These Are the 100 Best Pizza Places in the USA, According to Instagram
With international travel restrictions currently in place, being able to get an authentic taste of Italy at home in the USA has never been more important.
While it might not be quite the same as wandering the streets of Florence, enjoying the piazzas of Rome, or sailing down the canal in Venice, enjoying a deliciously good slice of pizza can at least bring some joy of La Dolce Vita to you at home.
That’s why we decided to put together a guide to the 100 best pizza places in the States, according to Instagram.
We used TripAdvisor to compile a list of over 1,000 pizza restaurants across the USA. We then used the Instagram geo-tag feature to find out how many photos had been tagged at each pizza restaurant to discover the most popular pizza places in the USA according to Instagram’s pizza lovers.
Read on below to find the best pizza places near you.
Top 10 Pizza Places in the USA
1. Eataly, New York City, New York – 201,567
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The restaurant ranking in the number one spot for the most Instagrammed pizza place in the USA was Eataly in New York City, with a whopping 201,567 photos tagged here.
Eataly is an Italian cuisine phenomenon that has taken the world by storm with its unique combination of dining and shopping experiences that focus on only the finest Italian ingredients. Their store in NYC Flatiron features a vast marketplace stocking a huge range of products from the country, fresh food counters and a range of different restaurants including a rooftop dining experience, a fresh pasta bar and a specialist seafood eatery.
All of the produce sold and served at Eataly is authentically Italian, and every one of their dining options focuses on the highest quality ingredients. It’s easy to see why Eataly NYC Flatiron is top of our shortlist when you look at their restaurants’ beautifully stylish decor, providing the perfect backdrop for the perfect envy-inducing Instagram selfie or flatlay. The decoration of their popular SERRA restaurant changes with the seasons along with the menu, attracting a host of younger customers keen to document their pizza, pasta and classy cocktails in the Instagrammable surroundings.
Eataly’s focus on sustainable products, as well as high-quality ones, is another reason for this store’s popularity with a millennial audience. Not only does their food taste good and look amazing; customers can rest assured that they’re doing good for the planet as well.
2. Eataly, Chicago, Illinois – 90,611
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Another Eataly restaurant ranked in second place on our shortlist, this time being the Eataly in Chicago which has 71,615 photos tagged with its location.
As we’ve already outlined, Eataly’s Italian roots, authentic products and ingredients, and their high-quality dining experiences make it a top choice for American’s looking for dishes that take you straight to Italy with a single taste. The chain’s Chicago store not only has several classic restaurants, but has also opened a popular microbrewery where you can enjoy house-brewed beer as well as classic Italian drinks along with your food.
Eataly Chicago is popular with families, couples and friends as a place to enjoy traditional Italian cuisine, with the store’s patio dining area a particular favourite spot for customers to take Instagram photos.
3. Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, California – 71,615
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Santa Rosa’s Russian River Brewing Company ranked in third place, with 71,615 tagged photos.
The Russian River Brewing Company was established in 1997 as a brewery who specialise in Belgian-inspired beer, and the business has expanded to now include a popular brewpub venue in Downtown Santa Rosa, California. Their venue is famous for its exceptional quality beer and pizza; a combination favoured by many!
This trendy, lively brewpub is favoured by couples and groups of friends as a great location for evenings spent enjoying the extensive pizza menu and range of ales and IPAs. Russian River Brewing Company is most famous for their triple-hopped ale named Pliny the Younger, which is sold for only two weeks in February and brings thousands of fans from all over the USA to their Canta Rosa pub.
4. Roberta’s Pizza, New York City, New York – 50,872
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In fourth place was Roberta’s Pizza in New York City, which has 50,872 photos tagged in the location on Instagram.
Roberta’s is a brand that paved the way for many modern pizza restaurants to come when it opened in Brooklyn, New York City in 2007. What began as three young men’s passion project has turned into a pizzeria dynasty with a cult following, frozen food line and outstanding reputation as a restaurant that is always pushing boundaries with their approaches to classic Italian dishes.
The original Brooklyn restaurant has grown into a hipster, foodie paradise, so it’s no surprise that so many of Roberta’s clientele take photos of their pizza and surroundings to share with their followers on Instagram. With a vast, urban outdoor dining area, quirky atmosphere and ever-changing menu of unique pizzas, this revolutionary restaurant put the Bushwick neighbourhood on the map and continues to live up to the hype that surrounds the brand.
5. Giordano’s, Chicago, Illinois – 40,853
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Giordanos’ in Chicago was the fifth most Instagrammed pizza place in the USA, having 40,853 tagged photos.
The story behind Giordano’s is said to have begun long ago in Italy, with the Giordano family’s secret recipe for an outstanding, cheese-stuffed, double-crust pizza pie that was famous in their small town. In the 1970s, two brothers from this family immigrated to Chicago with this recipe and a dream to start their own pizza business, and now nearly 50 years later this dream has transformed into a chain of restaurants in hundreds of cities across the USA.
