Dave Portnoy's Best Pizza in New York City: Every Top One Bite Score Ranked
The short answer
Dave Portnoy's highest-rated pizza in New York City is Di Fara Pizza in Midwood, Brooklyn, with a One Bite score of 9.4. Right behind it is a five-way tie at 9.3: Luigi's and Lucali in Brooklyn, plus John's of Bleecker Street, Angelo's Coal Oven and Lazzara's in Manhattan. Ceres (9.2), Best Pizza in Williamsburg (9.1), Sauce Pizzeria (9.1) and Denino's Greenwich Village (9.0) round out his 9-plus club in the city. Famous names like Joe's Pizza (8.5), Prince Street (8.6) and Patsy's (8.6) score well but sit a tier lower.
New York is where One Bite started and where Portnoy has reviewed more pizzerias than anywhere else, so the city's leaderboard is the most fought-over list in the whole series. This guide pulls together his highest New York scores from the One Bite rankings tracker and press coverage, explains why the top spots score so well, and gives you a sortable table so you can plan your own slice crawl.
How the One Bite score works, in 30 seconds
Portnoy stands outside the pizzeria, takes one bite of a plain cheese slice or pie, and gives a score out of 10 to one decimal place. The plain cheese rule is the point: no toppings to hide a weak crust or a bland sauce. We covered the full method, and why a 7 is a good score, in our explainer on how the One Bite pizza reviews work.
In practice the scale is compressed. Most places land between 6 and 8. Anything in the 8s is a strong recommendation, and a 9 is rare. Across the US he has only ever handed out one perfect 10, to Monte's Restaurant in Lynn, Massachusetts. That context matters when you read the New York list: a 9.3 is close to the ceiling of what he gives.
Interactive: every top New York One Bite score
Tap a column header to sort, or type a borough or name to filter. Scores come from the fan-maintained One Bite Pizza Rankings tracker, which logs scores from Portnoy's published reviews.
The 9-plus club: Dave Portnoy's best NYC pizza, ranked
1. Di Fara Pizza, Midwood, Brooklyn: 9.4
Di Fara is the top of the New York mountain. The pizzeria on Avenue J was opened in 1965 by Domenico DeMarco, who for decades made nearly every pie by hand, finishing them with olive oil, fresh basil snipped with scissors and a grating of hard cheese. DeMarco died in 2022, and his family still runs the shop.
Portnoy's 9.4 makes it his highest score in the city. If you only have time for one stop on a New York pizza trip, this is the one the numbers point to. Expect a line, and expect to pay more per slice than at a corner shop.
2. Lucali, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn: 9.3
Lucali is the most famous reservation-style pizza restaurant on the list. Mark Iacono opened it in a former candy store in Carroll Gardens in 2006, and it became known for thin, whole pies cooked in a wood-burning oven and a bring-your-own-bottle policy. It does not sell slices, so this is a sit-down dinner rather than a walk-up stop.
A 9.3 puts it in the five-way tie for second in New York.
3. John's of Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village: 9.3
John's has been on Bleecker Street since 1929 and is one of New York's classic coal-oven pizzerias. Like Lucali, it is whole pies only, no slices, and the wooden booths are carved with decades of initials.
When Portnoy reviewed it in 2016, he called it the best pizza he had had so far in New York, according to Mashed's round-up of his top reviews. Years and hundreds of reviews later, it still sits at 9.3.
4. Luigi's Pizza, Brooklyn: 9.3
Luigi's is the neighbourhood-slice-shop entry in the tie. It shows that a 9-plus score doesn't need a reservation or a famous chef, just a very good plain slice.
5. Angelo's Coal Oven Pizzeria, Midtown Manhattan: 9.3
Angelo's is a coal-oven restaurant near Carnegie Hall and one of the few Midtown spots to break into the 9s. That makes it the practical pick if you are staying near Times Square and don't want to cross a river for a pie.
