Brooklyn pizza is the most argued-about food in America. Every block has a partisan, every partisan has a generation they swear by, and the line outside the place you grew up loving is now shorter than the line outside a shop that opened during the pandemic. That is the whole story of pizza in Brooklyn, compressed.
The argument splits cleanly into three eras. Before World War II, Neapolitan immigrants lit coal ovens in Coney Island and what is now DUMBO. In the 2000s, two cult shops in Midwood and Carroll Gardens turned a single pizzaiolo working alone into the format people would wait three hours for. Then a new generation, working out of converted garages and 400 square foot storefronts, took the NY-Style slice and put burrata, hot honey, and Detroit-style edges on it.
What makes Brooklyn pizza its own thing?
New York pizza, the school-lunch foldable slice, was invented in Manhattan in 1905 at Lombardi's. The Brooklyn version is older and weirder. Anthony Pero learned to bake at Lombardi's, then crossed the river in 1924 and opened Totonno's in Coney Island. Patsy Grimaldi worked the ovens at Patsy's in East Harlem before opening under the Brooklyn Bridge. The DNA is Manhattan, the practice is Brooklyn: coal-fired, leopard-spotted, charred on the bottom, no two pies the same.
The modern era runs on a different engine. Wood ovens, Caputo flour from Naples, and pizzaioli who trained in Italy or did a stage at Roberta's before opening their own room. The slice shops of the 2020s are not selling the dollar slice that defined the 1990s. They are selling slow-fermented dough, San Marzano tomatoes, and a fior di latte that costs more than the rent on a Bensonhurst pie in 1985.
| Rank | Spot | Style | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitana | NY-Style | Coney Island; Opened 1924 by Anthony Pero, still burning coal, closes when dough runs out |
| 2 | Di Fara Pizza | NY-Style | Midwood; One pizzaiolo, one oven, 57 years of Dom DeMarco, square slice still worth the wait |
| 3 | Lucali | NY-Style | Carroll Gardens; Cash-only, no reservations, 30-seat room, thin dough, restrained cheese |
| 4 | Grimaldi's | NY-Style | DUMBO; 1200-degree oven, original shop under Brooklyn Bridge, pies in four minutes |
| 5 | Juliana's | NY-Style | DUMBO; Patsy Grimaldi's 2012 return, named after his mother, split pies by the half |
| 6 | Roberta's | Neapolitan | Bushwick; Opened 2008 in a garage, the Bee Sting (tomato, mozzarella, soppressata, chili honey) reshaped Brooklyn |
| 7 | Emmy Squared | Detroit | Williamsburg; The Colony pan pie: open crumb, cheese-lacquered edges, sauce in three thick stripes |
| 8 | Speedy Romeo | Neapolitan | Clinton Hill; 900-degree oven in an old auto-body shop, the St. Louie (Provel cheese and salami) works in Brooklyn |
| 9 | L'Industrie Pizzeria | NY-Style | Williamsburg; Burrata slice reset the conversation in 2022, reopened in 2024 with a longer line than Di Fara |
The pre-war coal-oven generation
Totonno's opened in 1924 on Neptune Avenue and has burned the same coal since. Anthony Pero learned the craft at Lombardi's, then went solo with a recipe he never wrote down. The shop opens Thursday through Sunday and closes when the dough runs out, which is sometimes by 4 p.m. The crust is thin, blistered, and tastes faintly of smoke. The mozzarella is dropped in clumps, not spread.
Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitana
€€€€ · 9 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "Properly proofed dough, 800° F coal oven, and true pizza taste. Service can be a miss, and it's cash only."
Grimaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge is the one with the famous line. The chain locations you see in airports and Las Vegas are a different company that bought the name in 1998. This is the original room. The coal oven runs at 1,200 degrees and turns a pie in about four minutes. Order it plain. Walk it to the Promenade.
Grimaldi's
€€€€ · 14,372 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "Coal-fired thin crust with perfect char, fresh mozzarella, and bright tomato sauce. The Brooklyn Bridge pizza is a standout, though some found the ricotta not to their liking. Expect a long wait."
In 2012, Patsy Grimaldi came out of retirement at 80 and opened Juliana's next door to the Grimaldi's he had sold. He named it after his mother. The recipe is his original, the oven is coal, the pies are split by the half (the No. 1 is mozzarella, salami, scallions, and red peppers). Juliana's has beaten Grimaldi's on most serious lists for a decade. The line next door is still longer.
