Top Rated Pizza Places You Must Try As A Tourist Visiting New York City

by Mark and Kristen Morgan

Published:

Updated:

Photo of a Neapolitan style pizza with buffalo mozzarella and tomato sauce at a joint in NYC

New York City is one of the best places in the world to eat pizza as a tourist. We know because we love pizza and we’ve spent a lot of time in NYC! You absolutely must sample the classic NY style pizza slice, but don’t forget about the city’s Italian heritage, which means you can also try authentic Neapolitan pies and even fusions between the two distinctive styles.

In this guide we show you 10 popular and highly rated NYC pizza joints that are perfect for tourists, based on our experiences.

Our Experience

Woman walking into Lombardi's pizzeria
This was Kristen walking into Lombardi’s Pizzeria in Little Italy

What do we know about pizza in New York City? Well, firstly we think pizza is one of the greatest creations in human history. And secondly we lived in the city for a few months in early 2021, plus we’ve been a dozen times either side. It’s one of our favorite places on the planet and we always eat far too much pizza every time we’re there. Read more about us.

Now, this isn’t a locals guide to the city’s hidden pizza joints. And we’re not including Harlem, the Bronx or Staten Island (although they have some excellent spots) because this guide is for tourists who want to try pizza in the popular areas around Manhattan and Brooklyn. If you’re a local reading this guide and have a great suggestion for tourists, please leave a comment at the end.

We’re confident you’ll find at least one pizza place that works perfectly for your NYC itinerary from our list below. For each spot, we’ve included the location, website and real user ratings from Google, TripAdvisor and Yelp so you can see how popular they are. Okay, let’s dive right in!

1. Joe’s Pizza

Man eating a large pepperoni slice of Joe's pizza
Here’s Mark enjoying a large slice of pepperoni pizza from Joe’s
  • Google: 4.5 (9.1k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (1.7k+)
  • Yelp: 4.1 (3.2k+)

Joe’s Pizza has locations in the most touristy areas and a low key atmosphere. It’s not fancy, they just deliver on high quality and tasty slices of classic NY style pizza. Joe’s near Times Square was the first pizza place we tried in New York and the food was delicious. We were in and out within minutes, refueled and ready to explore. This is probably the place you’ll stumble across on a first visit to NYC.

Locations:

Tip: Joe’s Pizza accepts cash only at most locations.

2. John’s of Bleecker Street

Photo of the exterior of a pizzeria established in 1929
Photo courtesy of John’s of Bleecker Street
  • Google: 4.6 (6.7k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (1.9k+)
  • Yelp: 4.2 (2.9k+)

John’s of Bleecker Street is a New York institution. The pizza is crispy, chewy and perfectly charred in a coal fired brick oven. It leans more towards Neapolitan than New York style, but it kind of bridges the gap between the two. It’s very highly rated and definitely worth a try, but if you want a classic NYC slice nearby, cross the road and walk 200 ft to Bleecker Street Pizza instead.

 

3. NY Pizza Suprema

Photo of an arm holding two paper plates with slices of pizza
Photo courtesy of NY Pizza Suprema
  • Google: 4.6 (7.5k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (1.4k+)
  • Yelp: 4.3 (2.7k+)

NY Pizza Suprema has a massive menu filled with famous signature pies and speciality pizzas along with vegetable and vegan options. The chef’s recommendation is the Upside Down, so be brave and give it a go! This incredibly popular pizza spot has an enviable location right next to Madison Square Garden, so it gets a ton of customers during sports events and concerts.

4. Prince Street Pizza

Photo of the exterior of a food establishment with outdoor seating in a row of buildings on a roadside
We took this photo of Prince Street Pizza before going inside
  • Google: 4.4 (8.1k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (500)
  • Yelp: 4.3 (5.5k+)

Prince Street Pizza serves up Neapolitan and signature Sicilian “SoHo” Squares but in a classic New York slice setting, which makes it original. Mark and his friend from England fired through more than a few late night slices here after a couple of beers around Nolita on a boys trip to the city in May 2024, and they loved the tiny but thick cut Ezzo pepperoni cups.

5. Rubirosa Ristorante

Close up photo of pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Photo courtesy of Rubirosa
  • Google: 4.6 (4.9k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (1.4k+)
  • Yelp: 4.3 (3.5k+)

Rubirosa is famous for its vodka pizza sauce and signature Tie Dye pizza. What’s a tie dye pizza? We thought the same thing! It’s a thin crust crispy base with tomato and vodka sauces, finished with basil pesto spiraling from center to edge. We do enjoy a bit of originality. This highly rated pizza spot is going from strength to strength with awards and even selling its famous ingredients in grocery stores.

