The 10 best pizza places in Chicago

This list covers the pizza Chicagoans argue about when deep dish is off the table: cracker-thin tavern pies cut into squares, blistered Neapolitan rounds, foldable New York slices and Detroit-style squares. The ten picks are spread across Chicago neighborhoods from Ashburn to Streeterville, plus one North Shore suburb, for locals choosing a Friday night spot and visitors who want more than a downtown deep-dish line. Deep dish has its own ranking in our guide to the best deep-dish pizza in Chicago.

The list favors pizzerias that do one style very well and have kept critics coming back, whether they opened in 1946 or 2025. Most sit-down pies here cost $18 to $30, and most slices run about $4.50 to $7.25 where they are sold. One old-school spot takes cash only, and two add a surcharge to the check.

How we chose

The list is ranked. Order came down to how often each pizzeria appeared in independent rankings published from 2023 through 2026, including Chicago magazine, Time Out Chicago, The Infatuation and the 50 Top Pizza guide, then named awards such as the Jean Banchet Awards, then years in business. No single site’s star rating moved anyone up or down. Every entry was checked against the business’s own website or a 2025-2026 listing to confirm the doors are open.

Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.

Vito & Nick’s Pizzeria

Cracker-thin crust, a tangy sauce and carefully seasoned sausage have kept Vito & Nick’s Pizzeria at the center of Chicago’s tavern-style debate for generations. The Barraco family opened its first tavern in 1923 and started making pizza in 1946, with Nick Barraco’s mother helping on the recipe. Order a sausage pie cut in squares, and try the egg-topped pizza, which began as a meatless Friday option for Catholic customers. Vito & Nick’s ranks first because the Ashburn pizzeria sits at or near the top of the 2026 tavern rankings from Time Out Chicago and The Infatuation. Bring cash, since cards and checks are not accepted.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 8433 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL 60652

Why they made the list

• Vito Barraco ran Vito’s Tavern at 80th and Halsted starting in 1932, years before the family moved to Pulaski Road.
• Orders are dine-in or pickup only, a no-delivery rule the family traces to Nick Barraco in 1965.
• Parties of eight or more get an automatic 18 percent gratuity.
• The restaurant closes on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

See the full directory listing

Spacca Napoli Pizzeria

Jon Goldsmith left social work and became a pizza maker at 50, and he has spent nearly 20 years running Spacca Napoli Pizzeria at Sunnyside and Ravenswood avenues. He is a certified pizzaiuolo, and his oven was built by artisans from Naples. The pies come out with puffy, bubbled edges and a soft center. Start with the Marinara DOP ($18) or the Margherita ($21), then add the Pistacchio ($23). Spacca Napoli ranks second on the strength of a 2025 Jean Banchet Award for best pizza and a spot on Chicago magazine’s 2026 list of the city’s 50 best restaurants. Call ahead, because reservations are held for only 10 minutes.

Hours: Tue-Thu 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Mon.

Address: 1769 W Sunnyside Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

Why they made the list

• Goldsmith’s partner, the artist Ginny Sykes, works from a studio upstairs and shapes the art in the dining room.
• Indoor reservations are taken by phone and in person, while patio seats are first come, first served.
• Tables of six or more are charged an automatic 18 percent gratuity.
• Chicago magazine ranked Spacca Napoli 19th in its 2023 roundup of the city’s 25 best pizzerias.

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Middle Brow Bungalow

Pete Ternes and his partners started Middle Brow as a brewery in 2011, and the Armitage Avenue brewpub they opened in 2019, Middle Brow Bungalow, bakes sourdough pizza next to the house beer and wine. Most days the menu leans Neapolitan, with a red sauce pie finished with yuzu oil ($21) and a soppressata pie with hot honey ($28). The thin tavern-style pies come out on Tuesdays only. The Bungalow ranks third because The New York Times put the Bungalow on its 2024 list of the country’s best pizzerias, and Chicago magazine ranked the pizza third in the city a year earlier. At lunch, slices start at $5.

Hours: Tue-Fri 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Mon.

Address: 2840 W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Why they made the list

• Chicago magazine ranked the Bungalow No. 21 on its 2024 list of Chicago’s 50 best restaurants.
• Kids can make their own pizza at the counter from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
• Reservations are on Resy, and groups of 9 to 20 can book a large-party table with no fee.
• Time Out Chicago ranked the Bungalow fourth on its April 2026 list of the city’s best pizza.

