Seattle is known for having a vibrant tech scene, stunning natural beauty, and eclectic culinary landscape. Although Emerald City wasn’t initially known for its pizza, but now the Seattle pizza scene is something to write home about.
Pizzerias in Seattle offer everything from New York-style slices to creative, artisanal pies with a two-month waiting list. Let’s begin our mouthwatering journey through Seattle, exploring the best of its unique pizza joints.
Where to Find The Best Pizza in Seattle
If you’re hunting for the best pizza in Seattle, we’ve got you covered. Seattle’s become a hotspot for glorious pizza – including Detroit-, Chicago, and traditional Italian-style pizzas. Below are seventeen of Seattle’s top pizzerias and restaurants to seek out and enjoy.
1. Serious Pie, Belltown
2001 4th Avenue NW, Seattle
https://www.seriouspieseattle.com/
Serious Pie, an Emerald City institution, is where the city’s pizza renaissance began. Renowned chef and owner Tom Douglas takes a novel approach to pizza-making: He uses blistering hot, stone-encased applewood-burning ovens to create his delicacies.
The pizza dough is a critical element that sets Serious Pie apart. It first undergoes a long fermentation process for optimal flavor and texture. One of their popular pizzas is the “Yukon Gold Potato” pizza. It features a roasted garlic cream base, thinly sliced potatoes, rosemary, and pecorino cheese.
Serious Pie has two other locations in and around Seattle:
- Downtown
- Totem Lake
2. Rocco’s, Belltown (Personal Favorite)
2312 2nd Avenue
https://www.roccosseattle.com/
Rocco’s is known for its East-Coast-style pizza and Italian-American comfort food. It’s an ideal spot for a relaxed meal with friends or family due to the cozy and inviting ambiance.
The menu at Rocco’s offers a variety of pizza styles, including the following:
- New York-style,
- Sicilian-style, and
- Grandma-style.
The “Sausage and Peppers” Grandma pizza is a fan favorite pizza at Rocco’s. This pizza has sweet Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, and fresh mozzarella. Another suggestion is the Fungi pizza.
Just a heads up, the pizza slices here are absolutely enormous. One slice is often more than enough for me when I order Rocco’s!
3. Delancey, Ballard
1415 70th Street NW
https://www.delanceyseattle.com/
Delancey is a charming pizzeria located in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. At the heart of Delancey is a wood-fired oven hand-built by Brandon Pettit, co-founder of the pizzeria. This oven is where the magic happens, producing pizzas with the perfect balance of charred crust and tender toppings.
Speaking of toppings, Delancey uses the finest quality ingredients sourced from local and organic produce. You can try something different and check out their daily toppings. For instance, they offer nettles when in season.
4. The Masonry, Queen Anne
20 Roy Street
https://themasonryseattle.com/queen-anne/
The Masonry is a small pizzeria near Climate Change Arena, ranked among the top in Seattle. The owner, Matt Storm, also runs a brewery that offers a rotating craft beer and cider selection – delicious complements to their wood-fired pizzas.
The pizzas are Neapolitan-style, made with top-quality ingredients and toppings on a lightly charred, thin, and chewy crust. The Masonry also offers many options for plant-focused eaters, given Matt is a vegetarian turned vegan.
5. Proletariat Pizza, White Center
9622-A 16th Avenue SW
https://proletariatpizzaratcity.wordpress.com/
Proletariat Pizza is a family-run business that prides itself on making the pizza that made the White Center famous. Their pizzas have medium-foldable crusts that are golden and puffy. You can order by the slice, get a half-and-half pizza, and enjoy their delicious gluten-free crusts.
Some say the Ham and Egg pizza is a must-try. It’s made with prosciutto ham, soft-cooked eggs, and arugula. Another favorite is the Potato pizza topped with thin slices of potato, gorgonzola, and fresh chives.
6. Hot Mama’s Pizza, Capitol Hill
700 E Pine Street
https://www.hot-mamaspizza.com/
Hot Mama’s Pizza has been going since 1995, making it a well-established pizzeria in Seattle. They offer New York-style pizzas and a great selection of topping choices for building your own half-and-half specialty pizza. Their famous Pesto pizza is a must-try, and meat lovers will enjoy the House Combo pizza.
7. Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria, Columbia City
4918 Rainier Avenue
Tutta Bella brings the authentic flavors of Naples to the Pacific Northwest. From the dough to the toppings, this pizzeria is known for its commitment to traditional Neapolitan pizza-making techniques.
The drawcard for Tutta Bella is the pizza crust made with imported ingredients like Italian Tipo “00” flour, San Marzano tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. Tutta Bella puts its dough through a slow fermentation process, producing an airy and light crust with the perfect char from the wood-fired oven.
Pizzas to try here include:
- Tutta Bella (prosciutto di Parma, arugula, and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar)
- Bianca (extra virgin olive oil, goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, provolone, caramelized onion, roasted garlic, and oregano)
- Roberto (extra virgin olive oil, pistachio puree, Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, smoked buffalo mozzarella, and basil)
8. Bar Del Corso, Beacon Hill
3057 Beacon Avenue S
Bar Del Corso is a small pizzeria offering delectable pizzas that you can enjoy in a convivial setting, including a heated undercover patio. This Italian restaurant is both an indispensable pizzeria and a neighborhood hub. It’s always packed, and you might feel like you’re in southern Italy when you eat their food.
Jerry Corso’s pizzas have simple seasonal toppings on a crust blistered by the wood-fired oven.
