Where to Get the Best Pizza in Pittsburgh

By the slice and by the pie.

Pizzeria Davide
Pizzeria Davide | Aimee DiAndrea
Pizzeria Davide | Aimee DiAndrea

If there’s one thing we all could use right now, it’s some seriously good comfort food. And no other dish comes close to giving us those warm-and-cozy feelings than a piping hot slice of cheesy, melty pizza, fresh from the wood-fired oven. Luckily for us, Pittsburgh restaurants and pizza shops are open for business, offering lots of dine-in, takeout, and delivery options. From hometown hole-in-the-walls serving classic cuts to fancier Neapolitan pies topped with local herbs and produce, Pittsburgh has a lot to offer the pizza-loving public. Whether you’re a deep-dish fan or love a light and airy crust, these are the spots that are making the greatest pizzas in Pittsburgh. So grab a slice (or a pie) and enjoy the best of the best.

Piccolo Forno

Lawrenceville

Pistachio pesto, Romano cheese, mortadella, burrata, and fresh basil all come together perfectly on Piccolo Forno’s mortadella e pistachio pizzas, which has just a hint of sweetness. It’s just one of the more than a dozen wood-fired pizzas on the menu at this cozy, super popular Lawrenceville BYOB. Whatever you end up ordering, save room for dessert -- specifically, the Pittsburgh-famous tiramisu. 
How to order: The restaurant is open for limited indoor and outdoor dining, and their full menu is available for takeout and contactless pick-up. Call 412-622-0111 to order.

Fiori’s motto is “we fix you up,” which is appropriate since pizza can fix almost any bad situation. The floury dough is tossed by hand -- a feat you can admire for yourself through the large window near the door -- and there are a whole host of meaty toppings including capicola, Virginia ham, bacon, meatballs, steak, and hot-sausage links. Of course, Fiori’s pizza is just as delicious plain thanks to a sweet (but not too sweet) sauce, thick cheese, and puffy crust. 
How to order: Call 412-343-7788 to order takeout at Fiori’s Brookline location.

Iron Born Pizza

Millvale and the Strip District

One of Pittsburgh’s newest pizza places also happens to be one of the best. Iron Born has definitely earned its spot in the pizza pantheon in Pittsburgh. With one location in Millvale, and another location in the Strip District, Chef Pete Tolman’s Detroit-style pizza has fans all over the city. Each pie is cooked in a personal-sized cast iron pan, giving the focaccia-like base a crisp crust and light, chewy interior. There’s an extensive menu with new additions that change frequently, but the red pie (with brick cheese, pepperoni, 24-month Parmigiana, and red sauce) and the white pie (garlic cream, caramelized onions, marinated cherry tomatoes, arugula, and ricotta) are always available, and always worth ordering.
How to order: Both Iron Born locations are currently open for take-out only. Call 412-822-7300 to order from Millvale, 412-588-0094 to order from the Strip District, or order online.

Driftwood Oven

Lawrenceville

Driftwood Oven started as a mobile pizza oven in 2015, serving up fresh pies topped with ingredients that are sourced from local farms and change with the season. Now, it’s a beloved Pittsburgh restaurant in Lawrenceville, still serving the same, carefully created pies, in addition to salads, desserts, and beer and wine to go. All the pizza starts with dough that’s been hand-mixed with organic flours and sourdough culture, which makes the dough rich and flavorful. The restaurant has also just announced a new bakery program, offering baked goods like sourdough croissants, cinnamon rolls, breads, and strudels.
How to order: Driftwood Oven is currently only open for takeout Wednesdays through Sundays. Call 412-251-0253 to order.

Caliente Pizza & Drafthouse
Caliente

Everyone is family at Caliente Pizza & Drafthouse, which offers a menu of pies “just like Grandma used to make.” The restaurant is famous for their massive, rectangular ‘Grandma’ pizzas, including their signature Mee-Maw, with olive oil, five-year aged Parmesan, local rapini, peppered bacon, shallots, garlic, onion, crushed plum tomatoes, porchetta, and shaved black truffle. Elsewhere on the menu, you’ll find circular gourmet pies, piled high with inventive toppings, like roasted garlic butter sauce and wild mushroom ragu.
How to order: Caliente Pizza & Drafthouse has five locations in the Pittsburgh area, all of which are open for indoor dining, or order online for delivery or pickup.

Threadbare Ciderhouse & Meadery
Threadbare

If you’re looking for a unique pie, you’ve come to the right place. Threadbare Cider House pizzas are made with yeast that was started with the same yeast used to make their cider, and the menu features an ever-rotating list of unique options for their thin-crust pies, like the Loaded Baked Potato pizza (with cheddar and mozzarella, potato, bacon, sour cream, and chives), and Roasted Apple (with Parma Sausage Capicollo, apple, red onion, rosemary, and mozzarella). Gluten-free options are available, and (of course), there’s always plenty of cider to go around, too.
How to order: The restaurant is now open for on-site dining, and takeout is available Thursday through Sunday for curbside pickup. Order online.

