Best Pizza in Minneapolis

James Beard Award-winning chef Ann Kim opened Pizzeria Lola in 2010, naming it after her dog, and it has become the most celebrated pizzeria in the state. The wood-fired pies blend Korean-American flavors with Italian technique in ways that should not work but absolutely do — the Lady Zaza tops a blistered crust with soy-marinated beef, kimchi, sesame, and scallions, and the Korean BBQ pizza has been the best-seller since day one. Featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table: Pizza, the New York Times, and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The housemade gluten-free crust is available on every pie. Lines form on weekends; reservations are worth planning ahead for.

Punch opened in 1996 after founder John Puckett fell in love with Pizzeria da Gino in Milan, and nearly thirty years later it remains the gold standard for Neapolitan pizza in the Twin Cities. The pies cook at 900 degrees in 60 seconds, which gives you that signature leopard-spotted char and a soft, pliant center that collapses under the weight of buffalo mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes. The Margherita is the benchmark — simple, correct, and almost impossibly light. Barack Obama and Meryl Streep have both eaten here, but what matters more is that Minneapolitans keep coming back week after week. Multiple locations including Northeast and Lake Street.

Black Sheep was the first coal-burning pizzeria in Minnesota when it opened in 2008, and the distinction matters. Anthracite coal burns hotter and more evenly than wood, producing a crust that is impossibly crispy on the outside and chewy within, with a subtle smokiness that you will not find at any other pizza spot in the state. Founded by Jordan Smith and Colleen Doran, the North Loop location on Washington Avenue is the flagship. The house-made meatballs, roasted red peppers, and Italian sausage are all done in-house. Pair it with one of their well-curated craft beers. The Eat Street location closed in 2024, but the original remains as strong as ever.

Wrecktangle brought Detroit-style pizza to Minneapolis and immediately created a cult following. Each 8-by-10-inch pie is baked in a steel pan with a proprietary blend of Wisconsin brick cheese and mozzarella that caramelizes against the edges into a lacy, golden crust — the frico effect that Detroit-style devotees live for. The Shredder, topped with curled pepperoni cups, pickled chilies, and whipped Cry Baby Craig’s honey, is the signature. The dough is a cross between dense focaccia and nostalgic deep dish. The original North Loop location has closed, but the Lake Street spot and outposts at Malcolm Yards and Graze Food Hall keep the pans hot.

Element is one of the most quietly excellent pizzerias in Minneapolis. Housed in a renovated shipping container in the Arts District of Northeast, it serves wood-fired Neapolitan pies with slow-fermented dough that blisters and chars beautifully in the brick oven. The operation is unassuming — no hype machine, no celebrity chef — just a focused kitchen turning out legitimately great pizza at honest prices. The Margherita is clean and well-balanced, and the seasonal specials show real creativity without overreaching. If you are tired of waiting in line at the bigger names, Element delivers the same caliber of Neapolitan craft without the fuss. Open Wednesday through Sunday.

Pizza Lucé has been a Minneapolis institution since 1993, and it endures because it does several things no other pizzeria bothers to do. The menu is genuinely creative — the Baked Potato pizza and the Athena with artichoke hearts and kalamata olives go well beyond standard combinations — and every pie is available with housemade vegan cheese and a gluten-free crust that is better than it has any right to be. The downtown location keeps the kitchen open until 2:30 AM on weekends, making it the definitive late-night pizza in Minneapolis. Multiple locations across the city, each with its own personality. The commitment to organic ingredients is real, not marketing.

Mothership opened in late 2024 and immediately became one of the most talked-about pizzerias in Minneapolis. Chef Tommy Begnaud named the restaurant after his late mother, and every pizza on the menu is named for a staff member’s mom — the Kathy (red sauce, pepperoni, basil, Parmesan) and the Also Kathy (white sauce, chicken, bacon, ranch, buffalo) are early favorites. The dough is made with Peroni beer and cooked in a brick oven with both wood and gas heating. The nearly all-scratch kitchen also turns out homemade mozzarella sticks and handmade pastas. The vibe channels a ‘90s neighborhood pizzeria, which is to say: warm, loud, and genuinely fun.

