The best pizza to eat in Philly right now

Philadelphia may not have its own distinct style of pizza, and that’s OK. In our city, you can find versions of beloved pizzas inspired by pizza styles far and wide. You can find Chicago-style pizza in Kensington, Detroit-style in South Philly, Brooklyn-style in many neighborhoods, Neapolitan pizza in Fitler Square, and more.

In other words, it’s not hard to find good pizza in Philadelphia, whether you’re craving a thin-crust slice or a thick, doughy pizza that could serve as lunch and dinner.

Here’s our guide to the best pizza in Philadelphia.

Jose Garces’ first brick-and-mortar restaurant in seven years is a Kensington pizza shop that serves three distinct styles of pies. The focus is on Chicago pizzas (a nod to Garces’ childhood) with two varieties available: a cracker-thin tavern and cheese-crusted deep dish, with a select number of round Brooklyn-style pies available, too. And the menu doesn’t end at pizza: You can also order from a seafood-focused small plate menu, a fruity cocktail menu, and a curated list of wine and beer.

📍1361 N. Second St., 🌐 hookandmasterphl.com, 📷 @hookandmaster

This spot in North Philly offers more than good pizza. The shop was created to provide career opportunities and fair wages for formerly incarcerated people. Check out the Detroit-style pies named in honor of Philly rappers like the nod-to-Meek-Mill Uptown Vibes (kale, mushrooms, red peppers) and the Tuff Crew-inspired My Part of Town (a cheesesteak pizza). The shop also offers a few vegan pies, as well as wings, fries, and milkshakes.

📍 2804 W Lehigh Ave., 🌐 downnorthpizza.com, 📷 @downnorth_pizza, 🕑 Thu.-Sat. noon till sellout, 🚗 walk-ins only

OK, so, this spot officially started in New York, but they opened a Philly outpost just before the start of the pandemic where you can feast on Detroit-style pizzas in red sauce varieties (including pepperoni with jalapeños, and honey; margherita, and sausage, peppers, and onions) and white sauce pies (like ricotta and mushrooms, and a Nashville hot chicken pie), in addition to some topped with a creamy vodka sauce.

📍632 S. Fifth St., 🌐 emmysquaredpizza.com, 📷 @emmysquaredpizza

In September 2020, Craig LaBan declared Manayunk’s Pizza Jawn “Philly’s best new pizzeria.” You have to order ahead of time to get a pie slot, but it’s worth it. As LaBan writes: “Lee is one of the few pizzaiolos who specializes in more than one style, crafting outstanding renditions of three very different kinds of pizza: a char-spotted round of a crispy Neo/NYC thin-crust round pie (get the minimalist Margherita); a hefty Detroit pizza whose tall, pan-roasted sides crackle with an edge of caramelized cheese (load it up!); and a chewy, rustic Grandma square distinguished by the fistfuls of sesame that speckle its edges and bottom crust.”

📍4330 Main St., 🌐 pizzajawn.com, 📷 @pizza_jawn

What started as Pizza Gutt, a modest bar concession at W/N W/N from Daniel Gutter, has spread to spots in Kensington, West Philadelphia, and South Philadelphia, and Northern Liberties in just about three years. Gutter has gained a lot of love for both his round pies and Detroit-style pizzas with their crispy, fried-cheese edges.

Kensington: Circles + Squares, 📍2513 Tulip St., 🌐 pizzawhat.com, 📷 @circlesandsquaresandcatanddogs

South Philly: Pizza Plus,📍1846 S. 12th St., 🌐 pizzaplusphilly.com, 📷 @pizzaplusplusplus

Northern Liberties: Bourbon & Branch, 📍 705 N. Second St., 🌐 bourbonandbranchphilly.com, 📷 @bourbonandbranch

West Philly: Pizza Plus, 📍4814 Spruce St., 🌐 pizzaplusphilly.com, 📷 @pizzaplusplusplus

Not to be confused with South Philadelphia’s Angelo’s Pizzeria, Angelo Pizza is the name of this Old City pizzeria’s owner. He’s the son and grandson of Baltimore pizzeria owners, and opened his own shop in Old City in November 2020. Pizza began baking pizzas for friends out of his Manayunk apartment, using the recipes he learned from his dad, Angelo, and grandfather, Paulie Manna. The shop makes eight varieties of big-flavored, crispy-crusted 12-inch rounds, which are topped to the edges, plus one vegan pie.

📍229 Market St., 🌐 theangelopizza.com, 📷 @theangelopizza

Everything at Angelo’s Pizzeria is good. Its cheesesteaks, hoagies, and, of course, its namesake (pizza). The pies here are saucy, cheesy, and made on a crispy yet fluffy dough and come in square and circle options. There’s also a beloved “upside-down” pizza with cheese on the bottom and sauce on the top — it’s as delicious (and heavy) as it sounds.

📍736 S. Ninth St., 🌐 angelospizzeriasouthphiladelphia.com

What started as a small, no-phone operation is now an always-bustling restaurant where heat-blistered wheels of pizza arrive to tables along with a long list of natural wines and local beer. Pizzas come spanned with your choice of toppings, but ordering one of the pizzeria’s staple pies is a good idea. In particular, the “angry” red arrabbiata pie is so amped with layers of lip-stinging spice — Thai chilies steeped into the sauce; pickled serranos scattered like green poker chips across every inch, their spiraling heat rising on the herbal lift of basil — that it sets a new threshold on the pleasure-pain continuum.

📍1313 N. Lee St., 🌐 pizzeriabeddia.com, 📷 @theangelopizza

Don’t let the small-looking pizza boxes fool you, the self-described “Brooklyn-style” pizzas at Square Pie are dense — landing somewhere between a Sicilian- and Detroit-style pizza. Available in classics like cheese and pepperoni, the pizzas also come topped with cured pork belly and rosemary potatoes, eggplant and olives, and a porchetta pie with roast pork.

📍 801 E. Passyunk Ave., 🌐 squarepiephilly.com, 📷 @squarepiephilly

Vinny Gallagher and Davide Lubrano make naturally leavened pies, somewhere between New York and Neapolitan-style pizzas, out of this shop in Fitler Square. As Lubrano says: “We want it to be a neighborhood pizzeria, because pizza is for everybody.” As LaBan declared in November 2020: “Gallagher’s dough forms a crust that crackles with a flavorful chew and roasty tang that reverbs after a slice is gone.”

📍240 S. 22nd St., 🌐 pizzatapizzeria.com, 📷 @pizzata_pizzeria

Named after owner Cary Borish’s grandmother, Sally offers Neapolitan-style pizzas, from creamy stracciatella made from Lancaster’s Maplehofe dairy, to the fermented pepper jelly that sparks soppressata, and the Chester County funk of Birchrun Hills Farm’s Fat Cat Cheese. The spot, just north of Fitler Square, also makes an upscale version of the South Philly pizzazz pie as well as offering a selection of natural wines.

📍2229 Spruce St., 🌐 sallyphl.com, 📷 @sally_philadelphia

“Pizza so good it should be a crime,” said owner Arnab Maitra. He’s not wrong. Maitra previously worked at Osteria, Pizzeria Vetri, and Porto before opening his own shop in Haddonfield in September 2020. His 12-pie, wood-fired pizza menu includes the familiar margherita and marinara, as well as pizzas topped with chorizo and jalapeños, and even thinly sliced tuna. Plus, as Klein notes, the shop is a few doors down from King’s Road Brewing Co., making it ideal if you want a beer to go with that pie.

📍139 Kings Hwy E, Haddonfield, NJ, 🌐 pizzacrime.com, 📷 @pizza_crime

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