NYCGuide
The Best New Pizza In NYC
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
The relationship you’ve built with your favorite pizza will outlast apartment leases, mayoral administrations, and, possibly, many romantic partnerships. But just because you have a good thing going with your slice spot doesn’t mean there’s no room to experience the newest options in the city. What we’re saying is, you’re in an open pizza relationship now. Here are the best new pizza places in NYC.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Emily Schindler
This Lower East Side iteration is the sixth version of Una Pizza Napoletana, and we know exactly why this place won’t die. It’s serving the best Neapolitan pies in NYC—and possibly the rest of the world, the Twittersphere, the Metaverse, and any other vaguely habitable place. You should always have at least one margherita pizza on your table, but since all the pies here have the same otherworldly crust, you really can’t go wrong. The dough rises for around 48 hours before it’s ready to go in the oven, and owner Anthony Mangieri never stops messing around with the mixtures of flour to try to make the crust lighter. He should just sit back and take the win. It’s hard to imagine the pizza here getting any better.
photo credit: Lucia Pizza of Avenue X
Lucia of Avenue X is, you guessed it, right on Avenue X in Sheepshead Bay, and if you live within delivery distance of this place, you'll want to order from here at least a couple times a month. The crust on their round pizzas isn’t too flimsy, but it’s also not so crunchy that your plate will be covered in crumbs. All their pies are available by the slice, and our favorites are the vodka and the grandma. And, while hot honey is already past the point of being played out, we’d still recommend their Caramelle Piccanti with cherry peppers, little roni cups, and that spicy sweet condiment. This spot has a few tables and chairs, and we suggest making good use of their seating by eating any slice you get here fresh out of the oven.
photo credit: Rod Morata
Like a lot of other enterprising humans, the owners of Brooklyn DOP started making food out of an apartment and selling it on Instagram during the pandemic. But unlike most of those people, Tom Ardito and Jay Demelio turned their little business into a brick-and-mortar pizza spot in Park Slope. All of their pies use four-day fermented dough, and we’d tell anyone to come here for the thin, crispy grandma pizza that’s made with a garlic confit sauce and tastes a little buttery from being baked over a layer of oil. This place sells most of their pies by the slice, and if a grandma one isn’t available when you go, wait for it.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
There are two main reasons to come to Aromi in Carroll Gardens: the back patio and the pizza. Their large outdoor area is filled with potted plants and even has a white picket fence, and the pies here are fluffy, chewy, and blistered. In a blind taste test, you’d be hard pressed to differentiate them from the best Neapolitan pizzas in the city. Some unique toppings are offered (fried meatballs, for example), but you should stick with the margherita. If you get to Lucali, and the wait is longer than the runtime for The Irishman, Aromi is a great backup to satisfy your pizza craving (and it’s only a 10-minute walk away).
The pies at Pizzeria Panina in Ridgewood are bouncy, charred, and wafer-thin. They're also the perfect size for one person, so bring an acquaintance or two to this charming sit-down spot and get an assortment. There are a few classic options (cheese and pepperoni), as well some more involved versions with ingredients like labne, gorgonzola, and preserved lemon. Try the Spicy pie with sausage and salami, pair it with a big well-dressed salad, and get a glass of wine while you're at it. The little dining room—with its retro music and checkered floors—is a great place to hang out for an hour or two with a friend or a date.
photo credit: The Esters
A lot of the time, the food at a bar can feel like an afterthought. But at The Esters, pizza is the main (and essential) attraction. The rectangular pies at this Greenpoint bar share some DNA with the Detroit-style ones at Emmy Squared and Ace’s, with thick, fluffy crust that’s crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. Grab a barstool or claim a table on the patio running along the side of the bar, and order the garlicky You’ve Got Kale layered with mozzarella, ricotta, and shaved pecorino. (Don’t forget to squeeze the accompanying lemon wedge over the top.)
photo credit: Carlos Ledesma
Don’t confuse Bellucci’s Pizzeria with Bellucci’s Pizza just a few blocks down the road. Chef Andrew Bellucci left the latter to start his own shop on his own terms, and he took his famous hand-shucked clam pie with him. You’ll have to order 48 hours in advance to try the clam pie, but you can get other pizzas—with dense, fluffy beds of dough sitting atop crispy bottoms—anytime. Belluci’s nails the crust, but their signature sauces earn them our loyalty. The rich tomato sauce gets some smokiness from a generous amount of black pepper, and we’d dip anything in that silky vodka sauce just to airlift more of it into our mouths.
