Best Pizza in the West

Pizza is a timeless crowd-pleaser, whether you’re ordering delivery at home after a long day at work or sharing a celebratory pie at a special restaurant with family and friends. And with countless inventive variations on dough, sauce, and cheese, it’s nearly impossible to grow tired of this ultimate comfort food. 

Here are the best pizza spots in the West, from a parlor serving hefty, brick-oven pies out of a historic building to a hidden speakeasy-style Las Vegas slice house that’s open until 4 in the morning. 

Flour + Water Pizza Shop in San Francisco

Co-chefs and partners Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow know their way around Italian food. For proof, see their flagship Flour + Water restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District, known for handmade pastas, or their two-year-old pizzeria in North Beach. But it's the newest Flour + Water Pizza Shop, at the foot of Oracle Park in Mission Rock, that's causing the latest buzz in the city.

Get a "Big Slice" of margherita or pepperoni and a Dough Boy Kölsch beer from the take-away window, then enjoy the five-minute walk over the Third Street bridge to Oracle for a Giants game. Or pull up a seat in the small-but-mighty shop looking out at the ballpark for an amorously blistered and pleasantly crunchy pie like the burrata with garlic, dried Sicilian tomatoes and lemon oil (level up by adding anchovies!), or a Cacio white pie with fresh mozzarella, pecorino crema, fontina, garlic, and black pepper. Tack on an order of chicken wings with Calabrian chili sauce, close your eyes and you might just feel like you're in a homey hole-in-the-wall in the Bronx. 

Old Chicago Pizza in Petaluma, California

Amid the lively bustle of Petaluma’s downtown core, Old Chicago Pizza has been serving up some of the best Chicago-style deep dish pizza in the state for nearly 50 years. Built in 1876, the historic building housing this parlor was once a house of ill repute, and the lot next door was used to shoot a scene in George Lucas' American Graffiti. Enticing scents greet you as you walk through the door of this brick-walled dining room and settle into a table. Old Chicago’s secret recipe crust is airy, chewy and perfectly crispy, then loaded with sauce, mozzarella cheese and up to four toppings of your choice. But keep in mind that a large pie already weighs four pounds before any toppings are added! 

Pizzeria Bianco Town & Country in Phoenix

Phoenix chef Chris Bianco is an American pizza institution. The decorated pizzaiolo now owns eight restaurants and bars (three of them in Los Angeles) and was featured in an episode of the Netflix series Chef’s Table: Pizza. That's because Pizzeria Bianco's signature wood-fired pizzas are the real deal, like the iconic Rosa, with Parmigiano-Reggiano, red onion, Arizona pistachios and rosemary, an excellent pairing with one of the many fine Italian reds on the expertly curated wine list. And while Bianco’s Downtown Heritage Square location is his most well-known, it’s easier to score a table at the Town & Country iteration, which features indoor/outdoor seating, a charmingly rustic vibe, and handmade pastas like a pappardelle bolognese. 

Biga Pizza in Missoula, Montana

Peek into the open kitchen at Biga Pizza, and you can watch pizza makers toss giant circles of dough into the air as they shape them to perfection. Chef Bob Marshall opened Biga in Missoula in 2006, and it’s since become known for recipes that are wholly unique, like a prosciutto di Parma pizza with herbed mascarpone, and another with homemade fennel marmalade, bacon and gouda cheese. Biga’s brick-oven pies all begin with dough that has some unsalted starter from the previous day’s batch, giving the pizza a more robust flavor.

Secret Pizza in Las Vegas

Finding Secret Pizza is part of the charm of this late-night slice house on the Las Vegas Strip. Weave your way through the Cosmopolitan’s Boulevard Tower to the third floor. Then look for the green arrow pointing to a vinyl record-lined hallway, which opens into a hidden pizza shop that’s open until 4 a.m. every morning. Chef Chris Vaughn and company craft New York-style slices with toppings like sliced sausage or ricotta—straightforward, but nonetheless remarkable. Take your slice to go, or pull up and sit at the small countertop amid the buzz of pinball machines.

Matilda in Park City, Utah

One of Park City’s newest restaurants, Matilda is quickly establishing a benchmark for the best pizza in town. From the team behind the adjacent breakfast staple Five5eeds, Matilda's pizza is 100% sourdough with a touch of rye, giving the bubbly brick-oven pies a distinct earthiness. Crowd favorites include calabrese salami, whipped ricotta and hot honey, and a pie with mixed local mushrooms, taleggio, and thyme cream. At this eatery surrounded by ski resorts, pair your pizza with a snazzy cocktail, like a gin concoction featuring clarified green juice from Five5eeds. The sleek, open-floor-plan dining space is family-friendly. The menu also includes a bevy of shared plates loosely inspired by co-owner Ian Pope’s Australian roots, like beef tartare with salt and vinegar chips. 

Pinky G’s Pizzeria in Jackson, Wyoming

In a vibrant area right off Town Square, Pinky G’s Pizzeria offers a tavern-style space in the same building as the Pink Garter Theatre, a concert hall and performing arts venue. Opened in 2011 by chef and owner Tom Fay, Pinky G's is known for clever combinations on a hand-tossed cornmeal and flour crust. The Funky Chicken is topped with fresh basil pesto, roasted chicken, artichoke hearts, red onion, and ricotta, while the Abe Froman has Italian sausage, chopped basil; try adding the balsamic glaze. Pinky’s crispy, half-moon-shaped calzones with mozzarella and ricotta cheese are delectable as well. 

Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria in Anchorage

Renowned in Anchorage and beyond, Moose’s Tooth has been a fixture in Alaska since 1996. Pizzas here are stone-baked with dough made from scratch and there’s a crust for every palate: Thin, thick, regular, and vegan whole-wheat, as well as a cauliflower option. The Avalanche, with pepperoni, blackened chicken, bacon, red onions, parsley, cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, and barbecue sauce is the locals’ choice. It’s often busy at this lodge-like pizzeria, so if there’s a wait, grab a beer on the patio from its in-house sibling brewery, Broken Tooth, where you can find the award-winning Darth Belgian-style Stout.