restaurants. They have 17 specialty pies, all cooked in less than two minutes in that scorching-hot brick-lined oven. — Tom Szaroleta, The Florida Times-Union
FM Pizza Oven | Melbourne, Florida
Details: 1437 Highland Ave.; 321-241-4890; fmpizzaoven.com
Known for its authentic wood-fired pizzas, inventive ingredients- including vegan options, craft beer selection and a unique setting inside a converted bank building. —Amber Olesen, Florida Today
'O Munaciello | West Palm Beach, Florida
Details: 8170 Okeechobee Blvd.; 561-323-4799; munaciello.com
Ronnie and Tony Colletti, readers who recommended O' Munaciello, said it was "worth anyone's hard-earned pizza dollars." By the end of our meal, that didn't feel like a sales pitch. It felt like good advice. The restaurant traces its decades-old roots to Florence, Italy. Its Miami siblings recently tied for No. 11 in the 50 Top Pizza USA rankings, one of the world's most influential pizza guides. —Diana Biederman, Palm Beach Post
King Dough | Indianapolis, Indiana
Details: 452 N. Highland Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. 317-602-7960 and 12505 Old Meridian St., Carmel, Ind., 317-669-2201, kingdoughpizzas.com
There’s so much good stuff going on in the pizzas at King Dough. The relatively steep prices are supported by tangy, fundamentally sound Neapolitan-style dough stretched to an ambitious 18-inch diameter to accommodate all manner of colorful, locally sourced ingredients. The fungi Ricky lines aged mozzarella and cloudlike whipped ricotta with spinach, hearty mushrooms, pecorino and red pepper flakes. It’s bright and punchy and salty and not quite like anything I’d encountered before, a wonderful reminder of just how many exquisite pizzas are out there to try. — Bradley Hohulin, The Indianapolis Star
Great Plains Sauce and Dough Company | Ames, Iowa
Details: 129 Main St.; 515-232-4263; facebook.com
Walking in feels like stepping into a place that’s seen generations of students, families and regulars pass through. The menu leans into comfort — thick, chewy dough, generous toppings and a sauce that’s been a local talking point for years. Many people swear by the honey for dipping the crust, a tradition that’s become almost synonymous with the restaurant. — Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune
Taste of New York | West Des Moines, Iowa
Details: 769 S.E. Alice's Road, Waukee, 515-987-1585; 7450 Bridgewood Blvd., Suite 215, West Des Moines, 515-223-8669; The Pizza Bar, 1225 Copper Creek Drive, Pleasant Hill, 515-335-8388; tasteofnypizza.com or thepizzabaria.com.
Taste of New York brings classic New York-style pizza to the metro with foldable slices, crisp, chewy crusts and a 550-degree oven that delivers the perfect char. The style is true to its name: thin, lightly blistered, sturdy enough to fold and topped with balanced sauce and mozzarella. —Susan Stapleton, The Des Moines Register
Wayfarer Tavern | Dayton, Kentucky
Details: 635 Sixth Ave.; 859-360-0943,wayfarertavern.com.
