The Resy Guide to the Best Pizza In Los Angeles (Yes, Los Angeles)

Chef Daniel Cutler honed his chops at Sotto before opening in Ronan in 2018 alongside his wife, Caitlin, who oversees the restaurant’s wine list. Here, the pizza is made Neapolitan-style, with a naturally leavened dough, to create flavorful, charred, and puffy crusts. The margherita features locally-made mozzarella from Gioia Cheese Co., while a French dip-inspired calzone is cheekily dubbed “Ode to Philippe.” Seasonal share plates include sprouting broccolini with Meyer lemon aioli, pork meatballs with parm, and wood-fired cheesecake.

Cosa Buona is not just an L.A. pizzeria, but a full-on California comfort food restaurant. Chef Zach Pollack (also of pasta destination Alimento) serves both Neapolitan- and Sicilian-style pizzas in classic and creative flavors. Think marinara, pepperoni, and a fluffy BBQ chicken number (à la California Pizza Kitchen) with housemade barbecue sauce, jalapeño, onion, cilantro, and ranch dressing. While you’re here, throw in a chopped salad and an order of irresistibly smoky mozzarella sticks for the table.

If the combination of pizza and cake conjures nostalgic memories of childhood birthday parties, you’re not alone. And yet what Aaron Lindell and Hannah Ziskin are doing at Quarter Sheets, their pandemic pop-up turned Echo Park restaurant, is somehow both more grown-up and more fun. Case in point: pierogi-inspired pizza, passion fruit-bay leaf slab cake, and plenty of natural wine. Lindell’s pizza is a little bit Detroit, a little bit Sicilian, plenty creative, and — most importantly — very good. More info here.

The team behind acclaimed Californian-Italian restaurant Union opened U Street last spring with the goal of bringing New York-style pizza to the local market. Chef Christopher Keyser’s dough combines two types of stone-milled grains from Cairnspring Mills with King Arthur flour, canned tomatoes from California’s Bianco DiNapoli and Alta Cucina (depending on the pie), peppers from a farm in Fresno, and the parm-like  finishing bite of cheese from Modesto’s Fiscalini. During lunch, try Keyser’s fluffy square slices in addition to his round pizzas, though if you only have room for one, let it be the vodka pepperoni.

Hail Mary in Atwater Village sources ingredients from small local farms to make pizza in their own distinct style. That translates to long, cold-fermented sourdough made from organic wheat and topped with ingredients like handmade fennel sausage, raclette, mixed mushrooms, and plenty of in-season produce. An array of salads and veggie-centric appetizers round out the offering at this neighborhood go-to for Los Angeles pizza. More info here.

For his signature De La Nonna pizza, Patrick Costa borrows from Detroit’s crispy-cheesy frico crusts, sturdy Sicilian “nonna-style” dough, and the crackery nature of Roman al taglio — plus the latter’s tendency to top handheld slices with seasonal vegetables like bitter greens and artichoke. The end product is a slate of square pies that are crunchy, feathery, and loaded with textural and flavor-forward toppings such as Japanese sweet potato, fennel, pesto, and mozz. Don’t miss the market pizza, a rotating pie that reflects what’s in season.

At Grá, the focus is on hearty, nutritious sourdough pizza topped with punchy ingredients, including seasonal ferments. A bacon-and-spicy pineapple number comes with smoked mozzarella, pickled chile sauce, and cilantro flowers, while The Banger includes buffalo mozzarella, salami, ‘nduja, fermented mustard seeds, and honey. A meal here should start with kimchi and pickled cucumbers and include a bottle of natural wine — or a non-alcoholic tepache — to pair with the pizza.

Side Pie started as a backyard pop-up powered by Kevin Hockin’s homemade wood-fired oven, and has since morphed into an Altadena brick-and-mortar with fantastic pizza and psychedelic merch. The pies here are large enough to pass for New York-style, but blistery and doughy like Neapolitan, and come topped with classic and Cali-appropriate flavors. Try the Bobby Green with kale, mozzarella, mushroom, lemon oil, red onion, and Parm; or the Honey’s Hammered with heavy cream, fresh and dry mozzarella, and ham from Roma Deli. Grab a tie-dyed t-shirt as a souvenir. More info here.

Jon & Vinny’s genius L.A. Woman pizza — a tomato-based pie topped with dollops of cold burrata and a perfect basil leaf on each slice — has inspired copycats for good reason. And it’s just one of several pizzas on their menu that convey a distinct Los Angeles sensibility. There’s also the chopped salad pizza (Salad Days); the Mexico-inspired El Chaparrito with chorizo, cilantro, and crema; and the Ham & Yeezy with smoked ham, vodka sauce, caciocavallo, smoked mozz, and pickled Fresno chiles. You can order all these and more at any of the bona fide L.A. institution’s several locations — on Fairfax, in Brentwood, or on Slauson.

