Just two pizzerias have landed spots on Yelp’s prestigious Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. for 2025. Much Ado About Pizza, the Shakespeare-themed eatery in Pleasanton, California, took the No. 40 spot, followed by R Town Pizza in Reno, Nevada, at No. 44.
This marks the second year in a row for both single-unit restaurants to claim a place on Yelp’s list of the country’s best restaurants.
That list is a ranking of all restaurants, from pizza, sushi and tacos to fine dining, food trucks and more. For those unfamiliar with how Yelp curates its Top 100, the decision goes beyond glowing reviews. Yelp also considers review volume and how a restaurant performs relative to its surrounding dining scene.
That means Much Ado and R Town are rubbing elbows with an arepa kitchen in Pennsylvania, a Filipino hotspot in Orlando, and some Middle Eastern magic in Arizona.
At Much Ado About Pizza, Kira and Mark Zabrowski’s labor of love began as a pandemic-born passion project, which evolved into a full-fledged, award-winning pizzeria known for its long-fermented sourdough crust, bold and balanced flavor combinations, and commitment to community. The Zabrowskis’ Shakespeare Shares initiative and ongoing support for organizations like CityServe of the Tri-Valley, Open Heart Kitchen, Goodness Village and Slice Out Hunger prove that pizza has the power to change lives.
“This recognition isn’t just about us—it’s about our amazing customers, the hardworking team behind the scenes, and the power of a great slice of pizza to bring people together,” Mark Zabrowski said.
A member of PMQ’s U.S. Pizza Team, Kira Zabrowski has also been making waves in the competitive pizza world, placing fourth in the Non-Traditional category at the 2022 International Pizza Challenge and second for Best Traditional Sauce at the 2024 California Pizza Challenge.
Meanwhile, the Detroit-style R Town Pizza was founded in March 2022 by Marvin Kinney, a restaurant industry veteran whose parents also worked in the business. It ranked No. 3 in the Reno Gazette Journal’s Community Choice Awards for the city’s best pizza last year.
Reno News & Review spotlighted R Town in June 2022, noting, “From low wages to practices Kinney likens to slave labor, he has made it his mission to upend what he believes are no longer feasible restaurant business models.” He pays his employees a living wage and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and people experiencing food insecurity.
As a pizza boss, Kinney told the publication, “I’d rather teach and coach. I want everybody who works here, when they leave here, to feel like they learned something and [that] they become stronger and better with what they’re doing. That’s ultimately my goal.”
R Town’s menu features pies like the Panopoulos (Detroit cheese blend, Canadian bacon, smoked bacon, pineapple and Parmesan) and the Robocop (Detroit cheese blend, soppressatta, capicola, smoked bacon and fennel sausage).
To celebrate Mardi Gras this year, Kinney served up a jambalaya-inspired pizza featuring andouille sausage, shrimp, chicken and a Creole-spiced red gravy.
