Across London over the previous decade, there was a tendency for the authenticity obsessed, produce-pedants of the Big Smoke to look down their 00 flour-tipped noses at the ‘New York’ style pizza.
Sure, we were content with a 330ml IPA, some deep Derrick May cuts, and a sturdy slice of the good stuff once the clock passed midnight and standards slipped. But if superlatives were getting dished out towards pizzas in London, it was usually in a Neopolitan direction. Whether that was aimed at Pellone, Salvo, Chionchio or Condurro largely depended on which pizzeria was closest, but the praise followed a similar script – of San Marzano tomatoes, 58-65% hydration, and 13.8 inches.
Fortunately, London’s pizza scene feels like it’s loosened up in recent years. The pie purists have begun experimenting and have found that, sometimes, in a city this big, there’s room for a more diverse set of marriages between dough, tomato and cheese.
Though our two favourite neo-Neapolitan and New York by-the-slice joints have now sadly closed, (RIP ASAP Pizza and Paradise Slice), there’s still plenty of joy to be found in London’s crisper, thinner based brethren.
With that in mind, today we’re exploring London’s best New York style pizzas, pie-by-pie and slice-by-slice.
*Yes, we realise some of the below aren’t strictly New York pizzas, but are closer to the New York style than the Neapolitan. Soz.*
Crisp Pizza, Hammersmith
Ideal for trying London’s hottest pizza, New Yorker, Neapolitan or otherwise…
Quite possibly London’s hottest pizza (not temperature wise – that would be Fatisa in Wood Green, of course) right now, the queues for this humble Hammersmith pub-cum-pizza purveyor tells a story. A story of Londoners keen to delve deeper than the Neopotlian culinary diktat, of discerning diners seeking a slice that won’t fold so dramatically that their starched white shirts get splattered in marinara sauce.
Enter the prosaically, aptly named Crisp Pizza, a pub-based pop-up inside the Chancellors that has been dubbed London’s best pizza by just about everyone from GQ to the Evening Standard’s Jimi Famurewa.
Boasting a base that simply won’t budge under the weight of its admirably restrained toppings, a good covering of Roni Cup pepperoni and wefts of grated parmesan are all you need to let you know you’re eating a New York adjacent pie. That, and the gravity-defying nature of the slice. Oh, and the literal name of the place – these are certainly crispy boys, and damn delicious, too.
A quick heads up – or rather, several heads up; though you can usually buy full pizzas here, on Saturdays when Fulham are at home, Crisp Pizza becomes a slice-only slinger. It’s also highly recommended that you book a table or pre-order your pizzas for pick-up in advance via phone call, text, or on the Store Kit app (all of which are on their Instagram). Should a table not be for the taking, then you’ll see plenty of folk pitched up on the kerb outside, pizza box in hand and a look of wild anticipation in their eyes…
…the wait will be worth it.
Address: 25 Crisp Rd, London W6 9RL
Instagram: @crisppizzaw6
Website: Crisp W6 at The Chancellors | Menu
Alley Cats Pizza, Marylebone
Ideal for a taste of London’s most hype new New York pizza…
If you’re on the hunt for a slice of New York in London, look no further than Alley Cats Pizza in Marylebone. This bustling pizzeria only opened its doors in January of this year, but has quickly become one of the city’s go-to spots for authentic New York-style pizza. And that’s why you’re here right?
The mastermind behind the 14 inches here is Francesco Macri, a Sicilian-born pizza specialist whose impressive resume includes stints at Pizza Pilgrims and Santa Maria. At Alley Cats Pizza, you’ll find a menu that boasts plenty of west-leaning pizzas, including the signature vodka pizza, a creamy concoction of buffalo mozzarella and tomato sauce enriched with vodka, inspired by the iconic pasta dish penne alla vodka.
With design details like wipe-clean gingham tablecloths and church-pew style seating, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a classic New York pizzeria here. The open kitchen extends into the bar area, allowing diners to witness the magic of pizza-making firsthand. And while traditional New York pizzerias might serve their pizzas by the slice, Alley Cats opts for a whole-pie approach, with prices ranging from £17 to £21. This one, then, is for sharing.
Website: alleycatspizza.co.uk
Address: 22 Paddington St, London W1U 5QY
75 Slices at Three Colts, Bethnal Green
Ideal for your daily fix of crisp bar pizza in a historic tavern…
Speaking of the shades of those tablecloths, you may have seen the reds and whites of the 75 Slices gazebo in London in recent years, at various events you hadn’t been invited to.
You might have also caught the enticing aroma of their bread oven working overtime as it sashayed through the city streets, that perfectly puffed dough just out of reach as the company VW campervan disappeared onto the London horizon.
Well rejoice, as the team at 75 Slices have now pitched up somewhere a little more permanent, at the Three Colts Tavern just minutes from Bethnal Green station, where they’re slinging their superb New York style pies every day of the week.
These are truly glorious things, with plenty of structural integrity, blisters and imperfections giving way to skilfully restrained adornments. The ‘Calabria’, topped with ice cold stracciatella and a drizzle of hot honey is a case in point, with each ingredient very much belonging on a pizza that’s all about balance – balance between temperature, between spice and satiation, between resistance and surrender.
Website: 75slices.co.uk
Address: 199 Cambridge Heath Rd, London E2 0EL
Dough Hands, New Permanent Location TBA
Ideal for a fleeting flavour of New York pizza perfection…
Even more evanescent than a canotto crust pre-exhale, the team at Dough Hands have made a big name for themselves in the London pizza game with periodic pop-ups across the city in recent years, from their inaugural spot at Brixton Market in the pre-COVID blessed times, all the way to, confusingly, a spell at the Three Colts at the tail end of last year, where 75 Slices have since pitched up.
