Discover the best pizza in Brooklyn

Brooklyn pizza starts with a defection. Antonio Totonno Pero learned the craft at Lombardi's in Little Italy, then in 1924 carried the coal oven over the river to Coney Island and opened Totonno's at 1524 Neptune Avenue. The borough has been making its own pizza for a century.

The distinction Brooklynites cite most is character, not crust. Manhattan pizzerias are transient and grab-and-go; Brooklyn ones tend to be multi-generational and neighborhood-anchored. Real Brooklyn slices trend toward a crispier, slightly thicker crust than the Manhattan version, dough that cracks rather than bends when folded. For a deeper dive, see the best pizza in Brooklyn, which ranks the borough's defining spots across three generations.

The borough has the full New York range: coal-oven Neapolitan-American at historic Coney Island and DUMBO houses, wood-fired modern Neapolitan at Bushwick and Carroll Gardens spots, classic New York-style slice shops everywhere, plus pockets of Detroit-style.

Pizzerias cluster in DUMBO beneath the bridge (Grimaldi's, Juliana's), Williamsburg (L'Industrie), Bushwick (Roberta's), Carroll Gardens (Lucali), Coney Island (Totonno's), and Midwood (Di Fara). Our neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide ranks the essential stops in each area.

Same family, same block, two chapters. Grimaldi's at 1 Front Street is the brand Patsy Grimaldi opened in 1990 and later sold. After the landlord ousted Grimaldi's in 2011, Patsy returned at age 80 in 2012 and opened Juliana's in his original storefront at 19 Old Fulton Street, half a block away.

The label is contested. Real Brooklyn pies trend toward a crispier, slightly thicker crust than the Manhattan slice, often with a slightly sweeter sauce. The term was diluted in 2006 when Domino's used Brooklyn Style as a marketing name, so the borough's actual pizza culture is bigger than the label.

Brooklyn is the spiritual home of the no-reservations sit-down wait. The Lucali line in Carroll Gardens has formed by mid-afternoon for the 5pm open for two decades; the room is 30 seats, cash only, BYOB. Roberta's in Bushwick takes some reservations through OpenTable. Slice shops are walk-in. See the best pizza in Brooklyn for more on what to expect at each era of pizzeria.

Yes. Domenico DeMarco died in March 2022 at 85, and his widow and children, including daughter Margaret Mieles, still operate the Di Fara shop on Avenue J in Midwood. Brooklyn renamed a stretch of Avenue J in his honor. The pizza is still cut and finished tableside.

A plain slice runs $3 to $5. Whole pies at sit-down rooms range $20 to $35 for a Margherita. The destination wood-fired places push past $30 for specialty pies. Lucali runs around $30 for a Margherita and is cash only.

Most wood-fired Neapolitan rooms offer a gluten-free base on request, usually with a small surcharge. Williamsburg and Park Slope have the deepest gluten-free options. Check the venue page on OpenPizzaMap for current dietary listings.