Some of the favorite and recommended pizzas to try at Bar Del Corso include the following:
- Fava
- Fungi
- Buffalo mozzarella margherita
- White Pie with sausage and pickled goathorn peppers
9. Pizzeria La Rocca, Greenwood
8404 Greenwood Avenue N
Pizzeria la Rocca is one of the finest artisan pizzerias in North Seattle. The two Romanian owners, Mariana and Claudia, love to share their passion for baking and cooking. They offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner from Friday to Sunday and are open every day of the week.
Pizzeria la Rocca’s Italian-style pizzas boast proper Italian toppings, like a quattro stagioni, funghi and salsicia, and prosciutto with argula. The crusts are amazingly delicate, allowing them to crisp quickly in the wood-fired oven.
10. Humble Pie, Chinatown International District
525 Rainier Avenue S
If there was a “Seattle-style” pizza, Humble Pie would be it. Humble Pie is a mostly-covered open-air restaurant on a cute vine-twined compound outside Little Saigon. Its quaint setup includes picnic tables under strings of lights and a chicken coop with hens supplying organic eggs for some pies.
Some of the menu offerings at Humble Pie are interesting combinations of toppings. Examples include Beecher’s Flagship cheese, organic apples, smoked eggplant, and spiced walnuts combined with more traditional pizza toppings.
Two great pizzas to try include:
- The Whole Hog (pulled pork, bacon, and prosciutto)
- Patagonia half-zip
11. Windy City Pie, Phinney Ridge
5918 Phinney Avenue N
Windy City Pie’s Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas are a labor of love. Owner and chef David Lichterman has perfected the art of these indulgently cheesy and saucy pizzas, and his dedication to the craft is evident in every pie.
Every day, the dough is made from scratch and pressed into well-seasoned cast-iron pans. It is then layered with Wisconsin brick cheese, quality toppings, and a rich tomato sauce cooked to perfection. One of the standout options at Windy City Pie is the “Seattle Sausage,” which features roasted red peppers, homemade fennel sausage, and caramelized onions.
12. Cornelly, Capitol Hill
601 Summit Avenue E, #103
https://www.cornellyseattle.com/
Cornelly is a small Italian pizzeria that offers leavened pizzas. It tops its pies with exciting ingredients like roasted leeks, za’atar, confit garlic, and foraged mushrooms. Previously, their kitchen made limited-edition Detroit-style pizza, but they’ve expanded their offering to include deep-dish pies.
The toppings on Cornelly pizzas are almost twice as thick as the charred and crunchy crusts. Despite being heavily laden with toppings, the tangy and crunchy crusts are not compromised and soggy. Try their Flying Sauser pizza, which includes fennel sausage, ricotta, and red sauce.
13. Via Tribunali, Capitol Hill
913 E Pike Street
Via Tribunali is considered one of the top pizzerias in Seattle. This delightful establishment imports its firewood from Italy for the wood-fired pizzas. Their unique, authentic Neopolitan pizza offerings include the following:
- Fratelli Di Bufala
- Spaccanapoli
- Salsiccia e Friarelli
- Diavola
14. Big Mario’s Pizza, Capitol Hill
1009 E Pike Street
https://bigmariosnewyorkpizza.com/
A little further down Pike Street, you will find Big Mario’s Pizza, another popular pizzeria in Capitol Hill. Big Mario’s serves New York-style pizza by the slice and is a favorite late-night spot for locals (open till 2 a.m.) and those looking for the perfect foldable, thin-crust slice.
While a slice may sound insufficient, Big Mario’s slices are not. They are oversized and covered in flavorful tomato sauce and generous cheese portions. A particular crowd-pleaser is the Pepperoni slice that features crispy pepperoni cups that curl up and give a satisfying crunch with each bite. For a slice of this delectable favorite, you can expect to pay $5.
15. MOTO Pizza, West Seattle
4526 42nd Avenue SW
MOTO does different differently. They pride themselves on their odd pizza offerings that are such a hit there’s a two-month waiting list for a takeaway order. What makes MOTO so popular is Lee Kendell’s seven-by-nine-inch Detroit-style pies that he makes in a little converted cottage.
Their pie crusts are made from hand-mixed, high-hydration sourdough crusts (the starter’s name is Betty, and she’s 100 years old) that might short-circuit your brain. The toppings include Kendell’s cheese blend and improbable ingredients like heaps of Dungeness with lemon and dill, lechon kawali with chimichurri, and deconstructed clam chowder.
16. West of Chicago Pizza Company, Fairmount Park
3770 Alaska Street SW
https://westofchicagopizzacompany.com/
West of Chicago Pizza Company offers 40 cornmeal-speckled Chicago pizzas and tavern pies – a rarity in Seattle. Topping on these deep-dish pizzas include meatballs, ricotta, and Italian sausage with broccoli and roasted garlic.
The crusts of this fine pizzeria are cracker-thin, and the sweet tomato sauce contains delicious oregano flavoring. Customers can choose various toppings to complement the bubbling cheese – like dollops of custard-like ricotta or char-grilled pepperoni cups.
17. Lupo, Fremont
4303 Fremont Avenue S
Lupo is a cozy pizzeria that offers a tangy and sturdy sourdough crust combined with traditional Neapolitan toppings. Their menu is small; it offers only six pies, but they’re worth the drive across town.
One of their top pies includes a cacio e pepe topped with lots of cracked black pepper and pancetta (optional). Other interesting toppings include burrata with soppressata, Calabrian chili, hot honey, and spicy crumbled Italian sausage with sliced fennel and smoked scamorza. However, purists can enjoy their delicious Margherita.
Conclusion
Seattle has made a name for itself in the pizza world, offering a gamut of pizzerias with traditional, unexpected, and eclectic toppings and crusts. You’ll undoubtedly discover your favorites as you explore the nooks and crannies of Seattle. The pizzerias listed here provide a unique and outstanding gastronomic experience that will surely be memorable.
