It’s a bold new pizza era in San Francisco, with lists of the objective best pies running amok and legendary pie throwers like Tony Gemignani of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana letting customers know where he likes to get his pies. The Tenderloin is now soundly on the pizza map with the opening of Outta Sight’s slice shop, and Pie Punks is making a sound case for SoMa pizza being a thing. Now that Valencia Street’s classic Arinell has closed, and fellow Mission District Delfina merged with its next-door business Delfina Pizza, it’s really anyone’s pizza game to run. But no matter when you’re craving a single slice or a whole, crispy-edged pie, these San Francisco shops have it hot and ready.
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17 Essential Pizzerias in San Francisco
San Francisco’s best spots for just about every style of pizza

Tony’s Pizza Napoletana
Tony's (as well as sister spot Capo's and several Slice Houses around the Bay) is commendable not only for its quality, but also for its breadth. Though he's taken home umpteen Neapolitan pie-making prizes, Tony Gemignani is no purist: he's equally interested in Sicilian, Detroit-style, grandma-inspired, and coal-fired pies, and not afraid to dive into wild toppings. The man is a pizza polymath, and his combinations are delicious.
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Flour + Water Pizzeria
After a big move from the Mission to North Beach, Flour + Water Pizzeria is back and bigger than ever. The doughy spinoff of the pasta destination reopened in late June, taking over the former Rose Pistola space with a menu that offers both classic topping combos and ones that take things up a notch — for example, the Smoky Eggplant; the Cacio e Pepe; and the OG Osso starring bone marrow and horseradish. For takeout, hit the attached Pizza Shop located off Stockton.
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A16
Way back in the pizza dark ages of 2004, A16 was one of the first places to serve true Neapolitan pies, gorgeous wood-fired char and all. They're still churning them out well over a decade later, often pairing the pies with A16’s on-point Italian wine selection.
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Golden Boy Pizza
Tourists and North Beach locals rub elbows under the glowing neon sign that points the way to Golden Boy’s thick slabs of pie. The North Beach institution has been serving focaccia-style pizza since 1978 and if you don’t mind a little wait — there’s pretty much always a line — you can either enjoy your meal on-site or take it just a short walk away to dine at Washington Square Park.
Del Popolo
This Neapolitan-style pizza shop started as a roving pie vendor with an unmistakable glass-encased truck, before going permanent with a Nob Hill location. Del Popolo’s wood-fired pizzas are courtesy of Flour + Water alum Jon Darsky, and they're all beautifully blistered, seasonal, and delicious.
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Pizzeria Delfina
Craig and Annie Stoll’s Delfina spinoff, Pizzeria Delfina, is an empire, with multiple locations across San Francisco, Burlingame, and Palo Alto. That’s probably because it’s one of the best pizza options the city has to offer, with nicely charred and puffy crusts plus delicious seasonal toppings. Classics like a margherita will always win hearts and minds, while the salsiccia with housemade fennel sausage, tomato, bell peppers, onions, and mozzarella is also a popular order.
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Pie Punks
This SoMa pizza place opened in July 2022 with tiki cocktails, Detroit-style pies, plus thin and crispy grandma pizzas. Owners Lane Ford and Alvin Luna brought in Delarosa and Beretta alum Pedro Gonzalaz to craft the dough; pizza toppings include esoteric options like Spam and corned beef.
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Pizzetta 211
Adorably petite Pizzetta 211 embraces true seasonality, with pizzas that change by the nanosecond to incorporate the best of what's growing. The wait times can be long, but the cute 12-inch pies, like the white pie with rosemary and fiore sardo, are great. Stop by any day but Tuesday to pick up a pie or dine outdoors.
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Outta Sight Pizza
The Tenderloin can call itself a pizzaiolo destination now thanks to Eric Ehler’s shop at 422 Larkin Street. The pesto pie features fresh and aged mozzarella, basil, and a nut-free pesto. Swing by for single slices or whole pies, or time things just right for a delivery order to your door.
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Montesacro SoMa
There’s a second Montesacro outpost in the Marina, but the original SoMa location sports a rustic-chic atmosphere that can’t be beaten. Here, the pies are round and the dough is fluffy because these are Roman-style pinsas prized for their light-as-air texture. The menu offers more than a dozen topping options including vegetarian and more meaty combos like the Casa Bertone, which comes crowned with mozzarella, guanciale, pecorino, and chestnut honey.
Square Pie Guys
The crispy-edged, rectangular pizzas from these Detroit-style pie specialists have always been prepared with takeout or delivery in mind, making them perfect for a lazy dinner on comfy nights in. Order online for both takeout and in-house delivery or head to the flagship location at Ghirardelli Square for a full-service meal with bay views.
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Angie’s Pizza
Angie’s Pizza is the new Mission pizza spot from Pizza Hacker and Pizzetta 211 alum John McCloskey. It’s a tight pizza menu of six options, but even standards like pepperoni get an upgrade with a dousing of garlic chili honey and some basil. Don’t skip out on the rotating sides or the ice cream, which is made in-house.
Arizmendi Bakery
Perhaps the most quintessentially Bay Area pizza place on this list, worker-owned cooperative Arizmendi serves a different pizza every day. Its sourdough crust, whole-milk mozzarella, and fresh seasonal, organic vegetables come by the half or whole pie, and partially-baked pizzas are available via preorder.
Damnfine
Outer Sunset wood-fired upstart Damnfine opened inside a former “massage parlor” at the height of the city’s coronavirus lockdowns with a menu of naturally fermented, three-day cold-rise pizzas cooked in a 5,500-pound wood-burning oven. The spot also has a full bar for those who want cocktails with their pie.
Shuggie’s Trash Pie + Natural Wine
This Mission District pizzeria crashed onto the scene in spring 2022 and has been drawing attention not only for its very specific aesthetic but also for its commitment to using irregular or surplus produce and food production byproducts. You can categorize the pizzas as Grandma-style, meaning they’re thin-crusted squares topped with an unexpected mishmash of ingredients like ground beef and Takis or salt cod and potato. Don’t worry, there’s also the Bobo, a more classic combo of pepperoni, honey, and chile.
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Cellarmaker House of Pizza
Detroit-style pizza seems to be here to stay, and Cellarmaker serves square pies with a balanced ratio of crust to toppings, with lots of crispy edges. Don’t miss the Detroit red top or classic pepperoni, and check out whatever Sicilian they have on the menu that day, too — it’s a rotating selection, all of them superstars.
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Gialina Pizzeria
Gialina is a family-friendly Glen Park restaurant with an excellent menu of starters and roasts, but it’s the pizza that inspires a daily line there and at its NoPa sister spot Ragazza. Expect a thin crust with the right amount of chew, and a selection of composed pies like the Yukon Gold with potatoes, bacon, red onions, thyme, and gorgonzola.
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