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Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company

Along the Ogden Slip in Streeterville, Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company bakes 14-inch thin-crust pies on a dough that co-owner Robert Garvey spent about 20 years refining. The Cup & Char Pepperoni ($28.50) adds Calabrian chiles to the classic, and the Fennel ($29.50) layers fennel salami and braised fennel under a drizzle of honey. Fourth place comes from the 50 Top Pizza USA guide, where Robert’s has placed above every other Chicago spot two years running, coming in at No. 8 in 2026. Happy hour runs 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Hours: Mon-Thu noon to 9 p.m.; Fri noon to 10 p.m.; Sat 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 465 N McClurg Ct, Chicago, IL 60611

Why they made the list

• 50 Top Pizza ranked Robert’s No. 6 in the country in 2025 and No. 10 in 2024.
• Robert Garvey and Dana Hokin, a husband-and-wife team, own the restaurant.
• The Rita ($29) comes with buffalo mozzarella, oven-roasted tomatoes and basil.
• A 12-inch gluten-free crust is available for $4 more.

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Pat’s Pizza and Ristorante

Seventy-six years after Nick Pianetto Sr. opened Pat’s Pizza and Ristorante on Sheffield Avenue, his family still runs the pizzeria, now on Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park. Pat was a boyhood nickname, and even his wife did not learn his real name until he signed their marriage certificate. Get the thin crust with Italian sausage, cut in squares, where a thin layer of tangy sauce keeps the crust crisp. Pat’s ranks fifth for staying power, since a pizzeria founded in 1950 still shows up on the 2026 tavern-style lists from Time Out Chicago and The Infatuation. Order an extra pie, since the pizza reheats well.

Hours: Dining room Mon-Thu 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sat 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 2679 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

Why they made the list

• Chicago magazine ranked Pat’s ninth in its 2023 roundup of the city’s 25 best pizzerias.
• Carryout and delivery start earlier than the dining room, at 11 a.m. Friday through Sunday.
• The restaurant’s site cites a 1992 Chicago Tribune pick for the best thin crust in Chicago.
• The Diversey Brown Line station is a short walk away.

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Paulie Gee’s Logan Square

The Chicago outpost of a Brooklyn pizzeria, Paulie Gee’s Logan Square does two styles on Milwaukee Avenue. Wood-fired rounds such as the Hellboy, with soppressata picante and hot honey, come out thin and blistered. The Logan Squares are Detroit-style rectangles with sharp white cheddar and cupped pepperoni, and Chicago magazine called them the best Detroit-style pizza in the city when the magazine ranked owner Derrick Tung’s restaurant second overall in 2023. That range puts Paulie Gee’s sixth here. Monday is the deal night: $17 buys any wood-fired pizza, a select beer and a bourbon shot, dine-in only.

Hours: Mon-Thu 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sat 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 2451 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Why they made the list

• Weekend Detroit-style slices cost $6 for cheese and $7 for pepperoni from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Limited reservations go through SevenRooms, and the restaurant does not take phone orders.
• The staff suggests reheating takeout wood-fired pies in a 500-degree oven until the cheese starts to bubble.
• A gluten-free Detroit-style dough works with most of the Logan Squares menu.

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Jimmy’s Pizza Cafe

Slices at Jimmy’s Pizza Cafe come the New York way: big, foldable and handed over on paper plates from a display case on Montrose Avenue. The crust is chewy, the sauce tangy and the cheese generous. Judge the shop by a plain cheese slice, then move to the white slice with ricotta or the BDW, which pairs bacon, dates and walnuts. Critics keep naming the Lincoln Square shop for New York-style pizza, from Chicago magazine’s 2023 list, where Jimmy’s placed sixth, to The Infatuation’s 2026 guide, and that record puts the shop seventh here. Whole pies go out for carryout and delivery.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 2434 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

Why they made the list

• The 50 Top Pizza guide named Jimmy’s Pizza Cafe the No. 12 slice shop in the U.S. in 2025.
• Time Out Chicago ranked Jimmy’s ninth on its April 2026 list of the city’s best pizza.
• The Infatuation recommends the parmesan-topped garlic knots, served with marinara for dipping.
• The shop sits on Montrose between Western and Campbell avenues.