Red Wagon has been a south Minneapolis anchor since 2012, earning features on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Best Pizza honors from Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and City Pages. The modern thin-crust pies use quality ingredients and creative toppings — the Red Wagon Original with house-made sausage is the signature — paired with a curated wine list and draft cocktails that elevate pizza night into a proper dinner out. The Penn Avenue patio is one of the best outdoor dining spots on the south side, and dogs are welcome. Closed Mondays. No slices, just whole pies, which is a statement about how seriously they take the craft.

Boludo is unlike any other pizzeria in Minneapolis. The Argentine-style pies are oval-shaped, thick-crusted, and loaded with cheese that spills over the edges in a way that feels generous rather than sloppy. The fugazzetta — a double-crusted onion pizza that is an Argentine staple — is the essential order, and the empanadas (pollo, carne with beef picadillo and olives) are not a side act but a co-headliner. Founded by Chef Facundo Defraia, Boludo has expanded to multiple locations including a spot on 38th Street and a downtown outpost. The Latinx-owned kitchen brings flavors that you genuinely cannot find at any other pizza spot in the city.

Located on Nicollet Avenue in the heart of Eat Street, A Slice of New York is the pizza shop that homesick East Coasters swear by. The slices are wide, foldable, and thin-crusted in the way that actually matters — crispy on the bottom, pliable enough to fold without cracking, with sauce-to-cheese ratio that a purist would approve of. No gimmicks, no truffle oil, no wood-fired pretensions. Just a counter, a glass case of whole pies, and slices served hot on paper plates. This is not trying to be the best pizza in Minneapolis. It is trying to be the most authentic New York slice in Minneapolis, and it succeeds.

Broders’ has been a southwest Minneapolis institution since 1982, and the pizza — while not the only reason to visit this Italian deli and grocer — is some of the most foldable, thin, and crispy in the city. A slice of Broders’ pizza eaten at one of the small tables inside feels like a corner shop in Brooklyn: unpretentious, correct, and deeply satisfying. The deli also serves fresh housemade egg pasta, imported cheeses, and hoagies, so you are likely walking out with more than you planned. Forty-plus years of family ownership shows in the consistency. The kind of place where regulars do not need to look at the menu.

New Haven–style pizza at a destination brewery is a combination that could easily be mediocre, but Surly commits to both halves. The pies, served on the second level of the massive Surly Brewing complex, feature a charred, blistered crust with the signature New Haven chew and toppings that lean quality over quantity. Twenty beers on tap upstairs plus specialty seltzer cocktails. The space is vast and casual — counter service, communal tables, and a view of the brewing operation below. Wednesday trivia at 6:30 PM is a local institution. Free parking, bike racks, and proximity to the Green Line make it easy to reach without a car.

Fat Lorenzo’s is the kind of place that does not exist in most cities anymore — an independently owned, family-run Italian restaurant that has been doing the same thing since 1987 and doing it well. The New York–style pies are big, cheesy, and unapologetically old-school, served in a dining room covered in colorful murals by Twin Cities artist Ed Charbonneau. The portions are enormous (“Italian in a Big Way” is the actual tagline) and the prices are fair. No seasonal menus, no Instagram strategy, no chef collaborations. Just pizza, pasta, and the kind of neighborhood loyalty that takes decades to build. Cedar Avenue in Nokomis, open seven days a week.

Slice Brothers made history as Minneapolis’s first Black-owned pizzeria when best friends Adam Kado and Hosie Thurmond opened their Northeast location in 2021. The New York–style slices are big, foldable, and served fast — the Dill Pickle Ranch is a local cult favorite, and the classic cheese slice is exactly what a by-the-slice shop should deliver. The business has scaled back from multiple locations and now operates at the Midtown Global Market in south Minneapolis under new employee-ownership, which is a testament to the community the brand built. A 2024 Minnesota Twins Game Changer Award recipient. The food is honest, the prices are right, and the story matters.