Choosing the five best slice shops in a place as rich in world-class pizza — not to mention pizza lore and legend — as Brooklyn is a bit of a fool’s errand. Even after excluding places that only sell pies (sorry Oma Grassa, Juliana’s, Aces’s, and Ops), there’s no way you’re going to capture the full range of cheesy, saucy, doughy delights available to us on any given day in the great County of Kings. This list, then, is a snapshot of Brooklyn’s best, most consistently satisfying, most destination-worthy slices being slung right now. Feel free to add your local at number six.
L’Industrie Pizzeria, Williamsburg
It’s wild to think back on the first time I tried Massimo Laveglia’s slices in his original, walk-in-closet-ass joint on South 2nd Street. Though the cramped place looked like a hundred other slice shops scattered all over Brooklyn, even new, it felt like it had been around forever. But the pizza itself was a revelation, just the perfect combination of old school and new, with a thin but sturdy crust, charred in all the right places, and often topped with more cheffy combos than usual, like fig and bacon and, the break-out hit that made L’Industrie famous, burrata and prosciutto.
Laveglia and his business partner Nick Baglivo have, of course, since expanded to a much larger location up the block, which is packed at all hours, lines out the door, and last year they added a possibly even more popular Manhattan shop to the burgeoning empire. But no matter, success hasn’t ruined Laveglia’s genius. Every L’industrie pizza tastes like it was prepared with the same amount of skill and care and love as those first few slices almost 10 years ago.
The Brooklyn L’Industrie is located at 254 South 2nd Street, at the corner of Havemeyer Street
R. Slice, Bushwick
Roberta’s not only changed the Brooklyn pizza game when it first opened some 16 years ago — for one thing, just about everyone now does some version of the Bee Sting, a pie topped with funky meat, hot peppers, and honey — the place became so iconic it transformed an entire neighborhood, bringing life to this largely barren stretch of industrial Bushwick near the Morgan L train stop. Since then Brandon Hoy and Carlo Mirachi’s sprawling compound on Moore Street has added a Tiki Bar, the high-end tasting menu restaurant Blanca, a full bakery and, most recently and most exciting, Roberta’s first-ever slice shop, R. Slice.
Pepperoni ($5), cheese ($4), and fire and ice ($6) slices at R. Slice (Photo by Scott Lynch)
No surprise: this place is awesome. The crust on these beauties is light and airy, a little crisp on the bottom but still totally foldable, the mozzarella is all made in-house — these are all super cheesy slices — and the sauce is from fresh tomatoes, not canned, making for a wonderfully bright and lively counterpoint. Don’t miss the fire and ice slice, which is basically the pizza version of team Roberta’s superb stracciatella and ‘nduja dish at Foul Witch.
The Brooklyn R. Slice (there’s also a Manhattan outpost now, at Penn Plaza) is located within Roberta’s Bakery at 257 Moore Street, between Bogart and White Streets
La Flor, Crown Heights
Earlier this summer, seemingly out of nowhere, this unassuming-looking neighborhood spot opened on a quiet stretch of Classon in Crown Heights and instantly became my go-to in this part of Brooklyn. The owner and pizziola here is Giancarlo Villa, an NYC kid who’s been pounding dough since he was 18 years old, working in spots you’ve heard of (Roberta’s, Upside) and spots you probably haven’t (Stan’s, Baker’s).
Spicy Hawaiian, ‘spicy pep ranch’ slices ($5 each), and cheese slice ($3.50) at La Flor (Photo by Scott Lynch)
La Flor sells classic NYC slices. The crust is thin and crisp — “no oil, no flop,” is how Villa puts it — and the straight-up cheese slice is one of the best in town right now, as is the mega-meaty “sausage pep.” But my two favorite slices here may be the less conventional ones: the “spicy Hawaiian” with fresh-cut pineapple, thinly sliced capicola, and jalapeno; and the spicy pepperoni slice, topped with the creamy, cooling tang of the ranch dressing. The outdoor tables make for a pleasant hang too.
La Flor is located at 766 Classon Avenue, between Sterling and St Johns Places
Lucia Pizza of Avenue X, Sheepshead Bay
Sal Carlino grew up around Brooklyn pizza. His family is practically Manhattan Beach royalty, running Papa Leone’s for almost 40 years, and they have a hand in the underrated Smiling Pizza in Park Slope as well. So after a stint DJing in Berlin didn’t go as planned (thanks Covid!), when Carlino returned to South Brooklyn he did what you would hope he would do: open a slice shop on Avenue X.
Creamed spinach slice ($5.50) at Lucia (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Lucia Pizza vibes old school but brings a definite contemporary twist to the party. Take the creamed spinach slice, for example, inspired by the legendary side dish at Peter Luger’s. This ventures slightly into “eating dip for dinner” territory, but in the best possible way. There’s also a clam pie (Fridays only), and a loaded up funghi one, but my favorite is probably the caramelle piccanti slice, which puts pickled cherry peppers and Mike’s Hot Honey on top of oily pepperoni. Great stuff all around.
The Brooklyn Lucia Pizza (there’s also one in Soho now) is located at 2201 Avenue X, at the corner of East 22nd Street.
Luigi’s Pizza, South Slope
All of the above pay homage to Brooklyn’s classic slice joints, but if you want the real OG experience, Luigi’s is the move. For more than 50 years now, this no-frills spot has been slinging superb classic New York folds near Green-Wood cemetery in South Slope. Wolfing a few of the babies outside on a summer’s night, or grabbing a pie to bring home, and it’s like, this is why I love Brooklyn.
Legendary Luigi’s (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Opened in 1973 by Luigi Lanzo and now run by his son, Giovanni Lanzo, the place serves a tidy menu of greatest hits, including a stellar cheese slice, an excellent pepperoni slice (these aren’t trendy ‘roni cups either; the large, funky rounds of meat is baked right into the pie), and a popular fresh mozzarella slice. But the stealth winner here may be the thick and chewy grandma slice loaded with eggplant. No matter what, though, you’re going to leave happy.
Luigi’s is located at 686 Fifth Avenue, between 20th and 21st Streets.
BONUS: Two old school Bay Bridge bangers
One of the many great things about NYC pizza places is that they are equally suited for eating a large, relatively inexpensive meal and for grabbing a slice on the go for a quick snack.
Espresso Pizza, located hard by the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in deep Bay Ridge, is perfect for the latter. Owner Tony Belizzio has been making pies for nearly 50 years, and his cheese slice, in particular, is like the platonic ideal of Brooklyn pizza.
Elegante Pizzeria, about a mile up Fifth Avenue from Espresso, is another Brooklyn classic, which the Varvara family opened in 1979 — and it looks like it hasn’t been updated since (check out that super ball vending machine!). Elegante makes some of the cheesiest, greasiest slices in the borough, and the spacious dining room in back is a great place to shoot the shit with a couple of old friends.
Cheese slice ($3.50), pepperoni slice ($4) at Elegante (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Espresso is located at 9403 Fifth Avenue, near 94th Street; Elegante is located at 6922 Fifth Avenue, between Ovington and Bay Ridge Avenues
The post The BK Five: Brooklyn’s best slice shops appeared first on Brooklyn Magazine.