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Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna

Chef partners Chris Pandel and Lee Wolen debated pizza for years before opening Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna on Wells Street in River North in March 2025. Every 14-inch pie comes tavern style or artisan style for $20 before toppings, so a table can order one of each and settle the question itself. Among the specialty pies, the soppressata and mortadella with Calabrian chili honey is $29 and the carbonara with smoked pancetta and egg is $28. Zarella is the youngest place in the top 10 and ranks eighth after Chicago magazine placed the restaurant No. 41 on its 2026 list of the city’s 50 best restaurants. Checks carry a 4 percent surcharge.

Hours: Mon-Thu 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 531 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60654

Why they made the list

• The Infatuation ranked Zarella fifth on its tavern-style list, updated in February 2026.
• A grab-and-go window on the Grand Avenue side sells whole pies without the wait for a table.
• The restaurant hosts a hands-on pizza-making class, Pizza & Flick, on Monday nights at 8 p.m.
• Lunch runs Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Coda di Volpe

Southern Italian cooking drives the menu at Coda di Volpe on the Southport Corridor, and the pizza has earned national attention. A Stefano Ferrara wood-fired oven bakes VPN-certified Neapolitan pies, which arrive uncut with a pair of pizza shears so each diner cuts their own. The Infatuation’s picks are the Margherita and the quattro formaggi; add a handmade pasta for the table. Back-to-back spots in the 50 Top Pizza USA guide, No. 44 in 2025 and No. 43 in 2026, earn Coda di Volpe ninth place. Book on Resy, and note the 3 percent surcharge, which can be removed on request.

Hours: Mon-Thu 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Fri 4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sat 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sun 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Address: 3335 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• Restaurateurs Billy Lawless and Ryan O’Donnell opened Coda di Volpe as their first collaboration.
• The name means tail of the fox and comes from a white grape grown in Italy’s Campania region.
• Chicago magazine ranked Coda di Volpe 13th in its 2023 roundup of the city’s 25 best pizzerias.
• The Southport Brown Line station is about two blocks north.

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Barnaby’s of Northbrook

The suburban pick is Barnaby’s of Northbrook, a Skokie Boulevard pizza restaurant that has fed the North Shore for more than 40 years. The pizza is thin and crisp on a cornmeal crust, and the sauce and dough are made fresh each day. Service is self-serve: find a table, order at the register and wait for your number, with drinks from a separate full bar. Barnaby’s takes 10th on longevity and reader loyalty: area readers put Barnaby’s among their tavern-style picks in an Axios Chicago reader roundup in August 2026. Add the baked mostaccioli, a house specialty.

Hours: Sun-Thu 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Address: 960 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook, IL 60062

Why they made the list

• Call-ahead orders for dine-in or carryout are ready when you arrive.
• Barnaby’s sells par-baked pizzas to finish in a home oven.
• The kitchen also makes its own chili and spaghetti sauce.

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Also worth knowing

For a pan pizza that is not deep dish, Pizza Friendly Pizza on Western Avenue in Ukrainian Village makes Sicilian-style squares from a five-day fermented dough developed with chef Noah Sandoval. Slices are $5 and whole pies are $33, and the $33 dinner for two brings four slices, a salad and breadsticks. The shop opened in summer 2020 and made The Infatuation’s 2026 list of the city’s best pizza places.

In the Loop, Pizza Dada is a New York-style slice counter at 125 S Clark St run by proprietor Matt Sussman and pizzaiolo Steve Owens, open weekdays only from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. A cheese slice is $4.49, the vodka roni on a sesame seed crust is $5.99, and 18-inch pies start at $27. Chicago magazine featured the counter in February 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best pizza in Chicago right now?

By the rankings this list is built on, the best pizza in Chicago is the tavern-style pie at Vito & Nick’s Pizzeria in Ashburn, with Spacca Napoli Pizzeria in Ravenswood close behind for Neapolitan. Spacca Napoli won the 2025 Jean Banchet Award for best pizza, and Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company placed No. 8 in 50 Top Pizza’s 2026 U.S. ranking.

What is Chicago tavern-style pizza?

Tavern-style is Chicago’s thin-crust pizza, with a cracker-crisp crust and a thin layer of sauce, cut into squares instead of wedges. Vito & Nick’s has made tavern pies since 1946 and Pat’s Pizza and Ristorante since 1950, while Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna lets diners pick tavern or artisan crust for every pie.

Which Chicago pizzerias take reservations?

Spacca Napoli takes reservations by phone, Middle Brow Bungalow and Coda di Volpe book through Resy, and Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company and Zarella take bookings through their websites. Paulie Gee’s Logan Square holds a limited number of tables on SevenRooms, while Barnaby’s of Northbrook is order-at-the-counter.

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