Pizzeria Davide
Aimee DiAndrea

Pizzeria Davide

Strip District

The team behind the super-popular DiAnoia’s Eatery has expanded their pizza operations, and opened a takeout spot right behind their restaurant. Pizzeria Davide serves “old-world” style pies, made with a 48-hour fermented dough, and topped with house-made sauce and sharp provolone. Additional toppings include a mix of locally-sourced ingredients, like fresh mozzarella from Caputo Brothers Creamery in Spring Grover, Pennsylvania, and artisanal Italian ingredients, like flour from Molino Pasini in Northern Italy. And don’t sleep on Pizzaria Davide’s other menu items, like their softball-sized Meatball Bomb, a three-meat meatball baked in mozzarella and pizza dough.
How to order: Pizzeria Davide’s Strip District location is open for takeout and delivery. Order takeout online, and delivery through DoorDash.

Mineo's Pizza

Squirrel Hill

Mineo’s Pizza House has been a Pittsburgh classic since John Mineo opened his original Squirrel Hill shop way back in 1958. Though the business has grown over the years (there’s also a Mount Lebanon location), the family recipe that was used on the very first day of business is still what’s being used today. Go for John’s Special: named for the man who started it all, the pie’s loaded with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and sausage. 
How to order: The restaurant is open for limited dine-in service, plus takeout and curbside pickup. Order by calling 412-522-2053.

Il Pizzaiolo

Mount Lebanon

Ray Molinaro opened Il Pizzaiolo’s flagship location in Mount Lebanon back in 1996, putting emphasis on sourcing the best ingredients possible. Fresh Buffalo mozzarella is imported from Italy for the classic Neapolitan pizzas, which are fired in a 1,000-degree oven; for our money, you can’t go wrong with the classic Margherita DOC, topped with fresh basil, San Marzano tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and extra-virgin olive oil.
How to order: Il Pizzaiolo is open for outdoor dining, curbside pickup and delivery. Order online.

This place is literally over the river and through the woods from Downtown, but it’s worth the drive for Nonna Pina’s Pizza, the “grandmother’s specialty": a thick, square-cut pizza with Romano cheese and chunky tomato-onion sauce. La Tavola has been serving up slices for 50 years, so the locals know how to find the practically secret take-out entrance -- for the uninitiated, it’s the unmarked door on the side of the building. Look for the wooden staircase. 
How to order: Takeout is available by calling 412-481-6627.

At Slice on Broadway, the cooks own up to having an abnormal obsession with pizza, and happily accept their label as perfectionists. Buy by the slice or by the pie (small, large, or “ginormous” with 16 cuts) at one of the restaurant’s three Pittsburgh-area locations. There are 20 speciality pizzas, such as the Slaughterhouse Five, with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, capicola and prosciutto, and the Green Monster, loaded with pesto, ricotta, spinach, artichoke hearts, and roasted red peppers. 
How to order: Order online for pickup or delivery.

If you haven’t already heard of Beto’s Pizza (and, since it’s been in business for more than 60 years, it’s hard to imagine that’s the case), this may blow your mind a little bit. The restaurant serves classic pies by the slice, with pizza dough topped with sauce and pulled hot and fresh from the oven... then covered in cold shredded cheese and assorted toppings. These “raw” pies are a local favorite, and slices start at just $1.78, with toppings for an additional 55 cents.
How to order: Call 412-561-0121 for takeout.

Proper has brick-oven pizzas down to a science. The thin dough begins with an organic yeast starter, which rests for three days, before it’s fired in a wood-burning oven transforming it into a crisp, smoky crust. With fresh basil and house-made mozzarella, the margherita is a great choice. For more adventurous palates, try the Carnivore Pizza (house-made sweet and hot Italian sausage, spicy pepperoni, house-made, wood-smoked pork belly bacon and house mozzarella), or the Pittsburgh-themed Black & Gold (crispy Yukon Gold potato, black pepper, red onion, roasted garlic spread, extra-virgin olive oil, and grated pecorino Romano). 
How to order: Proper is now offering full-service outdoor dining, plus takeout. Order here.

Spak Brothers is a crowd-pleaser with vegan options, plus plenty of choices for carnivores. Pizza is available in small, large, and XL sizes, and almost every pie offers a vegan and non-vegan choice, thanks to the shop’s inventive use of Seitan. Calzones, hoagies, and cheesy breadsticks round out the menu, along with a healthy selection of salads. 
How to order: Spak Brothers is open for takeout, through online ordering only.