Whilst not currently in a permanent location (TBA, according to their Insta’), Dough Hands are bringing their pizzas to Set Piece Social later this month, on the 23rd and 24th March. We couldn’t be more excited to be trying chef Hannah Drye’s signature ‘Jode’ again, a spicy little number with nduja, hot honey and buffalo mozzarella. To be doing so in a venue dedicated to celebrating women’s and non-binary sports is an added treat.
Instagram: doughhandspizza
All Kaps Pizza, Dalston
Ideal for affordable, delicious slices of the good stuff…
Another pizza pop-up with claims at the crown of best NY-style pizza in London, All Kaps Pizza at Papo’s Bagels in Dalston is one (or two, or three…impossible to resist as they are) stunning slice of pizza.
Available by the slice or as a whole 16 inch take home pizza, All Kaps is an inclusive, democratic affair; those slices start clocking in at just £2 which, in today’s economy, is basically giving them away. Though the Pepp Pie – a rich red sauce, mozzarella, provolone, and properly spicy pepperoni – is a crowd pleaser and surely the best seller (it’s often sold out come late afternoon), we’re even more enamoured with the garlic cream-based slices. A recent green sauce and shiso topped affair was a real ripper.
Do be aware that these esteemed pie slingers are currently on hiatus. We’ll be keeping a keen, obsessed eye on their next moves.
Address: 73-75 Shacklewell Ln, London E8 2EB
Instagram: @allkapsslicesnpies
Vincenzo’s, Bushey
Ideal for a spicy, satiating slice where Harrow meets Hertfordshire…
Bang on the border with the London borough of Harrow, Vincenzo’s in Bushey, Hertfordshire, does such a good pizza that we’re stretching the very limits of what the “best New York style pizza in London” can be.
Available in 12 inch and 18 inch pies, to eat in or to take out (that is the question), the base here is thin and with just the right level of resilience, the crust gently puffed yet pliable.
We’re here, time and time again, for Vincenzo’s Raging Hog (sounds like a fucking weird innuendo), which is a carefully-composed, assertive though not aggressive balancing act of aged mozzarella, tomato sauce, and heat brought by pepperoni, hot and sweet roquito peppers and chilli honey. It’s that sweetness from the bee piss that tempers the more fiery notes here. Fresh basil, sniped and scattered, rounds it all off. Magic.
If we’re stretching the definition of ‘London’ pizzas further still, then do check out Gracey’s Pizza over in St. Albans, too. A phenomenal Neopolitan/New York hybrid, it’s well worth leaving the big city for.
Address: 42 High St, Bushey WD23 3HL
Website: vincenzospizzas.com
Instagram: @original_vincenzos_pizza
Voodoo Ray’s, Dalston & Peckham
Ideal for late night slices…
Such is the scarcity of London’s New York-style scene that Dalston’s Voodoo Ray’s feels like a proper veteran of the landscape. Now entering their second decade of slice slinging, the self-proclaimed OGs of NYC pizzas must be doing something right; they now have a second branch in Peckham and another in Manchester.
Here, the main draw is their obscenely sized single slices, with two the equivalent of a whole 11 inch pizza. Though they do sell whole 22 inch pies for taking away and sharing, you’ll more likely find us leant against a weeping wall in the corridor-like space of the Dalston branch in the early hours (open ‘till 2am on the weekends, these guys), clutching a slice of their gorgeous Queen Vegan – no fake cheese here, just heaps of vegetables – and pontificating about life’s larger questions. Like, ‘’shall we order another slice?’’.
Website: voodoorays.com
Instagram: @voodoorays
Yard Sale Pizza, Various Locations
Ideal for award-winning, enormous pies…
A synthesis style of New York and ‘London’ Neapolitan pizzas, Yard Sale is one of the city’s most ubiquitous pizza brands. But their omnipresence hasn’t dampened the quality of their pizzas, with the restaurant group winning a slew of awards recently, including being voted Best Value Eats in the Observer Food Monthly awards in 2022 and London’s favourite pizza in Time Out’s inaugural Clash of the Slices in 2022.
Whilst not perhaps quite as thin and flexible as you came seeking in this article, and cooked in a brick static oven rather than a deck, the by-the-slice nature of Yard Sale definitely renders them worthy of a mention. That, and they’re damn delicious.
Website: yardsalepizza.com
Instagram:@yardsalepizza
Bad Boys Pizza Society, Seven Dials Market
Ideal for carefully composed, beautifully balanced pizzas…
Though you’ll find the good guys from Bad Boys Pizza Society at London Bridge’s Vinegar Society, as well as outside the National Theatre, it’s at Covent Garden’s Seven Dials Market that the pizza group has turned their attention to New York style slices.
It’s a tight menu of just four pies here, the generosity reserved instead for the 22 inch pies, which boast a raft of finely balanced toppings. Ours is the rather unappealing sounding Crusty Old Goat, a goat’s cheese and caramelised onion number that’s brought to life with a sticky balsamic glaze and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Yours for £5.50, or grab three slices for £13.
For those living south of the river, these boys have recently popped up at The Railway in Tulse Hill, and will be slinging for the foreseeable. Rejoice!
Website: badboypizzasoc.com
Instagram:@badboypizzasoc
Read: The best places to eat near Covent Garden
Brooklyn Pizza Crew, Fulham
Ideal for pizza-purist bating…
We end where we began, back in Fulham in search of a slice of the best New York style pizza in London. Available for pick-up and delivery, these Fulham Road pizza purveyors offer 12 inch and 20 inch pies in a vast variety of flavours. The Hawaiian – ham, pineapple and the rest – is particularly good.
Hey, we said this was no place for pizza purists; when in Rome and all that. Or, rather, when in Brooklyn….
Instagram: @brooklynpizzacrewuk
