Best pizza in Sacramento? These 24 places make it hard to pick just one

The Sacramento region is home to a remarkable number of pizza styles — from textbook Neapolitan to ultra-rare Apulian to Chicago deep dish.

Our Sean Timberlake and Camila Pedrosa recently sampled those three and many more at 24 different pizza places, taking readers on a world tour. Their story on this pizza expedition is here.

Looking for a slice, or whole pie, fast? This guide below summarizes what they learned, and where to go:

Neapolitan: Where it all begins

The mother of all pizza hails from Naples, and the real deal adheres to strict rules governed by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. The dough must be made with 00 flour — a finely ground wheat flour — plus natural or brewer’s yeast, salt and water. A dome-shaped wood-fired oven (or AVPN-certified electric) must hit around 900 Fahrenheit to cook the pizza in just 60 to 90 seconds.

The two original styles are Margherita — San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella di bufala and basil — and marinara, the same sauce with olive oil, garlic and oregano. No cheese.

There are no true AVPN-certified pizzerias in the Sacramento region, but several qualify as Neapolitan in style. Good Neighbor chef Zach Schechtman makes what he calls “Neo-Neapolitan” pies in the restaurant’s wood-fired dome oven.

Where to taste it:

• Masullo (2711 Riverside Blvd., Land Park)
• Good Neighbor (170 R St., midtown)
• Flour Dust Pizza Co. (5080 Foothills Blvd., Roseville)
• Benji’s Woodfire Pizza (7530 Auburn Blvd., Citrus Heights)

ORIGINAL STORY: Sacramento slice shops serve up a world of pizza. Find the style for you

New York Style: The foldable classic

When Neapolitan pizza crossed the Atlantic, it took root in New York, according to the Museum of the City of New York. The crust grew sturdier — well-cooked enough to pick up and fold — with a telltale slick of orange oil that drips satisfyingly as you eat.

Anyone who’s spent time in New York knows the slice shop: a tiny joint barely big enough for the oven and a counter. Sacramento has embraced the format.

Where to taste it:

• Giovanni’s New York Pizza (locations in South Land Park and East Sacramento)
• Uncle Vito’s Slice of N.Y. (1800 15th St., Richmond Grove)
• Johnny’s NY Pizzeria (2830 Sunset Blvd., Rocklin)
• Bicycle Thief (122 East Main St., Grass Valley)
• Marilyn’s Pizza Slice (2011 J St., midtown)
• Pieces Pizza by the Slice (1309 21st St., midtown)

Pinsa: Sacramento’s Roman rarity

Pinsa is specific to the Lazio area outside Rome. The dough combines wheat flour with soy and rice flours, producing a lighter, chewier texture with more puff. It’s typically oval in shape. Corradi Di Marco invented it, possibly as early as 1981, and trademarked it in 2001. Di Marco manufactured a legend that pinsa had roots in ancient Rome — but later confessed that was not true.

Sacramento has just one producer of pinsa, Bambina’s, and it’s a rare find in other U.S. cities, too. Bambina’s also produces Neapolitan-ish “Bambina style” and Sicilian style pizzas, and is looking to roll out a Roman “al taglio” style in the next few months.

Where to taste it:

• Bambina’s Pizza and Pasta (1610 R St., midtown)

Apulian: Another rare find

Naples is in Campania, the shin of the Italian boot; Apulia is the heel. The Apulian style — specifically Bari’s Barese — is ultra-thin and crisp, lightly topped. It’s made with type 1 flour, somewhat coarser than the 00 used in Neapolitan, giving it a more rustic character. Sacramento is one of only a handful of American cities with an Apulian pizzeria. Dodici brought in a pizza chef from Bari to consult and train the staff.

