The 12 Best Pizzerias In San Francisco
San Francisco has long been a foodie's paradise. The hilly city famous for its pastel-colored Victorian row houses has given birth to classic California dishes, including Crab Louie and chicken tetrazzini. Beyond popularizing California's ingredient-rich cuisine, the city's chefs have also played a major role in mainstreaming the Slow Food Movement.
Pizza in the city is also excellent. San Francisco hosts some of the country's best pizza joints, ranking high on the Naples-based 50 Top Pizza list and recommended by the Michelin Guide. Beyond the experts, local and visiting customers rave about the often creative toppings, fine crusts, and incredible variety on offer, whether it's Neapolitan, New York, or Detroit, round or square, whole pies or slices. The flavors often pay tribute to the city's diversity, including historic Chinese and Italian immigrant communities.
If pizza in America was popularized on the nation's East Coast, and New York City is synonymous with great pizza, the West Coast — thanks to San Francisco's pizzerias — is now a pizza destination, too.
A16
A Michelin Guide-recommended spot, A16 takes its name from the Italian highway that connects the region of Puglia, where burrata emerged, to the Campania region, home to Naples and, thus, the pizza heartland.
Making pies in accordance with the Vera Pizza Napoletana (V.P.N.) standards, this pizzeria combines Southern Italian flavors and fresh Northern California ingredients. That means pies like the Funghi with wild mushrooms, spinach, grana padano, caciocavallo, and mozzarella cheeses, garlic, chili, and oregano. Or try the Salsicca with fennel sausage, broccoli rabe, and a similar trio of cheeses. Add-ons include egg, Calabrian chili oil, and prosciutto di parma.
One particularly celebrated pie is the red sauce Vesuvio, praised for its smoky and spicy flavors: Spicy soppressata, scamorza and caciocavallo cheese, chili, and garlic. The desserts also deserve your attention, especially the olive oil cake, seasonal house-made gelato and sorbet, and a panna cotta with lemon verbena, strawberries, and rhubarb. A16's popularity has led to a new spot not only in California, but also two new locations in Japan. Its San Francisco locations are in the Marina District and the charming food market at the Ferry Building.
Multiple Locations
Il Casaro Pizzeria
Italy-born chef Dario Barbone, who runs a city deli, praises Il Casaro Pizzeria for its warm Italian conviviality and great Neapolitan-style pizzas, especially the no-sauce white pies.
A prime white pie is the quattro formaggi, which ups the game with goat cheese, asiago, and gorgonzola alongside the usual mozzarella. A red pie we love is the calabrese with crushed cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and spicy Calabrian 'nduja sausage. Another spicy red pie is the diavola with spicy salami and Calabrian chili spicy oil. If spice is not your preference, the Norma with eggplant and ricotta salata on mozzarella and red sauce is delicious.
The calzone stuffed with mozzarella, ham, cremini mushrooms, and arugula is one of the most enticing calzones around. Add-ons include organic eggs, Italian salami sausage, and eggplant. And there's a large Italian wine selection and beers on draft, including pitchers, to complement the pizzas.
Multiple Locations
Flour + Water Pizzeria
Ask around for the best pizza in San Francisco, and Flour + Water is sure to come up. The San Francisco Standard calls it a must-try, praising its thin-crust Neapolitan pizzas and its thick-crust Detroit pies, which are becoming quite popular across the city's pizza scene.
The menu is divided into red with aged mozzarella and sauce, and white with mozzarella. A top choice amongst the white pies is the cacio e pepe with pecorino crema, fontina, garlic, and black pepper. When it comes to red, we're a fan of the burrata pie with Sicilian dried tomatoes, chili, and lemon oil. The tuna pizza with cherry tomatoes evokes the flavors of the Mediterranean.
There are great add-ons like the mushrooms, organic eggs, eggplant, and both 'nduja sausage and ham. Order ranch or marinara sauce for dipping. Each pie is 12 inches, so if you're with a group, it's a good idea to order a bunch and share them.
Multiple Locations
Del Popolo
The first thing you'll notice when you enter Del Popolo is the half-circle green-tiled bar surrounding the wood-fired oven. The elegant setting sets that stage for the exceptional food to follow at this Michelin-recommended spot.
You won't be disappointed with the Brentwood corn with Calabrian chili, pecorino, jalapeño, and scamorza affumicata, a cow's milk cheese known for its sweet and smoky flavor. Cheese here gets really creative, going beyond the standard mozzarella and ricotta. There's also semi-aged pecorino, fontina, burrata, mozzarella di bufala, and asiago.
All the pies here are Neapolitan style with charred, bubbly edges. Other top pies include the potato pie with Yukon gold potatoes, rosemary, red onion, and fontina, and a pizza topped with king trumpet mushrooms. Add-ons include plant-based pepperoni, oil-cured black olive, vegan mozzarella, and house-made sausage and salt-cured pork. Gluten-free crust is extra.