Wayfarer Tavern, which opened in 2025, has already achieved legendary status among Greater Cincinnati pizza lovers. Owner Mike Dew has created a pizza all his own, a hybrid of Midwest tavern-style pizza with a bit of South Shore bar pizza (popular between South Boston and Cape Cod) and Detroit-style pizza in its DNA. Dew cooks his pies in a 1.5-inch-deep round, lipped pan so the cheese caramelizes along the edges, similar to a Detroit pizza. Similar to South Shore and Midwest Tavern pizzas, its crust is thin with just the right amount of chew. While the Korean Corn Cheese pizza and Pickle Power pizzas are customer favorites, the Meatwad − with meatballs, peppadew peppers, whipped ricotta, basil, red sauce and cheese − is not to be missed. — Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer
The Post | Louisville, Kentucky
Details: 1045 Goss Ave. and 1759 Bardstown Road, Louisville, Ky., thepostlouisville.com,
A 2025 Food Network roundup proclaimied that The Post serves the best slice of pizza in Kentucky. It opened in 2015 in a former VFW Post building and serves 12 varieties of New York-style pizzas in three sizes. Popular choices include "The Lone Wolf," topped with pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, green pepper, red onion, mushroom, and Kalamata olives. — Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal
Pinocchio's Pizza & Subs | Cambridge, Masschusetts
Details: 74 Winthrop St., Cambridge, Massachusetts; 617-876-4897; pinocchiospizza.net
The small, bustling pizza shop frequented by celebrities features simple tables, a service counter stacked with Sicilian and thin-crust pizzas, and a large hand-painted mural depicting Pinocchio eating pizza. Photos, memorabilia and signs of generations of student customers give the space the feel of a well-worn Harvard Square institution. – Joanna K. Tzouvelis, Wicked Local
Palio Pizzeria | Hyannis, Massachusetts
Details: 435 Main St.; 508-771-7004; paliopizzeria.com
The brick-oven pizza here is large and in charge, with a variety of specialty pizzas you won’t be able to resist. What will likely catch your eye more is the Cape Codder – a white-based pizza with minced garlic, mozzarella, lemon, and shrimp and clams. Yes, shrimp and clams. – Jason Savio, Cape Cod Times
Pizza e Vino | Plymouth, Michigan
Details: 849 Penniman Ave., Plymouth, Mich., pizzaevinoplymouth.com
There’s just one restaurant in metro Detroit that is VPN certified — a technical certification that qualifies a pizza as authentically Neapolitan style — and that is Pizza e Vino in Plymouth. Try pizzas with minimal toppings, such as soppressata and kalamata olives, pepperoni or the simplest of all, fior di latte and basil for a classic Margherita D.O.P. —Lyndsay Green, The Detroit Free Press
Bucky's Pizza | Chatham, New Jersey
Details: 465 Main St., Chatham; 973-200-2388, buckysrealgoodpizza.com.
Merging classic Garden State taste (salty cheese, signature sauce, orange grease) with fermented sourdough crust, the artisan pies layer nostalgic flavors over contemporary dough, making an old school-new school meal-de-force that locals can't get enough of. From the throwback decor to the 2026-ified chocolate chip cookies, this critically-acclaimed newcomer hits across all generations, and is sure to keep its trajectory for decades to come. — Kara VanDooijeweert, NorthJersey.com
Brooklyn Square Pizza, multiple locations
Details: 265 S. New Prospect Road, Jackson, 732-961-7999; 73 Wilson Ave., Manalapan, 732-851-7599; 1898 Hinds Road, Toms River, 732-769-6333; 1026 Broad St., Shrewsbury, 732-935-1380; 56 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst section of Ocean Township; 908-588-2533 (Kosher Square Pizza); 812 Main St., Bradley Beach, 732-988-8500; 460 Route 520, Marlboro, 732-351-7070; brooklynsquarenj.com
If you had an Italian grandmother who made pizza from scratch (or wish you did), the upside down pizza at Brooklyn Square Pizza delivers that taste. The shop's signature pie is thick without being heavy — on the contrary, it's airy and fluffy, with perfectly crisp edges — and topped with melty fresh mozzarella and a blanket of housemade tomato sauce. It's the kind of pizza you just can't stop eating. —Sarah Griesemer, Asbury Park Press
Peels on Wheels Pizza Garage | Rochester, New York
Details: 1157 Culver Road; 585-355-411; peelsonwheelspizza.com
The Peels on Wheels Pizza Garage is a farm-to-table pizzeria that makes four styles of naturally leavened sourdough pizzas: Thin New York-style rounds and the thicker Detroit, Sicilian and Grandma rectangular styles. All have different dough recipe. It sources its meat proteins, vegetables and herbs from local sustainable farmers. On nice days, its front garage door is open and red woven lawn chairs are lined up, something that reminds owner Luis Perez of his childhood in New York City. — Tracy Schuhmacher, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
828 Family Pizzeria | Asheville, North Carolina
Details: 946 Merrimon Ave.; 828-285-0709; 828pizzeria.com
