The Best Pizza in Los Angeles (According to a Pizza Snob)
Looking for the best pizza in Los Angeles? Read on!
For years, I was that person. The one who loudly proclaimed, with the full force of someone who had once lived in Italy, that pizza should only be eaten in Italy.
And honestly? I still kind of stand by it.
Italian Dairy Magic
Having pizza in Italy is an entirely different experience — borderline religious if you take your pizza seriously enough.
The vibe alone sets the stage: a tiny neighborhood pizzeria with a menu consisting of nothing but pizza, a cold Peroni sweating in your hand, sub ten euro prices, and the intoxicating smell of blistering dough coming from often centuries old wood-fired ovens.
I still vividly remember one night in Rome: riding on the back of a friend’s Vespa through Trastevere, feeling warm summer air on my face, pulling up to a casual neighborhood pizzeria, and devouring a perfectly blistered quattro formaggi pie sometime just before midnight.
Fior di latte, gorgonzola dolce, taleggio, fontina… pure Italian dairy magic.
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The Best Pizza in Los Angeles: Top Ten
So yes — for a long time I simply refused to eat pizza outside of Italy.
But as I near a decade of life in the United States — and now call Los Angeles home — I’ve had to soften my stance slightly. After all, a girl’s gotta eat (pizza).
So I set out on a mission: to find the best pizza in Los Angeles that wouldn’t make an Italy purist cry. Here are the ten spots that passed the test.
1. L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele
An outpost of the legendary Naples institution made famous worldwide, Da Michele is proof that great dough travels well.
You’d never expect to find one of the most authentic Neapolitan pizzas in Los Angeles tucked into a somewhat random Hollywood back alley, but night after night the crowds line up anyway.
The reason is simple: the dough. Light, airy, perfectly charred. If you close your eyes, it almost feels like Naples.
And if you don’t care about scene or ambiance, their happy hour might quietly be one of the best pizza deals in Hollywood.
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2. Pizzana
The brainchild of Italian chef Daniele Uditi and Candace Nelson of Sprinkles Cupcakes, Pizzana delivers what they call Neo-Neapolitan pizza.
Chef Daniele is an Italian expat himself and takes the craft seriously — so seriously, in fact, that he even organizes food tours back to Italy for fellow pizza lovers.
His dough is lighter, crispier, and slightly more modern than classic Neapolitan pies, but the spirit is unmistakably Italian.
In terms of best pizza in Los Angeles, this is one of the closest experiences to eating in Italy.
3. Jon & Vinny’s
A longtime staple of the LA pizza scene, Jon & Vinny’s manages to balance Italian tradition with California personality.
Their pizza bianca with jalapeños is a perfect nod to the city’s love affair with heat. And yes — they serve stellar breakfast pizza, which is exactly as decadent as it sounds.
Pro tip: don’t leave without ordering the legendary olive oil chocolate pudding. Also check out the well curated wines at their sister concept Helen’s.
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4. Pizzeria Mozza
You can’t talk about the best pizza in Los Angeles without mentioning Nancy Silverton.
The LA food queen’s Italian temple is practically sacred ground for pizza lovers. Everything that touches Silverton’s hands turns to gold — crispy, blistered, wood-fired doughy gold.
Confession: she’s also a bit of a low-key foodie girl crush of mine.
5. Ugo
Ugo’s Culver City location was actually my first pizza in Los Angeles.
One day I was desperately craving a good margherita, and they delivered — literally and figuratively.
They’re also one of only two places in LA certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (the other one is Setebello in Pasadena), meaning their pizzas meet strict traditional standards straight out of Naples.
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6. Pizzeria Sei
Who knew Tokyo-style pizza was a thing? At Pizzeria Sei, chef William Joo blends Japanese precision with Italian tradition.
I still haven’t managed to snag a reservation for their famous Tuesday night pizza omakase (called “Omakasei,” naturally), but their regular pies are already among the best in the city.
In other words: Italy meets Japan in Los Angeles — and somehow it works beautifully.
7. Gjelina
For beachside pizza, Gjelina is hard to beat. Their mushroom and truffle pie is a Venice classic.
The restaurant helped define the whole Abbot Kinney dining scene, and their sister bakery Gjusta is equally famous for its obsessive approach to bread and dough.
As a Venice local, the Gjelina takeout window is my go-to move for a sunset beach picnic pizza.
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8. Milo & Olive
This is not the obvious choice — you won’t see it on most best pizza in Los Angeles lists. But it deserves a spot.
Milo & Olive is where I first encountered breakfast pizza. Potatoes on pizza… at 10am? My mind was blown.
Also their garlic knots still visit me in my dreams some eight years later.
9. Apollonia’s Pizzeria
Not all pizza needs to be Italian style. When in Rome… well… when in America.
Apollonia’s is one of the best places in LA for Detroit-style and New York-style slices, with crispy edges, thick crust, and gloriously excessive cheese.
Sometimes the best pizza in Los Angeles means embracing the American side of pizza culture.
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10. Spago
This is not your everyday pizza spot. But Wolfgang Puck’s legendary smoked salmon pizza helped shape the modern culinary identity of Los Angeles.
The thin crust topped with smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and caviar became one of the city’s most iconic dishes.
So if someone on Reddit asks, “If money was no object, what pizza would you have in LA?” My answer is easy. This one. With extra caviar.
Honorable Mentions for the Best Pizza in Los Angeles
Los Angeles has a deep pizza bench. A few more spots worth mentioning:
- Pijja Palace — Indian-inspired pizzas and cult status in Silver Lake.
- Ronan — wood-fired pies and excellent seasonal toppings.
- LaSorted’s — New York-style slices in Chinatown with a cult following.
- Ozzy’s Apizza — New Haven-style pies for East Coast purists.
- Prime Pizza — classic NY slices across multiple locations.
- Not No Bar — great new neighborhood pizza in SaMo.
- Dtown Pizzeria — Detroit-style done right.
- Quarter Sheets Pizza Club — inventive slices and incredible desserts.
- Pizzeria Bianco — the LA outpost of the Arizona institution.
- Danny Boy’s Famous Original Pizza — great New York slices downtown.
- Triple Beam Pizza — Roman-style pizza by weight.
- Secret Pizza — no frills late-night slices.
- El Morfi Grill — once famous for fugazzeta (Argentinian onion pizza). RIP, sadly closed.
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Best Pizza in LA – Final Thoughts
Every year, I still make my pilgrimage back to Italy to eat that perfect quattro formaggi — with creamy fior di latte, gorgonzola dolce, and taleggio melting together in glorious harmony.
Fact check: no one in Los Angeles can quite compete with Italy’s four-cheese game.
But the best pizza in Los Angeles doesn’t need to.
If you stop expecting a religious experience and instead treat pizza here as a decadent earthly pleasure — even in the City of Angels — you’ll discover some pretty incredible pies.
That’s good enough to keep this former pizza snob happily eating her way across LA.
Have you been to any of the spots above? What else would you add to the list of best pizza in Los Angeles? Let us know in the comments or tag @eightyflavors on socials!
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