6. Lazzara's Pizza, Manhattan: 9.3
Lazzara's rounds out the 9.3 tie and is another Midtown option, close to the Garment District and Times Square. Like Angelo's, it gives you a near-top score without leaving Manhattan.
7. Ceres Pizza, Manhattan: 9.2
Ceres is one of the newer names on the list. It is proof that the leaderboard isn't just a museum of century-old pizzerias: a newer shop can still land a 9.2 from Portnoy.
8. Best Pizza, Williamsburg, Brooklyn: 9.1
Best Pizza is run by Frank Pinello, who also hosts pizza videos of his own. It got a 9.1, and it is a natural stop if you are doing a Williamsburg crawl alongside Williamsburg Pizza (8.6).
9. Sauce Pizzeria, Manhattan: 9.1
Sauce ties Best Pizza at 9.1. It is a slice shop, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to eat a 9-plus pizza in the city.
10. Denino's Greenwich Village, Manhattan: 9.0
Denino's began in 1937 as a Staten Island pizzeria and tavern. Its Greenwich Village outpost brings that Staten Island style into Manhattan and scored an even 9.0.
The famous names that didn't crack 9
Some of New York's most photographed pizzerias are good but not elite on Portnoy's scale:
Joe's Pizza, Carmine Street: 8.5. Joe Pozzuoli opened it in 1975, and it is probably the most famous slice in Greenwich Village. It is a strong score, just not a top-ten one.
Prince Street Pizza, Nolita: 8.6. It is known for its square pepperoni slice with crispy cups, but One Bite judges plain cheese.
Patsy's Pizzeria, East Harlem: 8.6. The original Patsy's opened in 1933 and is one of the city's oldest coal-oven pizzerias.
Joe & Pat's, Staten Island: 8.6. It is famous for its thin, crispy pies. Its Manhattan offshoot scored 8.4.
Brooklyn vs Manhattan: which borough wins?
On Portnoy's numbers, Brooklyn takes the top spot with Di Fara and has three of the six places scoring 9.3 or higher (Di Fara, Lucali, Luigi's). Manhattan has more depth: it holds three of the 9.3s plus Ceres, Sauce and Denino's Greenwich Village in the 9-plus club, and most of the 8.4 to 8.6 tier.
Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island show up mostly in the mid-8s: Tommy's in the Bronx at 8.6, Joe & Pat's on Staten Island at 8.6, and Queens spots like Rizzo's (8.6), Pizza Sam in Jackson Heights (8.4), Nick's in Forest Hills (8.4) and Trattoria L'incontro in Astoria (8.4). If you are planning a crawl with limited time, Brooklyn gives you the highest peak and Manhattan gives you the most 9s per subway stop.
Why these pizzerias score so high
Looking across the top of the New York list, a few patterns stand out. These are our reading of the list, not rules Portnoy has published.
1. Old ovens and old recipes
John's of Bleecker (1929), Patsy's (1933), Denino's (1937) and Di Fara (1965) are all decades old, and several of the top spots use coal or very hot ovens. Portnoy often talks about crust structure and "the char", and old high-heat ovens deliver both.
2. Whole pies beat reheated slices
Lucali and John's sell whole pies only, and Di Fara's slices come off fresh pies. A slice that has sat under a heat lamp rarely gets a 9.
3. Plain cheese has nowhere to hide
Because the review is a plain slice, the balance of sauce, cheese and crust decides everything. That is why a place famous for a topping, like Prince Street's pepperoni square, can score lower than its reputation.
4. Newer shops can still break in
Ceres, Sauce and Best Pizza show that a newer, chef-driven slice shop can score as high as the legends. The leaderboard keeps moving, and that is a big part of why people keep watching.
How New York compares with other cities
New York has the most 9-plus scores of any city Portnoy has reviewed, but it doesn't have the single highest score. That belongs to Monte's in Lynn, Massachusetts, the only 10 in the US, which we covered in our Boston pizza guide. Several of his US top ten are outside New York. Toronto and London have had their own tours, and the gap between those cities and New York's top tier is one of the most debated topics in the comments.
