Philadelphia is a great food city, and our pizza is no exception. From hole-in-the-wall corner shops to establishments from celebrity chefs, this city with its heavy influence from Italian immigrants has lots of places to try a great pie. We’ve made it our mission to taste our way around town in search of the best pizza in Philadelphia.
Sampling all the city has to offer is no small task. Over 15% of all restaurants here are pizzerias, which is the highest percentage in the nation. And while there is great pizza in the Italian Market and South Philly, these days you can find superb versions in every section in the city. When we find a slice we love, we add our recommendations here.
After all our eating, we’ve put together this list of the top Philadelphia pizzerias (in alphabetical order). Dive in to find your new favorite.
Barbuzzo
There’s pizza and then there’s gourmet pizza. For many, Barbuzzo in the heart of Center City is their gateway to gourmet pies. From the dynamic duo of Marcie Turney and Val Safran, this has been a must-eat spot in the city for years. And it was where we decided to launch our mission of trying the pizza places in Philadelphia.
All the foodies rave about the Uovo pizza with its secret white sauce, Brussels sprouts, buffalo mozzarella, and truffle egg, although there’s a bit too much going on for our taste. We’re partial to the spicy Calabrese with ‘nduja and soppressata and a little fermented chili and soothing honey. It’s one of those meals you write home about. We also love the Margherita with buffalo mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes, which is one of the great pies in the city.
Circles + Squares
This upstart in the Kensington/Olde Richmond neighborhood feels a lot like the original Pizzeria Beddia, and there’s a good reason for that. Circles + Squares is the creation of Dan Gutter, who worked for Joe Beddia at version 1.0 of the ‘Best in America’ pizza shop. Circles + Squares has that same vibe: there’s no phone, the online ordering is a little complex, and the hours can sometimes be inconsistent. But that’s not to say that Circles + Squares is derivative. In fact, it’s far from it.
For those who can navigate the ordering, you’ll be rewarded with one of the top pizzas in the city. You can get either a 16” hand tossed round pie or the 10” square Detroit-style pan pizza pie. Both have a charred buttery crust topped with delicious sauce and whatever toppings your heart desires.
Down North Pizza
Located in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city, Down North Pizza has been one of the most hyped pizza shops because of its unique mission of giving employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated individuals. That mission extends far beyond just an hourly wage to truly transforming lives.
And eating pizza from Down North will transform your life! This is the best version of Detroit-style pizza in the city. It’s best order as a ‘Roc The Mic’ – a heady combo of four cheese and beef pepperoni, along with their signature Norf Sauce. Yes, they’ve got great dough and a good crust. But the secret here really is the sauce: a tangy and spicy combination that holds up well to the thick, crispy crust. The only downside is that the are only open Thursday-Sunday from noon until they sell out.
Osteria
For many locals, Osteria set the bar for gourmet pizza. It literally revolutionized and then defined the Philadelphia pizza scene with incredible crust and inventive ingredients. When it opened, many of the city’s standbys had grown tired and monotonous. Osteria delivered an entirely different pizza experience – and we loved them for it.
Osteria offers some of the best Italian food in the city, so pair your next pie there with the outstanding grilled octopus or the rigatoni with chicken liver. When it comes to pizza toppings, the seasonal truffle and corn white pizza was a mouthwatering, life changing experience that we talk about often. Yes, you can get some of the old standbys here. But in a spot known for invention, why not branch out?
Pizza Brain
Pizza Brain is a slice shop that doubles as the world’s first pizza museum, complete with tons of pizza-related artifacts. To the casual visitor, you could diss it as shtick or a gimmick, but that would be a mistake. Pizza Brain has pioneered the use of unexpected toppings. Whether you like a Buffalo Chicken pie (called the “Buffy Ernest”) or their specials that feature fruit, honey, and other unusual toppings.
Their “Forbes Waggensense” is one of the best pepperoni pizzas in Philly. Full stop. On any given day, there is a rotating selection available by the slice, and everything is available as a whole pie.
Pizza Jawn
Located in Manayunk, Pizza Jawn has carved out a niche for one of the most difficult pizzas to obtain in the city (although it is much better now than it once was) and is named for the city’s famous all-purpose noun. First a pop-up, then a mobile company, and now a Main Street location, Pizza Jawn makes our favorite pizza in the city. We order it a lot! (Pro tip: When available as a special, their cheesesteak is stellar.)
Inspired by his mentors Joe Beddia, Dan Gutter, and others, David Lee and his crew at Pizza Jawn dish out a trio of delicious pies. You’ve got the Grandmas (a 16” square with their signature sesame seed bottom), the Round (a New York-Neapolitan hybrid crust), and the now popular/trendy Detroit Style (complete with high, cheesy sides). Throw on your favorite toppings (they have dozens of options), and you are set. Fair warning, you’ll be finding sesame seeds for days! If you want to order, plan ahead because you need to select a timeslot.
Pizza Shackamaxon
When it comes to slice shops, there’s Pizza Shackamaxon, and then there’s everything else. Stepping into the footsteps of old Pizzeria Beddia version 1.0 on Girard, Shackamaxon took a risk and won. This slice shop isn’t some poor Beddia imitation, it’s excellent in its own right. We’d go so far as to say it is the best by-the-slice pizza in the city.