Juliana's
€€€€ · 10,086 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "Thin, blistered crust, fresh mozzarella, and flavorful guacamole. More sauce would be nice."
The 2000s cult-slice generation
Dom DeMarco opened Di Fara in Midwood in 1965 and stood at the oven himself for 57 years, snipping fresh basil over every pie with kitchen shears. He died in 2022. His daughter Margy DeMarco runs the shop now and the format has not changed: one pizzaiolo, one oven, slow hand-finishing, a square slice that costs more than any slice in New York and is worth it. The line is shorter than it was in 2015. That is its own kind of recommendation.
Di Fara Pizza
€€€€ · 4,633 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "The sauce is incredible, basil and cheese ratio is perfect, and the crust is crisp. The Sicilian slice is delicious but heavy."
Lucali opened in 2006 in a Carroll Gardens storefront that used to be a candy shop. Mark Iacono built the place himself. The oven is coal, the menu is one pizza and one calzone, the wine is whatever you brought, the payment is cash. No reservations. The room has 30 seats and the line forms at 4 p.m. for a 5 p.m. open. Beyonce has eaten here. So has every chef in New York. The dough is thinner than Di Fara's, the cheese is more restrained, the basil is whole leaves.
Lucali
€€€€ · 3,287 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "One of New York's most celebrated pies — hand-rolled, thin crust with perfectly charred edges and a rich tomato base. It's BYOB and cash-only, and there are no reservations so expect a wait."
The modern micro-pizzeria generation
Roberta's opened in 2008 in a converted Bushwick garage when Bushwick was still mostly garages. Carlo Mirarchi put a wood oven in the back and started doing 12-inch Neapolitan-leaning pies with strange toppings. The Bee Sting, tomato and mozzarella with soppressata and chili honey, became the gateway pie that ended up on a hundred copycat menus from Austin to Amsterdam. The original room is still there, still loud, still right.
Roberta's
€€€€ · 1,401 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "Delicious pizza, good daiquiris, and cool vibe. Service can be slow and some dishes aren't amazing."
Emmy Squared in Williamsburg is the Detroit-style answer. Emily and Matt Hyland opened Emily in Clinton Hill in 2014 with a New York-style menu and one Detroit pan pie called the Colony. The Colony got so popular they opened a second shop dedicated to it. The edges are lacquered with cheese baked against the pan, the crumb is open, and the sauce goes on after the bake in three thick stripes.
Emmy Squared
€€€€ · 379 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "Perfectly spicy VIP pizza with a buttery, crunchy crust. Some find the ricotta-heavy pizzas too rich."
Speedy Romeo in Clinton Hill is the wood-fired wildcard. The room is in an old auto-body shop. The kitchen runs a 900-degree wood oven and the menu has the St. Louie, a pie with Provel cheese (a processed white cheddar-Swiss-provolone blend invented in St. Louis) and Italian salami. It should not work in Brooklyn. It does.
Speedy Romeo
€€€€ · 1,558 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "Perfect crust, delicious pizzas like the King Salami and Burrata, and a great casual atmosphere. Pasta was a bit greasy."
And then there is L'Industrie. Massimo Laveglia opened the Williamsburg shop in 2017 doing slices and round pies out of a 400 square foot kitchen. The burrata slice, a square of well-fermented dough with hot tomato and a cold scoop of burrata dropped on top after the bake, is the pizza that re-set the conversation in 2022. A burst pipe flooded the shop in 2024 and they closed for repairs. The line came back inside a week of reopening. Tonight, it is longer than the line at Di Fara.
L'Industrie Pizzeria
€€€€ · 3,311 reviews
Pizza Lovers say: "Fig and bacon slice, burrata slice, and crust are amazing. Waits can be long, and it's standing room only."
How we ranked this
We ranked by the pie, not by the queue. Star averages on big review sites punish the shops that turn out the most pizzas (more customers, more chances to draw a one-star review about parking), and they reward the longest line over the strongest crust. We weighted the opinions of people who walked in for the pizza and walked out talking about the pizza, across all three generations. The order on this page is editorial, not algorithmic.