If you really enjoy the pies, take home one of their frozen pizzas: margherita, potato, or pepperoni.
(415) 993-3930
855 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
Za Pizza
Customers on TripAdvisor rave about the great pizza and beer, which are all the reasons you need to head to Za Pizza. There's a daily slice special, but other than that, it is all whole pies.
The menu is split into Basics – cheese and fresh, house-made pesto pies — and Specialities. The latter are all named after artists, reflecting, at first thought, the establishment's aspirations toward artisanal pizza. The Vincent Van Dough is topped with Roma tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh garlic. Da Vince's Palette is brushed with red and green peppers, spicy sausage, and onions. And the Potesto is painted with roasted red potatoes, roasted garlic, and fresh pesto. Follow their social media for special pizza announcements, such as a peach-topped pie.
The pizza crust is thin, and pizza sizes include medium and large, which are quite big. Popular with locals yet welcoming to visitors, the vibe here is laidback, giving the spot a hole-in-the-wall feel. Art sketches on the walls, created by guests, add to the charm. That's when you realize that the play on art names are anything but pretentious, but reflective of the playful ambience.
(415) 771-3100
1919 Hyde St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Golden Boy Pizza
San Francisco chef Sara Rich, of the celebrated Rich Table, calls Golden Boy her favorite city pizza, one worth sitting through bridge traffic. Established in 1978, Golden Boy has become a legendary spot. Local news calls this the place you want to end your night at, with many spots that stay open way past midnight.
But it's not just San Francisco natives who love it. Golden Boy has increasingly attracted more and more national attention, including making it onto Yelp's list of the country's 100 best pizzerias.
Golden Boy serves up pan pizza in small and large squares, cut into four or eight slices. The cheese and pepperoni are top-notch creations of traditional pies. The pesto veggie pie is heavy with sliced tomatoes and cucumber, black olives, and other nutritious ingredients. The clam and garlic is very savory, and the meat and vegetable combo is always a good choice. You can build your own pizza, small or large, or order by the slice.
Multiple Locations
Tony's Pizza Napoletana
No list would be complete without Tony's Pizza Napoletana, a Bay Area institution since 1991. The eponymous Tony Gemignani has won more than a dozen World Pizza Championships and has distinguished himself with incredible versatility. Although his initial inspiration was Neapolitan pizza, Tony's now serves 11 additional pizza styles: New Haven and St. Louis, Sicilian and Detroit, and grandma.
Grandma pies are square-shaped pizzas finished with oregano, Romano, and garlic oil. Try the Spicy Grandma with extra spicy tomato cream sauce, sliced mozzarella, and basil. Or maybe you prefer a Sweet Grandma with extra sweet tomato sauce swapped out for the spicy.
Award-winning pies include the Neapolitan Margherita (only 73 made per day), the Classic Italian Cal Italia — topped with four different cheeses, sweet fig preserve, prosciutto, and balsamic glaze, it won gold in the Food Network's pizza champions challenge — and the Sicilian Il Padrino with applewood smoked bacon, vodka cream bolognese sauce, burrata, and black volcanic salt.
Plant-based and vegan pies are on the menu, including a pepperoni. And if you want coal-fired pizza, Tony's has that, too. The latter are 19-20 inches and fried in a 1000-degree oven. The coal-fired pepperoni and Italian sausage New Yorker took top prize at a Las Vegas competition. And, lastly, go native with California-inspired pizzas, all of which are made with multigrain dough. The El Jefe with apricot habanero jam, carnitas, and orange juice mist is a must.
(415) 835-9888
1570 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
Pink Onion
Beer and wine on top and creatively-topped pizzas deliver top ratings from customers. The pizzeria jokingly mocks that its cheese is plain and boring, but it's a great pie and definitely worth ordering if you're in the mood for a simple classic.
For something more special, try the Kanoute ladled with pistachio and basil pesto and topped with mozzarella, ricotta, tomato, arugula, and crushed pistachios. A few of the pies have an olive oil base, such as the Magic Mushroom with cremini mushrooms, prosciutto, black pepper, and an extra heaping of oil, but of the truffle kind. The white pie Bianco has a creamy ricotta base and is topped with plenty of mozzarella and cracked black pepper, arugula, and prosciutto.
All pies are made using home-made dough and can be ordered as small or large. Pizzas are round except the red sauce Grandma with cheese and basil. Substitutions are allowed, just don't go halvesies if you're going to ask for changes.
