Bobby Flay's Favorite Pizza Spots In NYC
When you are a world-famous chef, the author of several cookbooks, and have participated in dozens of food-centered television shows, people tend to pay attention when you make restaurant recommendations. So, it wouldn't be a surprise if the list of New York City pizzerias Bobby Flay recently praised in a TikTok video experienced an influx of hungry customers. Flay, who was born in NYC, grew up surrounded by what is arguably some of the best pizza on the planet, so it's safe to say he knows a good pie when he tastes one.
@bobby_flay_ Heres a list of my favorite places to get pizza in NYC... #pizza #fyp
In the video, Flay singles out seven pizzerias in the New York area (and one in Jersey City) that rank among his favorites. Before he begins, he acknowledges the sheer number of pizza places in New York, and admits there are several he has never been to. When he wants a great slice, Flay gravitates toward these spots: Joe's on Carmine Street, L'Industrie in the West Village, Lucali and Fini, both in Brooklyn, Scarr's Pizza in Lower Manhattan, Una Pizza Napoletana, and Razza. The "Iron Chef America" regular chose a mix of restaurants that specialize in New York-style, Neapolitan, and pizza with modern toppings, so really, his list includes something for everyone.
From Greenwich Village to Brooklyn
For classic, New York-style pizza, Bobby Flay heads to Greenwich Village to Joe's Pizza, a pizza institution since 1975. Founder Joe Pozzuoli came to America from Naples, Italy, and has run his original shop on Carmine Street for almost 50 years, but his legacy now includes six other locations scattered around New York, plus Michigan and Florida. Both tourists and locals pick Joe's when they want straightforward, delicious, no-frills pizza.
Another one of Flay's favorites, Scarr's, sits just outside of Chinatown, and recently moved into a larger location to better accommodate its fans. Aside from its extensive pizza and appetizer menu, you can purchase DIY ingredients for your own kitchen, like pizza dough and Scarr's signature flour.
Flay says the pizzeria he has been enjoying most frequently is L'Industrie in the West Village, although the restaurant's original location is in Brooklyn. This spot offers pizzas with a bit more flair, with toppings ranging from prosciutto di Parma and fresh burrata cheese to Italian ham with ricotta and Mike's Hot Honey. Flay loves the fact that he can get gelato here, too.
In Brooklyn, Flay likes Lucali, a BYOB, cash-only joint that offers limited toppings and calzones, and Fini, which makes community betterment as much a priority as creating great pizzas. Fini specializes in New York-style and Sicilian pizza, and sells bagels on weekends.
One pizzeria is just outside of New York
Another favorite of Bobby Flay's is located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan as well: Una Pizza Napoletana. Sitting just around the corner from another of New York's most famous eateries, Katz's Deli, Una Pizza Napoletana is run by Anthony Mangieri, a man who Flay credits in the video as making, "the best Naples-style pizza on this side of Naples." On the menu, diners will find top-quality pizza ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes, Sicilian sea salt, and 36-month-aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
To get to his final favorite pizza restaurant, Flay heads across the Hudson River to Razza in Jersey City. At Razza, the artisanal pizza is comprised of ingredients that are made in-house, from the bread to the butter to the yeast cultures that create the pizza dough. Flay boldly states that, "It might be some of the best pizza I've ever had in my life. Period." Careful, Bobby, you are a New Yorker, after all.
Flay admits that he needs to get to other pizzerias that are hitting it out of the ballpark like Stretch in the Flatiron District and Brooklyn-based Spumoni Gardens, but among the places he's dined at, these lucky seven are always reliable for the globe-trotting chef when he wants a great slice of pizza.