By Rick Hynum
How does 50 Top Pizza define excellence in the pizza world? The prestigious worldwide guide to pizza doesn’t get super specific—great food, great service, etc. But take a look at its “Excellent Pizzerias” list for 2026, a companion list to the annual ranking of the 50 Best Pizzerias in the U.S., and you’ll have to admit: Those “pizza inspectors” have good taste.
Since the guide launched in 2018, 50 Top Pizza, headquartered in Italy, focused largely on Neapolitan-style pizza shops in its main best-in-the-USA list. But the U.S. is a melting pot of numerous regional styles, some with lore-rich traditions that date back to the early 20th century. So it makes sense that 50 Top Pizza expanded its coverage with the Excellent Pizzerias list starting in 2023.
Think of it as a quiet acknowledgment that “great American pizza” can’t—and shouldn’t—be narrowed down to Neapolitan. The Excellent Pizzerias list does the work the ranked top 50 list can’t fully do since the latter is mostly built around one rarefied style. It tells a looser, perhaps “more American” story, gives more women a seat at the table and recognizes up-and-comers like 550 Pizzeria alongside legends like John’s of Bleecker Street in New York and Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix. And since it’s unranked, it widens the spotlight without forcing these pizza shops into a horserace.
Related: 50 Top Pizza Names Best Pizzerias in the U.S. Who Claimed the No. 1 Spot?
Unquestionably, the 2026 selections have earned their spots, from woman-owned favorites like Janet Zapata’s 550 Pizzeria in Laredo, Sarah Minnick’s Lovely’s Fifty Fifty in Portland and Laura Meyer’s Pizzeria da Laura in Berkeley, California, to Sam’s Square Pie, owned by Jeffrey Miner in Indianapolis, and Clark Staub’s Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos, California. And no best-of list for the U.S. is complete without Pequod’s Pizza, the Chicago deep-dish brand, New Haven-style leader Modern Apizza, and Mark Iacono’s Lucali in Brooklyn.
At 550 Pizzeria, the guide notes, the pizza “has the special energy of Janet Zapata,” and if you’ve met Zapata, you know that’s a lot of positive energy. Milkflower, located in Queens, New York, has “a recognizable personality that sets it apart from the classic pizzeria,” serving up “a well-executed, light and not overly salty dough.” At Bar del Corso in Seattle, we’re told, “The dough is thin, airy, with a well-developed crust marked by the flame” while “the cooking process gives off fragrance and lightness.” And in Durham, North Carolina, Pizzeria Toro “vibrates [with] a beautiful energy tuned into the neighborhood.”
How 50 Top Pizza Selects the Best Pizzerias in the World
Finally thoughts: The Excellent Pizzerias list is perhaps less glamorous than the ranked Top 50—albeit not by much, considering that, as usual, large metropolitan areas still dominate. But it recognizes the true breadth of American pizza excellence beyond the usual hierarchy. Maybe next time, though, the “inspectors” will pay a visit to, say, Old Forge, Pennsylvania, or the Quad Cities in the heart of the Midwest. I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised.
A total of 47 independent pizzerias made the list of Excellent Pizzerias this year, and here they are:
550 Pizzeria, Laredo, TX
Al Forno, Providence, RI
Apizza Scholls, Portland, OR
Bar Del Corso, Seattle, WA
Basil & Barley Pizzeria Napoletana, Colorado Springs, CO
Bollo Woodfired Pizza, Houston, TX
Ceres, New York, NY
Croccante Artisan Pizza, Napa, CA
Diavolo, Indianapolis, IN
Double Zero, Las Vegas, NV
Fire in the Bricks, Palm Coast, FL
Flour + Water, San Francisco, CA
Full of Life Flatbread, Los Alamos, CA
Grandma Bob’s Handmade Pizza, Detroit, MI
Grazie Grazie, Laguna Beach, CA
Il Pizzaiolo, Miami Beach, FL
Il Supremo, Metairie, LA
John’s of Bleecker Street, New York, NY
La Natural, Miami, FL
Lovely’s Fifty Fifty, Portland, OR
Lucali, New York, NY
Marco’s Coal Fired, Denver, CO
Mercurio’s, Pittsburgh, PA
Milkflower, New York, NY
Milo & Olive, Santa Monica, CA
Modern Apizza, New Haven, CT
Mother Pizzeria, Newport, RI
Pequod’s Pizza, Chicago, IL
Pizza Rock, Las Vegas NV
Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix, AZ
Pizzeria Da Laura, Berkeley, CA
Pizzeria Toro, Durham, NC
Pizzeria Vetri, Philadelphia, PA
Pocono Brewery Company, Swiftwater, PA
Pomo, Scottsdale, AZ
Porta, Jersey City, NJ
Roostica, Key West, FL
Rose Pizzeria, Berkeley, CA
Sam’s Square Pie, Indianapolis, IN
San Matteo, New York, NY
Scottie’s Pizza Parlor, Portland, OR
Serious Pie, Seattle, WA
Sotto La Luna, New York, NY
Spacca Napoli Pizzeria, Chicago, IL
Spark Pizza, Redmond, WA
Strapoli, Chicago, IL
The Bakery, Philadelphia
