Anthony Mangieri’s guide to New York’s best pizza

Get a guide to the best pizzas in NYC from the city’s most revered pizza maker, Anthony Mangieri of Una Pizza Napoletana.

BYPaul Feinstein,

Journalist

26 October, 2023

In a city known for its unmatched cuisine, the biggest food debate in New York is typically over something much simpler: What is the best pizza? Every New Yorker has their top slice, their go-to pie, their shop they grew up on, or is just drooling over the latest pizza fad of the day. But according to 50 Top Pizza, the authority on the greatest pizzas around the world, the debate begins and ends with Anthony Mangieri’s Una Pizza Napoletana. The award for best pizza is subjective, but Mangieri has managed to win the number one slot in the US in 2022 and 2023, and number one (2022) and two (2023) slots in the world as well.

Mangieri is an artist. His pizza is a labour of love that has taken almost 30 years to perfect. Today, his Lower East Side shop is a pizza aficionado’s dream and lovers of his dedication are now also able to buy his newly created frozen pies, made with the same level of expertise and attention to detail.

So, if you want to find the best pizza in New York, Una Pizza Napoletana should be your first stop. But if you want to know where Mangieri goes when he’s not obsessing over his own creations, here’s his list of must-eats across the city.

Una Pizza Napoletana

Anthony Mangieri’s number one rated pizza restaurant is a Lower East Side staple for pizza connoisseurs. “[From the beginning] my pizza was naturally leavened, so I've never made pizza with commercial yeast. It was un-refrigerated and hand mixed. And that was from 1996." Mangieri’s pies are works of art with blistered, puffy crusts, utilising nothing but the finest ingredients like Buffalo Mozzarella DOP and San Marzano tomatoes.

Joe’s Pizza

“I love Joe’s. A slice of Joe's, just the regular New York slice. I love that especially when it’s not reheated. Those are great, and I feel like that's just a beautiful iconic New York pizza that has a very particular taste. I go to the one on 14th Street, or the one over in the West Village, which is a couple of doors down from the original, which was on the corner of Bleecker, but it's a few doors down from that in the middle of the block."

Mama’s Too!

_{Giuseppe Tuttolomondo}

"I think Mama’s Too! on the Upper West Side is great. I love his squares." The squares are puffy, Sicilian-style slices with crispy edges and the menu is dripping with classics like the Angry Nonna with hot soppressata, aged mozzarella, and Calabrian chilli oil, or the House Pie with aged mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano and basil.

L&B Spumoni Gardens

“Growing up, I loved L&B Spumoni for the squares. And I still go there pretty frequently for the square with my daughter. I don't think the quality or anything is that great there anymore. But it's funny, I go there with my daughter, we eat there, the service is a disaster, and half the time the dough isn’t risen right. I'm like, eff this place, I'm done with it. We leave and I say to my daughter, ‘We're not coming back here for a while’. She's like, ‘Sure, dad’. And then a week later, I'll say, ‘Hey, you want to go to L&B for dinner?’ It’s just nostalgic, I've been going there my whole life. And it's also near one of my favorite pastry places. I make a loop out of it. I go to Villabate on 18th Avenue and I go to L&B, and it's a little routine that I do.”

Best Pizza

“I really like Frank Pinello who owns Best Pizza. He's great and I love his pizza over in Brooklyn.” Best is a classic NY pizza joint with giant 20-inch pies and features the quintessential NY slice. [Various locations].