The Best Pizzas in NYC, According to a Local Expert

There’s an easy solution any time you’re hungry in New York City: Grab a slice. If you live here, it’s a phrase you’ll likely act on as often as you hear it spoken. Pizza joints can be found on roughly every other block in the five boroughs, and a New York-style slice is the go-to answer when you’re in need of a late-night snack, quick dinner, or affordable lunch.

If you don’t live in The Big Apple, then trying out its famous pizza is of the utmost importance when you’re visiting. What natives and travelers alike both need to know, is where to find the best slices. 

Anonymous content creator @eatsbynyc has been reviewing and sharing their favorite food spots in NYC for several years, building up an audience of hundreds of thousands of followers, thanks to well-researched, dependable recommendations for everything from the best dumpling spots in the city to the best walk-in-only restaurants. 

Known only as “Eats by NYC,” this creator also updates their recommendations, giving more credibility to their suggestions and ensuring that viewers will have a delicious experience at each spot they suggest. Pizza lovers are in luck, because this account refreshed its list of the best pizzerias in the city earlier this year, and the top five spots all promise perfect pies.

Una Pizza Napoletana

Located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, this sleek, modern pizzeria is serving up — as its name implies — Neapolitan-style pizzas. Una Pizza Napoletana has received wide acclaim for chef Anthony Mangieri’s creations, including the title of best pizzeria in the world in 2024, according to 50 Top Pizza. 

A wood-fired oven churns out pizzas with an impossibly airy, chewy crust and those signature Neapolitan-style bubbles, and as Eats by NYC points out, this hotspot is focused on naturally leavened pies. Una Pizza Napoletana is a sit-down restaurant, so you won’t be able to grab a slice to go, but it’s absolutely worth snagging a table to try a margherita pizza that will transport you straight to Italy.

John’s of Bleecker Street

There are a few pizza places with “John” in their name across NYC, so make sure you’re going to John’s of Bleecker Street — located on Bleecker Street, of course. Eats by NYC points out that this “iconic spot is only serving pies, and they’ve been open since 1929.” John’s is dishing out more traditional New York-style pizzas, baked in a (very old) coal-fired oven. These pies will have a thinner crust around the edge, a crisp bottom, and a medium amount of chewiness.

Chrissy’s Pizza

You might encounter a line at this buzzy pizza spot that opened as a pop-up in 2021. In spite of its popularity, Chrissy’s isn’t fussy — it’s casual, with no seating, and only serves whole pies. Thanks to a 50+ hour cold ferment, its dough is deeply flavorful, and the sauce at Chrissy’s is also a standout, with many customers praising its balance of sweetness and acidity. If you need any extra reassurance that you should make a detour to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for this particular pizzeria, Eats by NYC confirms that it “lives up to the hype.”

L’Industrie Pizzeria

If you’ve asked someone what their favorite slice in Brooklyn is, it’s highly likely they’ve named this Williamsburg slice shop — although it does have a newer, second location in the West Village. With a thin, crisp crust; toppings ranging from classic to creative (like the fig jam and bacon slice that Eats by NYC recommends); and incredible ingredient quality, L’Industrie is loved for good reason. 

Chef Massimo Laveglia is responsible for each pie, which one Redditor says “is by far and away the best pizza by the slice I have ever had. It meets the hype and has raised the bar a bit too high for my liking.” Make sure you try the restaurant’s “New Yorker” pizza, which is topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, spicy sausage, fresh basil, and the most perfect, creamy dollops of ricotta. 

Lucali

Snagging a seat at Lucali in Carroll Gardens is no small feat, but it’s well worth the effort. If you want to get a table, you’ll need to show up around 3:30 p.m. to get in line to put your name on a waitlist. The host won’t start taking names for that waitlist until 5 p.m., at which point you’ll learn when you’ll actually be eating. If you want an early or prime dinner time, you should show up earlier than 3:30 p.m. to get in line. 

All that work will be rewarded once you take a bite of the crisp, chewy, Neapolitan-style crust that’s been cooked in Lucali’s wood-fired brick oven. Toppings are simple, and you can choose your own; there are no pre-set pizza options here. Lucali is a no-frills place that’s cash-only and BYOB, instead relying on the perfection of its humble pizzas to lure in celebrities, travelers, and locals alike.