Shackamaxon is also home to the mega-slice. They are proud of their offerings, and it shows. You can get your pizza one of four ways: plain, pepperoni, red tomato pie, and the weekly special (which can include options like burrata or Cacio e Pepe). And yes, if you really love it, you can now order whole pies. Remember, no online ordering and no phone.
Pizzeria Beddia
Pizzeria Beddia was once anointed as the Best Pizza in America by Bon Appetit magazine. That’s a lot to live up to for any establishment. And while the title ‘Best in America’ is hotly debated, that this might be the best pizza in Philly is not.
Chef Joe Beddia has given us a zen-like pizza experience. With obsessive resolve and unrelenting quality standards, there is no room for mediocrity here. Make a reservation and walk up to the uber-minimalistic décor of this one-time auto garage now turned pizza temple.
The menu is simple and everything perfectly prepared alongside a selection of natural wines. It’s hard to go wrong with a selection here, but we always love the pepperoni, and the summer specials are particularly outstanding with choices like sweet corn and bacon. For more, read our Pizzeria Beddia review.
Pizzeria Vetri
Started by Marc Vetri (the same guy who brought you Vetri Cucina and Fiorella) and later sold to Urban Outfitters, Pizzeria Vetri brings beautiful dough and artful ingredients to the masses. They ferment their dough for four days and run their Neapolitan pies through a 650 degree oven for extra crispy crust.
The classics are good, but the mushroom pizza is a stark departure from the mundaneness of lesser pizza shops. Crispy on the bottom and piled high with fungi goodness, this is the kind of pizza we crave.
Pizzeria Vetri may have hit on the secret ingredient missing in most other pizza places: actual friendly service. Each time we’ve dined, we’ve had great servers who are knowledgeable, friendly and made the dining experience magical. We could only wish there were more of that in the city.
Sally
Tucked into the Fitler Square section of the city, Sally is a hippie-meets-upscale establishment serving the finest sourdough crust in the city. They also operate a bottle shop selling natural wines. You’ll find a handful of sourdough pies with locally sourced ingredients, many with a nod to more healthy ingredients. When we visited, we found many of the pizzas topped with salad.
Sally was the kind of place we thought we were going to love – we love sourdough! Candidly, we found it a bit rough-around-the-edges, but are still including on this list because of the strong potential.
Santucci’s Original Square Pizza
Long before the nationwide rise in popularity of Detroit-style pizza, Joseph and Philomena Santucci ran a pizza shop in the Kensington/Juniata Park section of the city. They were famous for their square pie in which they put the sauce on top of the cheese, and the Philly Square was born.
Santucci’s square pie is NOT a Detroit-style pie. We will say it again: NOT Detroit. Another difference with the Motor City pies, the walls of the pizza are lower and not cheese crusted. Santucci’s is a classic PHILLY pizza, and you either love or hate the sauce on top. Personally, we’re fans.
Stina Pizzeria
Stina is a pizzeria that is not really a pizzeria but serves incredible pizza. Confused? We were too. Stina Pizzeria is really an incredible pan-Mediterranean restaurant with spanikopita, falafel, and other excellent dishes that make it one of our favorite restaurants. They also make some great pizzas and Turkish pides (a kind of ‘cousin of’ the pizza made from a long, thick dough).
While the whole menu in incredible, the Neapolitan pies are worthy of inclusion on any Philly pizza list. The fresh and hearty ingredients make this a spot to try out whatever Chef Bobby Saritsoglou has put together. For more detail, read our Stina Pizzeria review.
Tacconelli’s
Tacconelli’s is one of the 10 oldest pizza shops in America. Originally opened as a bakery in 1918, the family-run business survived World War II and started making tomato pies in 1946 in the original bakery oven.
The same oven (rebuilt in the 1990s) still makes Tacconelli’s best today. Their pies have a super thin, crunchy crust that is perfect for folding (and makes great leftovers). The plain “Margerita Pie” or something simple like pepperoni is the way to go. For decades, Tacconelli’s was the gold standard pizza in the city, and it still holds up over time. Pro tip: Call the day before to reserve your share of dough and remember that it’s cash only.
Wm. Mulherin’s Sons
Strictly speaking, Wm. Mulherin’s Sons Italian eatery in Fishtown isn’t a pizza joint. It’s a Mediterranean casual restaurant, which happens to produce excellent pizza from their wood-fired oven. As a bonus, they’ve got some nice outside seating, which is the perfect way to enjoy your pizza and wine.
While some folks rave about the Spicy Jawn, we were blown away by the delicious Margherita with its thick, bready crust. This is a formidable pizza and one that we continue to enjoy again and again. Don’t just take our word for it–we once took a group of visitors here ranging from ages 14 to 60, and everyone raved about it.
RIP
Former versions of this article mentioned some notable pizzerias that have now closed, including Kensington standout Eeva, makers of a remarkable carbonara pie Hook & Master, Earth Bread + Brewery in the Mount Airy section of the city, and Blackbird Pizzeria for their vegan pizza.
I am new to Philadelphia. The Guide to Philadelphia has opened my eyes to what is distinctively Philadelphia’s food culture and history. Thank you!