An Italian-American family's pizza-making tradition has carried on from 1933 in Harlem and Queens, New York, to Asheville, North Carolina, where they've tossed pies since 1994. Cheese, Greek and kale pizzas are customer favorites, or cozy up to a nostalgic helping of lasagna, made with ricotta and mozzarella cheese with marinara or Bolognese sauce. — Tiana Kennell, Asheville Citizen Times
Girls with Dough Pizzeria & Pub | Wilmington, North Carolina
Details: 204 Arcadian Row, Wilmington, NC
Girls with Dough took home the most votes — 46.7 percent — for best pizza in our recent readers' poll. Owner Tammy Tilghman said the crust (made with a secret ingredient) and a mix of traditional and creative pizzas are what sets her restaurant apart. The results are a crispy base for everything from pepperoni to fig jam. — Allison Ballard, Wilmington StarNews
Bobby Jo's Pizzeria | Clintonville, Ohio
Details: 5225 N. High St.; 614-396-7802; bobbyjospizza.com
"We get bored easily, so don't be surprised when our menu is different than the last time you came in," owner Danny Phillips warns customers at Bobby Jo's, a pizzeria that operates from the kitchen at Donerick's Pub in Clintonville. The latest in a steady string of innovative specialty pies is The Golden Hour, topped with fresh sliced peaches, candied beef bacon, ricotta cheese, candied jalapenos from Columbus' Candy Coins, hot honey from Columbus' Black Cap Hot Sauce, pink corn and cilantro. —Bob Vitale, The Columbus Dispatch
Dado's Pizza | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Details: 10942 N. May Ave.; 405-367-8707, dadospizzaokc.com
Small but mighty, Dado's may be a laid-back pizza shop, but it isn't casual about it’s New York-style pies. They have it down to a literal science, having installed a special system that treats their water and provides them with a finished product that matches the mineral content of the water in NYC. They mean business when it comes to making New York-style pizza correctly—JaNae Williams, The Oklahoman
Pasquale’s Pizzeria Napoletana | South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Details: 59 South County Commons Way, South Kingstown, RI; 401-783-2900; pasqualespizzeriari.com
For the fifth straight year, Pasquale’s Pizzeria Napoletana made the top 15 in the prestigious international pizza ranking of the 2026 50 Top Pizza in the United States. From the classic Neapolitan Pizza Margherita topped with San Marzano tomatoes simply crushed and salted, basil leaves, fior di latte mozzarella – imported from Italy – and extra virgin olive oil to the popular Carni pizza with sausage, meatball, salame and bacon, there's an option for everyone. – Gail Ciampa, Providence Journal
Totally Rad Pizza | Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Details: 196 E. Sixth St., Sioux Falls, S.D., 605-789-2014, totallyradpizzasf.com.
It’s pizza, pinball and vinyl spinning with tap beer in one hand and a cheesy slice in the other. Like a Saturday night in the ’90s, Totally Rad Pizza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is where the cool kids hang out past curfew. Try the hot pies with high-end ingredients like Ezzo pepperoni, Porcellino Diablo salami, Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes and homemade pickled chiles. Play darts, snuggle up in the photo booth and chill. —Angela George, Argus Leader
Garibaldi's Pizza | Memphis, Tennessee
Details: 3530 Walker Ave., 764 Mount Moriah and 7521 Queens Court (Germantown); garibaldispizza.com
A fixture of Memphis for more than 50 years, Garibaldi's, the winner of The Commercial Appeal's Best Pizza in Memphis bracket, takes great care in its pizza prep, hand-tossing its dough made with top-quality ingredients sourced from across the country. They've stayed true to their hand-tossed, scratch-made methods, which is what's kept generations coming back for more over all these decades. — Brian Strickland, Commercial Appeal
Caradaro Club | Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Details: 5010 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 414-476-7700; caradaroclubpizza.com.
Pizza had never been served in Milwaukee until 1945, when Caradaro Club opened its doors. In advertisements, the new tavern touted its "famous Italian delicacy" and became an instant hit. Eighty-one years later, the restaurant is still going strong (albeit in a different location; the original burned in 1978), serving the same recipe that became the foundation for Milwaukee-style pizza: a crackery crust so thin it shatters to the bite, sliced into "junior cut" squares (easier to hold a slice in one hand and a beer in the other) and preferably topped with Milwaukee pizza's holy trinity of sausage, mushroom and onion (aptly called "The Classic" at Caradaro). The pizzeria oozes with charm: checkered floors, plastic red drinking cups on each table and children's drawings of fluorescent-colored pizza slices displayed on the walls like fine art. —Rachel Bernhard, Milwaukee Sentinel Journal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Looking for the best pizza? Here's what our food writers recommend
