Best pizza in Brooklyn

Rumored to be Beyoncé and Jay Z’s favorite pizza joint in NYC, getting into Lucali’s requires the patience of a saint. The restaurant doesn’t accept reservations, which means waiting in line (upwards of two hours) is the only way to get in.

The restaurant opens at 5pm but you can get your name on a waitlist starting at 4pm, which means lines start forming around 3pm. The wait-list typically fills up by 5pm.

Opened in 2006, the menu offers two simple options, pizza and calzone, both should grace your table. Lucali’s blistered crust is the stuff of legends. Baked in a wood-fired oven, it’s light, chewy and thin, but stable enough to hold the weight of the toppings without flopping over.

Speaking of toppings, customize the pie to your liking with the seven toppings offered, garlic, mushrooms, shallots, onions, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and pepperoni.

Keep things simple, because Lucali’s tomato sauce is coupled with a rich blend of three cheeses (buffalo mozzarella, low-moisture mozzarella, and shaved Grana Padano) that doesn’t need supporting actors.

Good to know Lucali has a generous “bring your own booze” policy, so pick up a bottle of wine or some beer before your reservation kicks in.

The secret to finding the best pizza in NYC? Skip the tourist lines and follow the delivery guys.

Opened by Michelin-starred Chef Justin Bazdarich, a veteran of Jean-Georges’ empire. Speedy Romeo is located inside of an auto shop-turned-restaurant, but the industrial vibes only add to the charm.

The pizzeria has earned a prestigious Bib-Gourmand rating from the Michelin Guide, awarded to good-value restaurants with exceptional cuisine.

Relying on a wood fire oven to make thin-crusted pies, Speedy Romeo is untethered by tradition, made evident by the creative combinations on offer. A personal favorite is the White Album pie, made with bèchamel, roasted garlic (so much garlic), mozzarella, ricotta Provel, pecorino and parmesean cheese, it spoils the senses.

If meaty pies are more your speed, the King Salami (San Marzano tomato sauce, hot & sweet soppressata, finocchiona, roasted red peppers and mozzarella) is hard to beat.

L&B Spumoni Gardens was founded in 1939 by Italian immigrant Ludovico Barbati, who sold spumoni from a horse and wagon while saving up to purchase a storefront. By the 1950s, Barbati’s shop grew beyond spumoni and began including pizza, billed as some of the best Sicilian pizza in Brooklyn.

A lot has changed since that time, but one fact remains, splitting a pie at L&B Spumoni Gardens flagship in Gravesend is a quintessential New York experience.

With a slogan like, “if it’s not Krispy, it’s not pizza” you better believe this joint serves some killer thin crust pizza in Brooklyn. The family-owned pizzeria has expanded to few locations in Jersey, but the

A Dyker Heights mainstay for nearly five decades, the business was passed down to the owner’s three sons who take great pride in upholding the family legacy. Everything is made in-house and the topping combinations are limitless.

If you’re overwhelmed by the variety on offer, the signature vodka square (homemade vodka sauce, mozzarella, grated cheese) never disappoints.

Luigi’s is an endearing hole-in-the wall Brooklyn pizzeria opened by Luigi Lanzo in 1973. Giovanni, Luigi’s son, now runs the. Rather than focusing on fancy pies and fads, the menu focuses on traditional pizzas made exceptionally well.

On par with New York City’s famous pizza principle, a cheese slice runs the same price as a subway fare ($2.90).

Something to Note There’s an unrelated pizzeria by the same name a few blocks down. Be sure to use the address listed above to avoid going to the wrong pizzeria.

Opened in 1965 to Italian immigrant Dom De Marco, Di Fara has been a labor of love for more than 50 years. Nearly every ingredient is imported from Italy, including the olive oil that douses every pie after it emerges from the oven before being crowned with freshly-cut basil. When De Marco passed away in March 2022 his kids took the reigns, keen to keep their father’s legacy alive for the next generation of New Yorkers.