5 Pizzerias That Make Moving From NYC To LA More Manageable

I lived in New York City for 8 years. When I moved to Los Angeles I was among the many former New Yorkers who weren't fun to be around because I annoyingly ranted about NYC's pizza supremacy. Things in LA have changed and good pizza can be found all across the sprawling city. There isn't the density of places to get a good, quick, cheap slice like there is in New York, but New York doesn't have anything close to our taco culture.

While living in NYC I was lucky enough to regularly eat at the number 1 pizzeria in the world, Una Pizza Napoletana. My usual spots were Luigi's in Brooklyn and NY Pizza Suprema in Manhattan. It was a city with too many good shops to waste time on a bad slice. In my 9 years in LA I've seen the pizza scene explode, especially after the pandemic when many people learned to make the dish and sales rose. There are so many great places that didn't make this list: Ozzy's Apizza, Pizzeria Mozza, Pizzana (which Jonathan Gold said rivals the best pizza in Italy), Apollonia's, Pizzeria Bianco, Ronan, Wallflower, Secret Pizza, and Pijja Palace all deserve multiple visits. A true pizza-phile will be yelling at me right now for not including one or more of these on my list. Below are the five pizzerias that shut me up as a former New Yorker. I don't have one thing that I look for in a pie other than good flavor!

Now that it's the number two pizzeria in the U.S. (per the Italy-based Top 50 Guide) it's one of the hardest reservations to get. The current shop is tiny, but once it completes its move further West to Palms it will have more space to serve its Tokyo-style Neapolitan pies. The crust is perfectly soft with sections pinched for a little more of a chew.

The pizzaiolo, William Joo, learned to make pizza while at Pizzana and Ronan. While learning he was inspired by the show "Ugly Delicious'" profile of the famed Japanese pizzeria Seirinkan to develop his own style. When I was able to eat there, before all the accolades and attention, he was focused on imitating Seirinkan's pizzas. He now makes them his way, but still focuses on a light, crispy, airy crust full of flavor.

Joo now offers one of the few pizza omakase menus in the world. (One of the first to do it, Monk in Kyoto, is profiled in Chef's Table: Pizza.) For $150, diners get nine slices of complex, balanced, and well thought out pizza, including a dessert slice. Toppings vary and have included caviar, tuna, squash blossoms, king prawn, and cilantro flowers.

Currently under the radar and not on any best of pizza lists, yet, I predict we'll hear a lot about this spot in 2026. It's a small shop attached to a convenience store in Glassell Park. Across the street at one of my favorite beer bars in LA, Verdugo Bar, you can order a pie from a QR code at your table and they'll run it over.

It's not a fancy shop, but a well thought out one. The crust is great – it holds up well and tastes good. In an age where seemingly everyone is making sourdough pizza, it's nice to find a 48-hour fermented dough made with dry yeast that brings a lot of flavor to the pie without a tang. The cheese pie is made with mozzarella and fontina, giving it a unique, slight nuttiness. My favorite, the veggie pie, includes mushrooms roasted in lemon and chili then sauteed in garlic, sauteed onion, a little heavy cream for a base, and shredded basil. A little bit of lemon zest is added for brightness. The intention is to be a quality neighborhood shop and it rivals my old neighborhood shop in Brooklyn, Luigi's, in terms of quality and simplicity.

What began as a pandemic pop up selling pan pizza and cakes out of Aaron Lindell and Hannah Ziskin's house in Glendale, Quarter Sheets is now one of the harder reservations to get. Thanks to a Bib Gourmand rating from the Michelin Guide and hype from the first day they opened their doors, you can always find crowds. Smart diners will order online for takeout and find a bar nearby that allows outside food.

The pies, made by Lindell, are largely rectangular pan pizzas, with a cheese out to the edge. It's similar to Detroit-style, without the heaviness that makes more than one slice such a difficult undertaking. The eatery will do an occasional thin, round bar pie and often switch up the toppings depending on the season.

Don't leave without Ziskin's famous desserts. The Princess Cake is often mentioned as one of the best treats in the city and lives up to the hype. Bring a friend or two so you can split the Princess Cake and whatever else Ziskin is baking that night.

Prime Pizza is the biggest chain on this list, with 9 locations. It's a NY-style slice shop that focuses on great ingredients. They buy their tomatoes and olive oil from high quality providers in the Central Valley. Much of its produce is fresh and local, giving it a California flair. The line is never long, and I'm usually not far from a location. The Burbank Prime Pizza is always busy churning out fresh pies for pickup and delivery and always has a few people picking up a slice or two. This high volume ensures that the classic NY slices and Sicilians are all fresh, nothing has sat in the case for too long.

Keep an eye out for specials. In the summer you can find a fresh tomato pie. The restaurant uses ripe, in season Sun Gold tomatoes atop the tomato sauce and a healthy amount of parmesan. It tastes like summer. Prime has collaborated with places such as Jitlada, one of the best Thai restaurants in the US, the BBQ restaurant Bludso's, and Tacos Y Birria La Unica.

My go-to pizza spot, partly because I often find myself near their Silver Lake take out window location, but mostly because I can't get enough of the pizza. The crust is a hybrid sourdough – chewy, bubbly, and delicious – and the toppings are all loaded with flavor. My particular favorites are the Mookie (named for Dodger's star Mookie Betts), with roasted mushrooms and a mushroom cream sauce, and the Ina, a Vodka sauce pizza with provolone and mozzarella.

Owner Tommy Brockert started during the pandemic when his event photography business understandably stopped getting clients. He leans into a Dodger's theme with the name being a play on famed Dodger's manager Tommy LaSorda. The Chinatown location is covered with Brockert's personal collection of Dodgers memorabilia and is a great place to watch the game. During the LA fires in early 2025, Brockert hosted other pizzerias in his Chinatown location, forming the LA Pizzeria Alliance, to make free pizzas and desserts for evacuees and first responders.