If you want the extremes, our list of Dave Portnoy's five lowest pizza reviews ever shows how low the scale goes. And if you'd rather taste a batch of the best in one place, his One Bite Pizza Fest brings famous pizzerias together.
A one-day NYC One Bite crawl
If you want to eat the top of the list in a day, here is a practical route. It is ordered for geography, not score.
Late morning, Midwood, Brooklyn: Di Fara (9.4). Go early to beat the line.
Lunch, Williamsburg: Best Pizza (9.1), with Williamsburg Pizza (8.6) nearby if you have room.
Afternoon, Greenwich Village: Joe's on Carmine Street (8.5) for a walk-up slice, then Denino's Greenwich Village (9.0).
Dinner, Bleecker Street: John's of Bleecker (9.3) for a whole coal-oven pie.
If you can get a table: Lucali (9.3) in Carroll Gardens is an evening-only, whole-pie experience. Plan it as its own night.
How we built this list
Portnoy doesn't publish one official "best of New York" ranking. Scores are spread across hundreds of videos and the One Bite app. To build this page we used the One Bite Pizza Rankings tracker, which logs each published score by city. We then checked the top New York entries against press coverage in PMQ Pizza Magazine and Mashed. Where a pizzeria has more than one location, we list the location that was reviewed. Johnny's Pizzeria in Mount Vernon (9.1) sits just outside the city line in Westchester, so we mention it here but keep it out of the five-borough ranking.
Scores can change. Portnoy sometimes re-reviews a place, and new reviews go up every week. If a score you see in the app differs from this page, the app is the latest word, and we'll update this guide as the leaderboard moves.
Tips for doing your own New York slice crawl
Order plain cheese first. It's how One Bite judges, and it's the fairest way to compare shops. Add toppings on the second slice.
Split slices. Even at two or three bites per stop, five pizzerias add up fast. Sharing lets you hit more of the list.
Check which places are whole-pie only. Lucali and John's of Bleecker don't sell slices, so they need a sit-down slot and a group.
Expect lines at the famous spots. Di Fara and Joe's are tourist magnets, so off-peak hours make a difference.
Score it yourself. Half the fun of One Bite is disagreeing. Keep your own notes and compare them with Portnoy's numbers at the end of the day.
Test yourself: NYC One Bite quiz
Frequently asked questions
What is Dave Portnoy's highest-rated pizza in New York City?
Di Fara Pizza in Midwood, Brooklyn, with a One Bite score of 9.4. It is his highest score in the five boroughs.
Has Dave Portnoy ever given a New York pizzeria a 10?
No. His only perfect 10 in the US went to Monte's Restaurant in Lynn, Massachusetts. New York's best is Di Fara at 9.4.
What did Dave Portnoy rate Joe's Pizza in NYC?
Joe's Pizza on Carmine Street scored 8.5. That is a strong score on his scale, but below the 9-plus tier.
Which NYC pizzerias scored 9.3 from Dave Portnoy?
Five: Luigi's and Lucali in Brooklyn, plus John's of Bleecker Street, Angelo's Coal Oven and Lazzara's in Manhattan.
Is Lucali worth the wait according to Dave Portnoy?
On his scores, yes. Lucali got a 9.3, tied for second-best in New York. It sells whole pies only, so plan it as a sit-down dinner.
Related reading on Page Twenty One
Sources
One Bite Pizza Rankings (fan-maintained score tracker): https://onebitepizzarankings.com
PMQ Pizza Magazine, coverage of Dave Portnoy's top-rated pizzerias: https://www.pmq.com
Mashed, Dave Portnoy's best pizza reviews: https://www.mashed.com
One Bite app and official reviews, Barstool Sports: https://onebite.app
Photos via Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons licences credited in each caption.
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