Frequently winning awards for ‘the best pizza in Chicago’, Giordano’s specialises in deep dish variations of this Italian staple, and it is the signature look of these pizzas that feature frequently on their tagged Instagram photos. Their central Chicago restaurant is visited by families, friends and couples of all ages, offering a friendly and authentic Italian experience in the heart of the city.
6. Lombardi’s, New York City, New York – 40,523
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Back again in New York City, the pizzeria Lombardi’s came in sixth with 40,523 photos tagged here.
Lombardi’s is located in New York City’s Little Italy, and is best known for being the first pizzeria to open in America. The restaurant first opened in 1905, founded by Italian immigrant Gennaro Lombardi who used a signature recipe from his hometown of Naples to make and sell pizza that quickly gained an outstanding reputation across the city.
Lombardi’s remains an old-school style pizza restaurant that is favoured by serious fans of the dish who come to this part of the city to enjoy authentic flavours and approaches to Italian food.
They have been using a coal-fired oven to cook their pizzas since the restaurant first opened, and pride themselves on the delicious simplicity of their toppings and high quality of every ingredient used.
7. Giordano’s (Chicago Loop), Chicago, Illinois – 31,956
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Another Giordano’s, this time in Chicago’s Loop district, ranked at the seventh most Instagrammed pizza place in the USA, with 31,956 tagged photos.
The Chicago Loop is the city’s downtown and business district, and this Giordano’s restaurant prides itself on being an integral piece of the neighbourhood’s community. The Italian-origin restaurant chain is renowned across the state as producing and winning prizes for ‘the best pizza in Chicago’, and here you can enjoy their signature dishes surrounded by classically Italian decor.
Giordano’s specialises in deep-dish pizza pies, and this downtown store’s Instagram tag is full of photos that their customers have taken of these impressive dishes and the spectacularly stringy cheese that appears when you first cut yourself a slice. If you’re looking for pizza in Chicago, anyone will tell you that Giordano’s is the obvious choice.
8. Pequod’s Pizza, Chicago, Illinois – 26,277
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Pequod’s Pizza, again in Chicago, came in eighth place, having 26,277 Instagram photos tagged at the location.
Pequod’s Pizza is another of Chicago’s favourite restaurants, with a cult following who rave about their pizza’s signature caramelised crust. This crust is formed by cooking the pizzas in a cast iron pan so that mozzarella caramelises around the edges, producing a distinctive flavour and texture that brings customers to the restaurants from all over the continent.
The original Perquod’s restaurant opened in Morton Grove, Illinois in 1970, with the Chicago branch of the restaurant opening in 1992 after loyal customers pleaded for another place to get their fix of the famous caramelised crust. Photos of this signature style of pizza dominate Perquod’s Instagram tagged photos, and their fanbase is made up of serious foodies and those who enjoy the restaurant’s late-night atmosphere, friendly staff and range of topping options.
If all of the above isn’t merit enough, Perquod’s has also been named one of the top five pizza places in the USA.
9. Bar Bocce, Sausalito, California – 25,257
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In Sausalito, the waterfront bar and restaurant Bar Bocce is in position number nine, with 25,257 photos having been tagged here.
For a stylish dining experience right beside the sea, Bar Bocce serves up fresh pizza alongside beautiful coastal views and, as the name suggests, outdoor games of bocce. Their pizza is cooked in a wood-fired oven that provides the perfect combination of crispy edges and melty cheese centres which can be enjoyed at one of their outdoor tables gathered around fire pits. Bar Bocce also serves a range of small plate Italian dishes that really help them stand out from the other waterfront dining options, and increases their reputation for exceptional food.
It’s the enviable beachfront location and trendy patio area that makes Bar Bocce so popular amongst Instagram users, providing a perfect setting to document group meetups, drinks with friends or laid-back dates. The quirky inclusion of bocce pitches for customers to use is the finishing touch that makes this bar and pizza place such a busy spot that customers can’t wait to share on social media.
10. Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, New York City, New York – 24,993
And finally, the tenth most Instagrammed pizza place in the USA is Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in New York City, which has been tagged in 24,003 photos.
Found right beside the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Grimaldi’s is another long-established pizzeria that sets itself apart from the competition because of its unusual coal brick-oven approach to cooking the pizzas. Whatever time of day you visit, expect to find a queue of people lining the street waiting to taste what has been called ‘the best pizza in New York’.
Grimaldi’s has gained a sterling reputation for its crispy, chewy crust and classic toppings, and as the tagged photos on Instagram will testify, it’s a very popular place to get takeout pizza to enjoy elsewhere in the city. The restaurant now has a chain of other pizzeria’s across the USA but the location in New York is where it all began in 1990, and with three floors of dining space and an open kitchen, it’s a dining experience that perfectly pairs with the authentic taste of the pizza.
