The 18 Best Pizza Places In Miami

We have never had a more perfect slice of pizza than the ones served at Miami Slice, a counter-seating spot on the northern edge of Downtown. And this is probably why there's often an hours-long wait to eat at the tiny little slice shop. The five or six New York-style slices you’ll find here have a crust that’s crispy edge-to-edge, yet still warm and fluffy when you bite into it. The toppings—like candied cherry tomatoes, garlic confit cream, and pesto swirls—are dispersed with the restraint of a famous Danish architect. And the highlight of the menu, a pepperoni slice with red sauce, hot honey, and an optional (but non-negotiable) glob of additional stracciatella, made us briefly lose consciousness.

We'll always be able to brag to New Yorkers about Lucali. It's not that they don't have one. They do (and it makes exceptional pizza). But their Lucali requires a wait that could exceed five hours. At ours in Sunset Harbour, you may be able to walk right in if you get there before 6pm. But whether you waltz right in or have to kill some time at the bar next door, your reward will be a pie that defies comparison. Unlike most pizza, which tends to neatly follow some sort of regional style, Lucali’s is a perfect hybrid between a classic New York paper-plate slice and a crispy thin-crust pie. The dough is soft towards the middle and starts to get crispier and crunchier the closer you get to the crust.

It’s perfectly acceptable to stick to drinks at this Downtown Italian aperitivo bar—but if you did that you’d be missing out on the spectacular Neapolitan pizza. Our favorite is the white pizza covered in pink mortadella, creamy ricotta, pistachio chunks, and squiggles of pesto. The clam pizza is also deliciously salty. Those are white pies, but there are also options with tomato sauce, like the “bad first date” pizza with taleggio and pepperoncini. All of the above have crusts so beautifully spotted, someone in Boca Raton might try to make a handbag out of it. This place is related to Jaguar Sun (and great for so many of the same reasons). But that mortadella pizza is the reason why you’ll want to come back.

Steve's is our favorite classic pizza spot in Miami, and it all comes down to their sauce. It’s just the right amount of sweet—somewhere between caramelized tomatoes and sugary pasta sauce. The North Miami spot looks like it belongs across the street from a college campus. Led Zeppelin blares through the speakers, and you can barely see the dark wood under all the graffiti and etchings. Polaroids are tacked to the top of the kitchen window, where you can see them making huge slices with gooey cheese. We order ours with pepperoni. They curl into cups and add a spice that balances out the sweet sauce.

The huge slabs of square pizza come out of the oven around noon at this Italian Buena Vista bakery (but they’ll warm it up for you if you’re a little late). This is the kind of simple, minimal pizza that really lets the dough shine. And what a dough it is: light and airy inside, but with enough structure and crunch to remain stiff when you lift it with one hand. Toppings are usually pretty simple—some crushed tomatoes, pockets of fior di latte mozzarella, and maybe a few sprigs of basil. Even if you don’t get to eat it fresh from the oven (the tastiest option), it’s still delicious if you decide to bring it back to life in your own oven. 

Eleventh Street Pizza is a great New York-style pizza spot in Downtown. The pizzas are foldable yet firm, and made with sourdough crust. Our favorite is the pepperoni and hot honey pizza, which comes topped with Calabrian chili paste, caramelized onions, and little pepperoni cups. There are also thick square slices, and they do a pizza Happy Hour Monday through Friday with $10 cheese pies. The pizzas feed two to three people, especially if you add on a side like meatballs or caesar salad. It’s mostly a to-go operation, but they have tables in case you want to eat there. There's also a second location in Downtown Dadeland.

Despite its wood fired oven and two rotating pizza options, Walrus Rodeo is not a pizzeria (it actually says so on their website, business cards, and matchbooks). But that doesn't change the fact that the pizzas made at this wonderfully weird Buena Vista restaurant are delicious. The rodeo za is usually on the menu and you should absolutely order it. The white pickled anchovies on top are more vinegary than salty. They’re interspersed between sweet shallots and hidden under a generous flurry of breadcrumbs. The pizza is sliced into six pieces and brushed with maple butter. The resulting bites pop with spicy tomatoes and ends with a slightly sweet crust.

West Kendall is known for the Kendall Ice Arena, excellent Latin American food, and now (thanks to Vice City) some of the county’s best pizza. During peak hours, there’s usually a line out the door because these Detroit-style pies are magnificent. The crust tastes like a delicious memory foam pillow—light, thick, buttery, and springy. All of Vice City's pizzas have salty cheese that coats said crust and bubbles over, creating a little lip around the square pies that holds a variety of creative toppings like fig and brie (please get that if it's on the menu).