(415) 529-2635
64 14th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Outta Sight Pizza
You definitely do not want this neighborhood pizza slice shop to disappear. Not when they're making Peking duck and butter chicken pies. Started as a pop-up during COVID-19 — offering comfort food during trying times — popular pies include the Marge-a-rita with California olive oil, the pork pepperoni with basil, and the signature Madonna with marinara, house-made mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and dry jack, a slightly nutty, tangy cheese originating in California as an alternative to Parmesan.
One of our favorites is the Down the Hatch with roasted hatch chiles, Jimmy Nardello peppers — the new "it" vegetable making the round amongst chefs — vodka sauce blended with the Korean sweet and spicy fermented condiment gochujang, and house-made fennel sausage. Grab a slice or order a whole pie, which is 18 inches.
Have fun with the toppings. The ubiquitous hot honey is given a twist here with Sichuan spices. Or go for the house-made ranch, oil-cured anchovies, or burrata soaked in olive oil and sea salt.
Multiple Locations
Joyride
Brothers Jesse and Joshua Jacobs are running Detroit-style pan pizzas all over the city, a joyride that has seen rapid expansion thanks to thick pies called "aggressive," which is to say: Very generously topped. We're talking fig jam, blue cheese, dried cranberries, mozzarella, and brick cheese all on one pie. Or try the Bacon Me Crazy with mushrooms, three kinds of cheese, and plenty of bacon.
Other pies we're crazy about are the barbecue sauce chicken, the Greek pie with artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, and feta, and the sweet and spicy pineapple pizza that mixes pineapple with jalapeño peppers and chili flakes, hot honey, and pepperoncini.
Craft your own pizza by choosing your crust — regular, thin, or gluten-free — and then add a bunch of ingredients from the lengthy toppings list, including plant-based bacon, chicken, pepperoni, and sausage. Other great toppings include the fire-braised chicken, clams, sweet Dorati tomatoes, and Brussels sprouts. And there's always the option of extra cheese, including the semi-soft taleggio.
Multiple Locations
Delarosa
Like any decent pizzeria, judge them by their Marguerite, which comes with either mozzarella or burrata, and you'll be pleased. The Roman-style pizza menu is not long, but what they're doing is solid. The white pie with wild mushrooms and taleggio cheese, and the spicy soppressata pizza with green chili are two standouts. So is the Bartender with burrata, spicy fennel sausage, olives, and Calabrese chilies on marinara sauce.
Keep an eye out for specials, like the summer pesto pie with mozzarella, zucchini, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and crumbled goat cheese. Gluten-free crust is available for a surcharge. Add-ons include egg, vegan sausage, prosciutto, and anchovy.
Happy hour includes deals on smaller pizzettas, including a hot soppressata pie with shishito peppers and provolone. The beers on draft and the refreshing spritz and fruity cocktails — including a tequila with raspberry, apricot, lemon, and pineapple — pair nicely with the pizzas.
Multiple Locations
Pizzetta 211
Welcome to Pizzetta 211— the only spot in this tech city that does not accept Apple Pay. That aside, Pizzetta 211 is renowned for serving fresh farm pizza with exceptional ingredients, some of the most innovative topping choices we've seen anywhere. Much of the menu changes biweekly with seasonal offerings, but there is a stable core of delicious pies.
Regulars include a pizza topped with farm egg, lamb sausage, Jimmy Nardello peppers — that newly popular vegetable makes another appearance in trendy San Francisco — salty ricotta salata, and humble herbs. But our favorites are the fig and prosciutto pie with radicchio and hazelnuts and saba (grape syrup) and the mascarpone, wild arugula, and Sicilian olive oil on a spicy San Marzano tomato base.
A seasonal pizza is topped with braised baby artichokes, spinach, a mornay sauce made with gruyère, and roasted breadcrumbs. Other seasonal and regular pies have been topped with braised short rib, garlic confit, pine nuts, white anchovies, roasted summer squash, and Fiore Sardo cheese. The crust is thin and praised for its even golden-brown color.
(415) 379-9880
211 23rd Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121
Methodology
The writer is a yearly traveler to San Francisco, a city he fell in love with as a young graduate student doing research in the Bay Area. Putting together a list of the city's best pizzerias was an unenviable task, only because it was hard to narrow it down to only 12 pizzas. Methodology depended on personal experience patronizing many of the establishments, supplemented with reviews from multiple sources, including Yelp, Reddit, TripAdvisor, and Google.
Additional factors were also considered. For instance, whether the pizza chef has won recognition, such as a James Beard nomination or award, or whether a local newspaper has rated the pizzeria among the best in town. Other variables included specific pizzas that have won awards, such as the annual Las Vegas pizza competition.
The opinions of expert judges were also taken into account, including food critics and the Naples-based 50 Top Pizza ranking lists. Lastly, the question of longevity — whether the place has become a widely-beloved institution over many years — and novelty, the kind of pies served and their uniqueness, were also important factors.