6. Song’ E Napule

Woman walking into Song E' Napule Pizzeria
Here’s Kristen walking into Song E’ Napule
  • Google: 4.7 (1.9k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (500)
  • Yelp: 4.5 (790+)

Song’ E Napule is the place you should go in NYC for a taste of Naples without flying to Italy. We love authentic Neapolitan pizza with San Marzano tomatoes and this place had sky high ratings so we gave it a shot in SoHo, and it turned out to be just as excellent as we’d hoped. They’ve since opened locations in both Upper West Side and Upper East Side, which is great if you’ll be staying near Central Park.

Need help planning your visit to NYC?

Our popular New York City travel guidebook will help you with planning every aspect of your trip, including airport links, the subway, top attractions, itinerary ideas, restaurants, hotels and map!

View NYC Guidebook
Where Are Those Morgans NYC travel guidebook

7. Underground Pizza

Photo of two pepperoni pizza slices on cardboard plates on a table in New York City
Two slices of pepperoni we got at Underground Pizza
  • Google: 4.5 (600+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (45)
  • Yelp: 4.1 (350+)

Underground Pizza is one of our favorite classic NYC pizza slice spots because it’s cheap, no frills, quick and the staff are super friendly. It’s a lesser known, hidden gem, hole-in-the-wall type of place serving up massive tasty slices of pizza. We stumbled across it after getting off the Statue of Liberty ferry and go back every time we find ourselves in the Financial District.

8. Juliana’s Pizza

Photo of a pizza in NYC going into a large oven with fire inside
Photo courtesy of Juliana’s
  • Google: 4.6 (6.1k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (3.3k+)
  • Yelp: 4.4 (2.9k+)

Juliana’s serves up delicious Neapolitan style thin crust pizzas near Dumbo in Brooklyn. We originally planned to try the famous Grimaldi’s (which is basically next door to Juliana’s and was founded by the same guy – the legendary Patsy Grimaldi) but the line was huge. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the pizza at Juliana’s was fantastic and it has way better ratings online anyway.

9. L’Industrie Pizza

Long line outside of L'Industrie in Williamsburg
We waited in this long line for a slice at L’Industrie Pizzeria in Williamsburg
  • Google: 4.7 (3.8k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (35)
  • Yelp: 4.7 (1.5k+)

L’Industrie is among the highest rated pizza spots in NYC in terms of user reviews and we can’t argue. What makes this popular spot in Williamsburg unique is the way they marry delicious flavors of Italy with the authenticity of a New York style crust. Take a look at the menu and you’ll see interesting combinations of ingredients, which is probably why the line was so long when we went to try a slice for ourselves!

10. Pizza Loves Emily

Photo of a burger and fries on a metal tray
Photo courtesy of Emily Loves Pizza
  • Google: 4.5 (2.9k+)
  • TripAdvisor: 4.5 (150)
  • Yelp: 4.1 (1.1k+)

Pizza Loves Emily has a unique NY-Detroit style pizza with delicious toppings to suit any craving. Plus, they also do awesome burgers and other tasty plates, which is perfect if not everyone fancies pizza. Kristen’s cousin lives in Brooklyn and recommended this place to us, so we ordered the Camp Randall and Emily pizzas. Both turned out to be incredible and our mouths are watering just thinking about them!

Locations:

Map Of Pizza Joints

Click or touch the map below to activate. Zoom in and out, move around the map and you’ll see the locations for each place mentioned above. You can also click on the view larger map icon in the top right to expand the map, which is much easier to see.

Map Key:

  • Blue – Pizza spots

You’ll notice that many of our recommendations are in the Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy and Nolita area. That’s because lots of local New Yorkers live in these areas, they’re touristy and they have a rich Italian heritage.

Tip: Bookmark this blog post so you can open up the map when you arrive into the city, click on any pizza joint and hit directions from your location.

Pizza Tours

Photo of three slices of pizza inside a takeaway box on a marble table
Three large slices of pepperoni we got at Joe’s

Yes, you really can take a pizza tour through NYC! If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the options or you just want someone else to take you around and put pizza in front of you, why not book a fun food tour? Here are the top rated options we can find:

  • Greenwich Village Pizza Walk – This walking tour through Greenwich Village to three different pizzerias has been featured on the Travel Channel and Food Network.
  • Half-Day Pizza Tasting Bus Tour – Run by Scott’s Pizza Tours, climb aboard a big yellow school bus for a pizza tour in NYC to 4 different pizzerias.
  • Brooklyn Pizza Walking Tour – Sample Brooklyn’s best on this pizza walk including Neapolitan pizza, wood-fired pies, and thin-crust slices.
Photo advertising Where Are Those Morgans NYC ebook

We hope our guide to the top rated pizza spots in NYC helps with planning your visit!

Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Happy Travels,

Mark and Kristen

Enjoy this guide? Pin it for later!

Note: This article contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

All Rights Reserved © Where Are Those Morgans, LLC. Republishing this article and/or any of its contents (text, photography, maps, graphics, etc.) in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.

Leave a Comment