Banchero is a casual Argentinian restaurant in North Beach serving thick, crispy, cheesy Argentinian pizza. They’ve got dozens of options, but the fugazzas—a Buenos Aires specialty—are our favorite. These pizzas have a similar height and depth to Chicago deep dish, but that’s where the similarities end. Banchero’s cheese fugazza has mozzarella baked both on top and inside the dough. Toppings are a blanket of charred white onions with a whole olive sitting in the middle of every slice. It is a pizza for people who think cheese is the best part of pizza, but it’s also just a salty, crunchy delight that more than earns its spot in the global pizza conversation. 

On Fridays (and only on Fridays), this casual Argentinian lunch spot in Little Haiti has a counter full of thick, square slices with crispy crust and delicious Argentinian-style toppings. We have loved every pizza we’ve eaten, which range from ones topped with hard-boiled eggs and olives to their version of a fugazza, which is covered in onions and mozzarella. This is a Friday lunch break that’ll give you the motivation to make it through the week, and their slightly hidden backyard patio is a great call if the weather’s nice. 

This Allapattah pizza spot serves Miami's best Roman-style pizza. It’s a very small place that’s easy to miss while driving by. There are just a handful of pizzas to choose from. You can't go wrong with anything on the counter, but we really like the amatriciana and the funghetto. The ingredients are top quality—real pancetta, buttery olive oil, imported Italian tomatoes, and super creamy mozzarella. The dough is light and fluffy, yet still crisp. You won’t need to mess with these nearly perfect slices with shakers of garlic powder, parm, or chili flakes. This is a great takeout option, but there are a couple of tables and a counter to sit at inside.

There are Mister 01 locations all across South Florida now. But these weird yet delicious pizzas started here, inside an office building just off Lincoln Road. It’s those odd combinations of toppings that make us love Mister 01 so much. The coffee paolo has mozzarella, gorgonzola, honey, coffee, and spicy salami—and it sent us into a temporary state of confusion before winning us over. The rest of the pizzas under the “extraordinary pizza” chunk of the menu are what you should stick to, even if they sound a little out there.

’O Munaciello is a restaurant with a massive pizza angel hanging in the dining room, a fairly large diorama of an Italian village in the corner, and a domed ceiling that makes you feel like you’re in some sort of place of worship. But they also serve one of Miami’s absolute best Neapolitan pizzas (their other location is in Florence), and you will indeed be worshipping the cornicione di ricotta when you discover its crust is stuffed with ricotta. This is a fork-and-knife pizza—a true Neapolitan pie—so check this place out next time you're craving one.

This little pizza stand in the backyard of Gramps in Wynwood makes the best New York-style pizza you can find in Miami. Sure, we always seem to crave it after four Moscow Mules, but this is a pizza you can easily enjoy even if you didn’t just do tequila shots. They have seven varieties ranging from classic pepperoni to La Hawaiian with pepperoni and caramelized pineapple. You can order them by the slice or as a pie if you’ve got three friends who are also under the influence of Gramps’ excellent Moscow Mules.

Collins Pizza is a simple slice shop in North Beach that makes the closest thing to a classic New York slice in...maybe the whole city? They use a slowly fermented dough (72 hours, in case you were curious), which gives the crust a great flavor. We really enjoyed both the pepperoni and vodka pie. Both were foldable and delicious, with perfect ratios of sauce to cheese, but the vodka is one we’ll absolutely be ordering again. This is a great weeknight pizza takeout choice, and a good beach picnic option since it’s only a block away from the beach.

La Leggenda is in a part of South Beach where your food options are severely limited, but this place is not like the touristy spots you’ll find across the street on Española Way. It’s actually good—especially their Neapolitan pizzas. They don’t overcomplicate things here: the dough is tender, the cheese-to-sauce ratio is on point, and we never expected to have such a pleasant meal so close to Ocean Drive.

Ben’s is a takeout pizza counter that makes a really solid New York-style slice. It’s greasy (in a good way), has a crisp crust, and they keep it simple with the toppings. It is, unfortunately, located deep within the bowels of Bayside Marketplace, and has some outdoor waterfront tables you can eat at. They claim their slices are big, but in reality they just serve you two slices and call it one slice, which is why a “slice” will cost you around $10. It’s slightly confusing, but if you’re wandering around Downtown, perhaps after a few drinks, it probably won’t bother you that much—especially since the pizza itself is very good.

Joe's is an NYC pizza institution, and what our friends over in New York have called "thin-crust royalty." And, like so many New Yorkers, they now have a second home in Miami. Joe's slice shop is located in Wynwood, and its reputation is deserved. They make a deliciously uncomplicated New York slice. It's big, foldable, and hangs off a paper plate. Joe’s is also efficient. You can stop in and, even if they're busy, be holding a slice in a matter of minutes. Stick to a classic cheese or pepperoni, and you'll be happy. There's counter seating and a few tables inside, but you can also easily eat a slice while walking around Wynwood.