The Bay Area has plenty of great contenders of pizzas from different styles — you’ll find renditions of your favorites from California to New York. Here’s a list of our favorite spots along with suggestions on what to order.
New York-Style
San Francisco
Flour + Water changes their menu regularly, so you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get. Currently on their menu is the pomodoro (sungold emulsion, tomato miso bagna cauda, and basil) and the zucca (teleme, taggiasca olive, veal sausage, salsa verde).
Outta Sight serves fun variations on familiar favorites. We love the Madonna, a hybrid between a New York cheese and a California Neapolitan, which is the best of both worlds.
Tony’s Pizza Napoletana is the best spot to grab a slice in SF’s Little Italy. While they claim to be the first to introduce Detroit, St. Louis, and New Haven pizzas to California, our favorite is their New Yorker. It’s a classic topped with hand-crushed tomato sauce, cupping pepperoni, fennel sausage, ricotta, and mozarella.
Detroit-Style
San Francisco
Square Pie Guys is an award-winning pizzeria with multiple locations. Our favorite is Samin’s Summer Pie made with spicy cherry tomato salad, sun-dried tomato vinaigrette drizzle, and white sauce.
San Jose
Slice of Homage operates from inside a nightclub. We love to grab a slice of Detroit VS Everybody, made with five types of cheese and Genoa salami, then sit by the window and watch the city in motion.
Sicilian-Style
San Francisco
Golden Boy is a 40-year-old establishment in San Francisco’s North Beach. We’re fans of their traditional pepperoni and combo pizzas, but go for their clam and garlic for a more unique experience.
Berkeley
Pizzeria da Laura is run by Chef Laura Meyer, a 3x World Pizza Champion. Our favorite is their Sicilian. Out of the 13 Sicilian on the menu, our favorite is La Regina topped with arugula, soppressata, prosciutto, shaved parm, and olive oil.
San Jose
Slice of New York offers a Sicilian meat lover that’s over 2 inches tall and it’s stacked with pepperoni, meatballs, salami, smoked ham, and Italian sausage. Make sure to order ahead.
Thin Crust
San Francisco
Pizzahacker specializes in thin crust pizzas, but what really makes them special is their dedication to making their own sauce, stretching their own mozzarella, and making their own sausage.
San Jose
The Last Round has the best Chicago-style, square-cut pizza in the South Bay. For something you can only find in San Jose, get the SOB —topped with Tex-Mex taco toppings and an orange sauce.
Napa
Croccante is influenced by the owner’s roots in Eastern Turkey. We love their Greek-style veggie pizza topped with cream sauce, olives, spinach, bell peppers, and feta cheese.
Berkeley
Gioia’s pizza excels thanks to their commitment to using local produce and making everything from scratch. The star of the show is the funghi pizza which combines meaty roasted cremini with thyme, parsley, and garlic oil.
Neapolitan-Style
Los Gatos
Oak & Rye offers classic wood-fired pizzas like margheritas, but we love their unique twists like the goomba made with pesto, calabrian chile, and three types of mushroom.
Traveling Food Truck
Mozzeria is a traveling pizza truck that you can often find at Off the Grid events. Although it’s a mobile business, they still provide beautiful charring on their crust.
Pizza-Adjacent
San Francisco
Cotogna is an Italian restaurant that serves a squash blossom pizza sprinkled with caciocavallo and opal basil. Don’t miss out on their focaccia.
Liguria Bakery doesn’t offer traditional pizza, but they do have a pizza focaccia that hits all the right notes. Pro tip: Visit on a Saturday and try their pesto cheese.
Gold Mirror is a 50-year-old Italian restaurant in West Portal. While they do offer pizza, we recommend going for the house-made lasagna bolognese.