Where to taste it:

• Dodici Pizza (400 12th St., Alkali Flats)

Sicilian and Grandma style: A sheet-pan family

Much akin to focaccia, Sicilian-style pizza is a thick, fluffy, bready crust that fills a sheet pan. Tomato sauce goes on top of the cheese to avoid sogginess and prevent burning during long bake times. Pizza Supreme Being sells “squares” of Sicilian alongside its New York pies. La Porta does Sicilian, Detroit style and “pizza di Toscana,” with a slightly thicker crust than Neapolitan.

Grandma pizza is a close relative — typically smaller, with a thinner crust in the center. Though it may seem like an American adaptation, this style is very common in Italian home kitchens.

Where to taste it:

• Pizza Supreme Being (1425 14th St., downtown)
• La Porta Restaurant & Bar (1860 Howe Ave., Arden Arcade)
• Pizzasaurus Rex (2322 K St., midtown — grandma style)

Detroit style: All about the frico

Detroit style gets its form from flare-sided dark metal pans. According to the Detroit Free Press, the blue steel pans were originally — according to legend — used for auto parts. The thick, bready crust gets cheese pushed all the way to the edges, where it creates those irresistible crispy bits known as frico. Toppings are added, and sauce is ladled on in parallel stripes across the top.

Keep this on your radar: a new Detroit pizzeria called Frico is expected to open at 1429 Broadway in May or June.

Where to taste it:

• Sette Pasta House (6851 Douglas Blvd., Granite Bay)
• Motorhead Pizza (3281 Swetzer Road, Loomis)

Chicago deep dish … and tavern style

Sacramentans know Zelda’s Original Gourmet Pizza as the place for authentic Chicago deep dish. Founder Zelda Breslin launched her shop in 1978 after gaining culinary pizza training at a Chicago pizzeria. Breslin died in 2006, according to previous Bee reporting, and her family took over. In 2024, the family sold to Jon Stevenson and Beau Cornell, who have been running the still-popular shop for just over a year.

Stevenson and Cornell believe Breslin was one of the first people to bring deep dish to the Sacramento region, and possibly the entire state of California. Visitors from the Windy City have claimed Zelda’s is the most authentic version of the pie in California. A buttery dough — halfway between pizza and short crust — lines a pie pan or skillet, filled with cheese, meats and tomatoes on top.

“It’s strangely a divisive pizza, because people have very personal tastes about what pizza is, what it should be,” Cornell said. “It’s like a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing, but the people who love it are rad.”

Chicago’s other pizza contribution — tavern style — features a crisp, buttery thin crust topped with tomato sauce and a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheeses, cut in a grid rather than wedges.

Where to taste it:

• Zelda’s Original Gourmet Pizza (1415 21st St., midtown)
• Chicago Fire (locations in midtown, Folsom and Roseville)

Indian fusion

Indian fusion pizza has exploded throughout the region recently. Tandoori Pizza was founded by UC Davis alumnus Tejinder “TJ” Singh, who grew it to a national chain. Local influencer Jerry James Stone recently did a taste-off, and among his friends Curry Pizza House prevailed, with San Francisco-based Bollywood Pizza coming in second for flavor.

Where to taste it:

• Curry Pizza House (locations in Sacramento, Folsom and Roseville)
• Bollywood Pizza (6601 Folsom Blvd., East Sacramento)
• Tandoori Pizza (locations in downtown Sacramento and Elk Grove)

Farm-to-Fork: Sacramento’s own?

If there is a Sacramento-style pizza, it lives in this category. These pies are highly seasonal, driven by ingredients fresh from the farmers markets. Toppings can change daily. Crust style is less important than showcasing the glory of market produce.

Waterboy chef Rick Mahan is the standard-bearer of the city’s farm-to-fork scene, and it’s on full display at his pizza restaurant and its daily special pizzas. Downtown’s Majka Pizza’s fresh touch was enough to garner it a nod from Michelin last year.

Where to taste it:

• OneSpeed Pizza (4818 Folsom Blvd., East Sacramento)
• Majka Pizza (1704 15th St., downtown)

This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 6:00 AM.