Way 2 Fonky, Poetic Justice, I Got 5 On it. Notice a theme in the names of Brandoni Pepperoni’s pizzas? They’re all references to West Coast hip-hop. (We think Luniz would approve.) It’s one of chef Brandon Gray’s ways of centering his California roots, which he also does by spotlighting farmers like Milliken and Coleman Farms on his menu of artful Neapolitan-style pies. For now, Brandoni Pepperoni operates out of a commissary kitchen in Fairfax, but Gray is plotting a future for a full-fledged brick-and-mortar. More info here.

Angelenos flock to Pizzana for its SoCal interpretation of Neapolitan pizza. Chef Daniele Uditi imports Italian flour, San Marzano tomatoes, and fior di latte cheese, then combines them with California produce to create crave-worthy pies. His creative reimagining of Italian dishes in pizza form — for example, Pizzanna’s extremely photogenic cacio e pepe pie — is perhaps more appropriate for L.A. than Italy, but they’re perfectly at home in Brentwood and West Hollywood.

In Boyle Heights, Brooklyn Ave Pizza Co. sits underneath The Paramount music venue in a building that was once home to the Jewish Bakers Union of L.A. The pizzas are charred and chewy, with topping combinations inspired by the neighborhood, including one with mole, Oaxacan cheese, curtido, and crema. Also of note is the Cesar Chavez salad, a Mexican take on a classic Caesar that swaps cotija for Parmesan and adds a chipotle kick to the dressing.

In Bacetti’s own words, the restaurant specializes in Roman fare “influenced by California produce and an L.A. state of mind.” That translates to pizzas that are round with thin, crackly crusts, similar to how they’re done in the Eternal City, in flavor combinations ranging from potato, garbanzo, and sage to spicy pork sausage, kale, and Calabrian pepper. Although Bacetti’s menu is sprawling — encompassing antipasti, small plates, pasta, meat, and fish — it would be a mistake to skip a pizza or two.

Here, you’ll find the signature pies of none other than reigning L.A. icon Nancy Silverton — pizzas with golden-brown, tangy crusts topped with classic and seasonal toppings. Highlights include her fennel sausage number with cream, mozzarella, red onion, and scallion and — now that they’re in season – the squash blossom pie with tomato and burrata. While you’re here, it’s imperative to start with Silverton’s namesake chopped salad, and wise to finish with the butterscotch budino.

Oste specializes in pinsa, an oblong pizza that hails from Rome and looks more like a flatbread than a typical round or square pie. Its soft insides and crackery crusts are the perfect complement to straightforward Italian toppings like prosciutto, mortadella, funghi, and boquerones. Better yet, pinsa are lighter in nature, so you can order more.

From oysters to charcuterie, the most pristine vegetables, salad, and larger plates, Gjelina’s menu has much to offer, but it’d be a mistake to not order at least one (ideally two) pizzas to share as centerpieces for your table. Smoke-kissed pies arrive glistening from this Venice institution’s wood-fired oven, with ingredients like bottarga, brussels sprouts, mozzarella, and pickled Fresnos or housemade chorizo, tomato cream, fontina, fennel, chile, and basil. More info here.

The new kid in town, Pizzeria Sei is the place to go for Tokyo-style neo-Neapolitan pies, with featherweight pinched crusts that perfectly balance chewiness and char. Named for the number of slices each pie is cut into in Japanese, Sang Woo Joo and Jennifer So’s tight menu of seven pies — including a bianca with preserved lemon and a “Bismarck” with fior di latte, prosciutto cotto, egg, pecorino, and truffle oil — are offered alongside a handful of salads and tiramisu for dessert. More info here.

For all the hype that New York-style pizza gets across the globe, there’s not a whole lot of it in L.A. The chef Daniel Holzman, who is known for his Meatball Shop empire in New York, is here to change that. At Danny Boy’s in Downtown, Angelenos can delight in the culinary treasure that is a New York slice, including vegan and gluten-free folks (just ask!). Don’t sleep on the garlic knots. More info here.

“Pizza that doesn’t suck” is a bold catchphrase, and one that perfectly encapsulates the easygoing charm of Little Coyote. At their two locations in Long Beach, they, too, make pies in the New York style, hand-stretched with thin crusts. Whole 16-inch pizzas come in flavors like pepperoni and veggie supremo, and slices are served during lunchtime. Also on offer: subs, salads, and wine. Pro tip: Call in for a takeout order, then enjoy it on the beach a few blocks away. More info here.

If you’re looking for authentic Neapolitan-style pizza, look no further than L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele. After all, this is the Los Angeles outpost of a famed Naples brand, which has been serving up soupy-centered, chewy-crusted pies made of high-quality ingredients in the motherland since 1870. Pizza aside, the elegant indoor-outdoor space is a lovely place to dine as well. More info here.

Apollonia’s boasts a lengthy menu of pizzas, which they rightfully call “original artisan creations.” Their pies are round, thin-crusted, and generously topped, although they also make gorgeous off-menu square pies with dramatic frico crusts (lacy, crisped, cheesy edges) that you can — and should — request in advance. Creative combos range from a chicken Tequila sausage on a margherita pie with a splash of pesto to goat cheese, kalamata olives, and lamb sausage. More info here.